Editor’s note: Over the weekend, officials in Toledo, Ohio, warned 400,000 residents not to drink their tap water after dangerous levels of a toxin called microcystin were detected—possibly the result of an algae bloom in Lake Erie. (Officials lifted the restrictions on Monday.) As this comic from Years of Living Dangerously and Symbolia Magazine explains, agricultural practices and climate change are helping turn algae into a growing threat in the region.

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Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

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Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

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You can read more comics exploring the impacts of climate change here.

This story was produced as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.