In 1974, John R. Vallentyne predicted that by the year 2000 we would be living in an environmental disaster he called the Algal Bowl. Just as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s was created by misusing western farmland, he forecast that the continuing miuse of lakes could only lead to water degradation. In the first edition of The Algal Bowl: Lakes and Man, he explained how the biology of lakes is changed by an overload of nutrients - a process known as eutrophication. Vallentyne demonstrated that human activity was the primary cause of eutrophicationand therefore responsible for the explosive growth of algae. His efforts helped move policy makers in North America to action regarding the dangers of phosphates in fresh water. Witnessing the escalation of eutrophication, Vallentyne invited his colleague, David W. Schindler, to substantially revise this groundbreaking book. Along with updates to the scientific data, Schindler added five chapters of new research, including the effect of
