The scourge of the oceans has returned from the dead and shows no mercy. With all the pollution caused by human life, the water becomes contaminated, leading to an increase in the population of certain substances and making everyone who comes in contact with the toxic substance sick. Imagine yourself doing your job when you come into contact with toxic elements also known as Lyngbya majuscula, or fireweed. Your skin develops blisters and welts and no matter how hard you try, it doesn't stop, nor does the burning sensation that accompanies it. You'll shake your fishnets making it hard to breathe as the substance fills the air and closes your throat. Well, that's what's happening to the fishermen of Morenton Bay, Australia. And to make matters worse, fireweed can spread enough to fill an entire football field in an hour. Make it fast and deadly. Not only does this harm humans, but it also causes some species in the ocean to fight for their lives. More advanced species such as fish, corals and marine mammals are slowly dying off while more primitive species such as jellyfish, algae and bacteria are growing at an unprecedented rate that is baffling scientists. Such patterns were discovered hundreds of millions of years ago. It's as if the pattern of evolution is reversing and things aren't looking as good for the more advanced species. When a sample reached scientist Judith O'Neil, she realized the item was a strand of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are a modern ancestor of bacteria and algae that flourished 2.7 billion years ago (Weiss). An accumulation of environmental pressures made the oceans more hospitable to primitive organisms and changed the basic chemistry of the ocean. Industries overdose on...... middle of paper ......ied in the ballast water of a US East Coast ship that collected water saturated with agricultural runoff. Free of predators, the jellies gorge themselves on plankton and fish larvae, depleting the fisheries on which the Russian and Turkish fleets depend. The plague only disappeared with the accidental importation of another predatory jellyfish that ate comb jellies. Industries not only pollute our air, but also set back the evolution of the oceans. Lyngbya majuscula has been around for three billion years, so with all these survival tricks, it can be difficult to stop. But just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Industries must limit the amount of carbon, iron, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and phosphorus they release into the environment so our oceans can stop living in the past and look towards the future. 'future..