Nitrogen pollution creates 'junk food' algae

Airborne nitrogen pollution from vehicle exhaust and farm fertilizer is turning algae in the alpine lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park into junk food for fish, a study says.

ASU professor James Elser, the study’s lead author, says the effect of airborne nitrogen on once-pristine lakes is greater than previously believed. Elser likens the algae to junk food.

“It’s like eating marshmallows all day and expecting to grow. You can’t do it,” Elser says.