Algae

New Jersey environmental officials said yesterday that an enormous brown slick that had forced about 35 miles of the state's beaches to close was actually dead algae - not sewage sludge - and that it was perfectly safe. Local officials, happy at the news, reopened the beaches. "It is not sewage. It is naturally occurring," Richard Dewling, the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said of the foamy slick that had created alarm at the shore. He said the algae, which periodically die and turn brown, passed through an offshore sludge-dumping site and apparently picked up some sewage, trash and "grease balls," which bear a close resemblance to fecal matter.

The annual spring algae bloom on the Wissahickon Creek, combined with Friday's torrential rains, has produced foul-smelling and odd-tasting water for a number of Philadelphians. Even though the tap water may reek, Water Department officials said yesterday that it was safe to drink. They are working to make the water taste like water again. Neighborhoods that got the algae-tainted water included Manayunk, Roxborough, Mount Airy, Germantown, Fairmount and several other areas north of the Schuylkill and west of Broad Street, according to Joan Becker, a Water Department spokeswoman.

Question: Last year, you wrote about what to do about black marks on roofs. You said it was algae that built up from the product used in the shingles, and you gave a remedy for cleaning it off the shingles. Well, I cut your article out for a spring project and, yep, you guessed it, now that spring is here, I cannot find the article. I wonder if you can tell me again how I can remove the unsightly black marks from my roof easily. Answer: Fiberglass asphalt shingles these days have a limestone filler instead of the traditional rag filler, and the limestone promotes the growth of algae that shows up in horrible streaks on roof areas that don't get much sun. Have your roofer nail copper or zinc strips on the peaks above these areas, so rain running over the strips will kill the algae.

To Mayor Bill Pikolycky, Woodbine's old landfill has been a big headache. Closed for decades, the 45-acre property is covered with scruffy vegetation and needs an environmental cleanup that would cost the tiny Cape May County borough millions of dollars. The site began to look like an opportunity, however, after the mayor heard Andrew Greene's unusual proposal. Greene sees the landfill as a prime location for Garden State Ethanol, a $200 million biofuel plant that would use more than 100 bioreactor tanks to convert algae into ethanol and biodiesel oil. And Pikolycky sees the venture as a way to generate tax income and jobs and to have the site remediated at no expense to the borough.

Rena Ocone, of Wyndmoor, recently noticed a peculiar bouquet emanating from her tap water. The taste was something else. "I made a cup of tea, and it didn't taste like tea," she recalled yesterday. "I threw it out. " Her neighbor, Oscar Teller, knew what she was talking about. "I don't know how much dirt you've eaten in your life," he said, "but to me, it tastes like earth. " The persistent drought, which has been blamed for almost everything else, is also the culprit in this case, water company officials said yesterday.

From the Bahamas to Belize, many of the Caribbean's best-loved coral reefs have fallen victim for the first time to a mysterious, potentially deadly wave of coral bleaching. The phenomenon, unknown to science until the late 1960s, strips the electric-hued corals of their purples, reds and browns, leaving them a ghostly white and sometimes causing them to die. Though poorly understood, it has been linked to unusually high water temperatures and levels of ultraviolet radiation, prompting some to speculate that it is a sign of global warming.

Diehards who toughed it out at the Jersey Shore this summer must have felt a bit like Egypt's ol' Pharoah in the Book of Exodus. First the oil spill and those tar balls. Then the sodden blasts from Hurricane Bertha. Then the weeks of cool and rainy air. Then the prickly bites from swarms of no-see-ums. Then the thousands of pounds of stinky dead fish. What could possibly be next? How about some green slime in the water? No problem. There it was, tinting the waves and staining the sand at numerous beaches along the South Jersey coast this week.

Question: We moved into a home with 20-year-old sliding glass doors that were treated with what appears to be a thin plastic coating or plastic shield for sun glare. Is there any way to remove this coating? One slider has clouded over, and the coating has chipped and blistered in spots. It could be a broken seal, but the areas that have no coating are perfectly clear. Answer: The best solution I've read is from my buddies the Carey Bros. of San Francisco: Spray the coating with ammonia, cover it immediately with Saran Wrap, wait 45 minutes, and then scrape it off with a broad-blade putty knife.

Can you comment on reglazing the current tub or replacing it with a "walk-in tub"? Are these viable and durable options? I have definitely ruled out the overlay-type tubs that fit over the existing tub - I have been told there is a problem with mold. Fifty-four-inch tubs are uncomfortable for anyone taller than about 5 feet. That's why they don't make a lot of them these days. Now, as for your second question, which was posed by another reader as well: You can have the tub refinished; such companies are listed in the Yellow Pages.

Scientists say they have found a way to make pond scum power your car. It may take 20 years or more to perfect, but two teams of researchers said they had discovered how to alter the process of photosynthesis in common green algae to produce hydrogen, which can be used instead of petroleum-based fuels in cars and trucks. "What the pond scum can do may be driving our cars 20 to 50 years from now," said Michael Seibert, principal scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.

