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A beach should be a place for good, clean fun, but when the NRDC tells me that pollution has forced over 20,000 beaches to close for the 4th consecutive year, I’m not so sure any more.  In a report released this week, the organization warned that disease-causing organisms associated with human and animal waste found in the oceans, bays and Great Lakes, are posing a major health risk to swimmers across the country.  According to Nancy Stoner of the NRDC:

Beachwater pollution can give swimmers the stomach flu, skin rashes, pinkeye, ear, nose and throat problems, dysentery, hepatitis, respiratory ailments, neurological disorders and other serious health problems. For senior citizens, small children, and people with weak immune systems, the results can be fatal.

And if that wasn’t enough to sour your summer plans, the report also suggests that conditions are likely to worsen in the coming years as heavy rains, flooding and increased air and water temperatures caused by climate change, speed up the water cycle and bring more contamination to the beach.

Now, don’t go ditching your stylish swim trunks and bikinis just yet; there are still plenty of clean beaches to enjoy.  There are also plenty of things that can be done to improve the situation down at our nation’s shorelines.  We can demand that federal, state, and local governments update and enforce better controls on stormwater and sewage treatment, as well as developing green systems that retain and filter rainwater, instead of letting it runoff into waterways.  Also, by passing the climate bill, currently in the Senate, we can help prepare coastal communities for flooding, rising sea levels and pollution associated with climate change. For more solutions check out Nancy Stoner’s post and the NRDC’s site.  In the meantime, keep an eye out for pollution advisories and check out the map below to see how your beach fared in the report.