As South Florida cities wait to see whether red tide has invaded their waters, Gov. Rick Scott and state officials attempted to diminish any potential human responsibility for the enormous bloom that has devastated Gulf coast marine life, referring to it as “naturally occurring.”
The toxic algae that drove away swimmers — coughing and sneezing — and littered west coast beaches with dead fish made a rare appearance on Florida’s southeast coast this week, leading to beach closures in some areas.