Question: We moved into a home with 20-year-old sliding glass doors that were treated with what appears to be a thin plastic coating or plastic shield for sun glare. Is there any way to remove this coating? One slider has clouded over, and the coating has chipped and blistered in spots. It could be a broken seal, but the areas that have no coating are perfectly clear. Answer: The best solution I've read is from my buddies the Carey Bros. of San Francisco: Spray the coating with ammonia, cover it immediately with Saran Wrap, wait 45 minutes, and then scrape it off with a broad-blade putty knife.

City bankruptcy challenge nixed SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The city of Stockton, Calif., can continue in bankruptcy after a federal judge Monday rejected legal challenges by Wall Street creditors. The ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein means that the city of more than 290,000 residents can continue to seek protection from its creditors as the largest city in America to declare bankruptcy. In his 90-minute "finding of facts," Klein portrayed Stockton has having negotiated in good faith with creditors that insured a city pension bond and issued bonds for a downtown redevelopment, including a sports arena.

Question: We have dark streaks on our roof that have appeared over the last couple of years. Shingles are cedar color.   Our home is a rancher with a hip roof and 4-inch pitch. Streaks are unsightly, and we don't know what procedure to follow to get rid of them. You may have addressed this issue previously. If so, I missed it. Don't know why because I read you faithfully.   Answer: I've been waiting for the return of this question since 2009.   The "stain" is, of course, black algae.

TRENTON - Environmental officials are tracking an unusually large algae bloom off the Jersey Shore. Officials say the bloom, which extends nearly 100 miles, is not expected to pose any danger to people or marine life. It is believed to be a naturally driven event, with the mass of microscopic plants growing on nutrients pulled up from deep waters by upwelling. The bloom is several miles offshore and runs along roughly two-thirds of the New Jersey coastline, from the southern end of Monmouth County to Cape May. - AP

Question: The roof on my split-level house is "stained," says e-mailer "Bob from the Suburbs. " Is it mold??My roof looks discolored and it looks like I'm ready for a new one. In my development, roofs facing the sun are in excellent condition. Roofs facing away from the sun also have that black stain, so it can't be just me. I'm afraid to put detergent on it after the Home Depot roofing manager said the store doesn't sell a product for this problem. Answer: I talked with Berwyn roofer Dennis Dunbar, owner of Dunbar Roofing & Siding, about the issue.

On his way in from the fields, a woman in a windbreaker stopped Tom Jarvis to inquire about the rabbits. His farm keeps four black-and-white floppy-eared rabbits in a hutch out back, and didn't Jarvis think, the woman asked hesitantly, that their algae-stained water bottles could do with a cleaning? "They're refilled every day, but we'll take a look," Jarvis replied. Once inside, he tugged on his baseball cap and shrugged. "Algae? What does she think's in the water they drink out of in the wild?"

To Mayor Bill Pikolycky, Woodbine's old landfill has been a big headache. Closed for decades, the 45-acre property is covered with scruffy vegetation and needs an environmental cleanup that would cost the tiny Cape May County borough millions of dollars. The site began to look like an opportunity, however, after the mayor heard Andrew Greene's unusual proposal. Greene sees the landfill as a prime location for Garden State Ethanol, a $200 million biofuel plant that would use more than 100 bioreactor tanks to convert algae into ethanol and biodiesel oil. And Pikolycky sees the venture as a way to generate tax income and jobs and to have the site remediated at no expense to the borough.

Question: Last year, you wrote about what to do about black marks on roofs. You said it was algae that built up from the product used in the shingles, and you gave a remedy for cleaning it off the shingles. Well, I cut your article out for a spring project and, yep, you guessed it, now that spring is here, I cannot find the article. I wonder if you can tell me again how I can remove the unsightly black marks from my roof easily. Answer: Fiberglass asphalt shingles these days have a limestone filler instead of the traditional rag filler, and the limestone promotes the growth of algae that shows up in horrible streaks on roof areas that don't get much sun. Have your roofer nail copper or zinc strips on the peaks above these areas, so rain running over the strips will kill the algae.

Can you comment on reglazing the current tub or replacing it with a "walk-in tub"? Are these viable and durable options? I have definitely ruled out the overlay-type tubs that fit over the existing tub - I have been told there is a problem with mold. Fifty-four-inch tubs are uncomfortable for anyone taller than about 5 feet. That's why they don't make a lot of them these days. Now, as for your second question, which was posed by another reader as well: You can have the tub refinished; such companies are listed in the Yellow Pages.

Follow New Jersey's lead New Jersey's abolition of the death penalty is both admirable and a sign of the times. Gov. Corzine signed the new law Monday. That should prompt other states to do away with this arbitrary and inhumane punishment. The death penalty is being phased out in practice, if not in law. There have been 42 executions nationwide this year (26 of them in Texas), down from a high of 98 in 1999. The number of people sentenced to death is declining, too, from a high of 317 in 1996 to 128 in 2005.