June weather brings gunkier water
As reported by WMUR in a June 4 online article, several blooms of cyanobacteria have already been reported in New Hampshire lakes. The blooms are colonies of “blueish-green algae that lives in nutrient-rich water,” the WMUR article said. “It’s often bright green, foamy and really smelly. Cyanobacteria blooms tend to spread in freshwater bodies across New Hampshire during the warmer months, when there is a lot of phosphorus in the water.” Swimming in bloom-infested water is not advised and could result in a sore throat, abdominal pain or liver damage, the report said.
QOL score: -1
Comment: For a list of places where bacterial blooms have been reported recently, visit des.nh.gov/water/healthy-swimming/harmful-algal-blooms.
Some seriously ticked-off moose
NHPR reported in a June 8 online article, an upcoming study might provide some relief for the state’s moose population. “In fall,” NHPR reported, “hordes of winter ticks latch on to New Hampshire’s moose — sometimes upward of 50,000 per adult animal. Over the course of the winter, the ticks drink their fill of blood, weakening adult moose and sometimes killing calves.” A study underway by New Hampshire Fish and Game and the UNH this summer will collar moose to track their movements and test the viability of spreading their population over larger areas and reducing tick parasitism.
QOL score: +1
Comment: Because moose love to browse on young trees where logging has taken place, data from this study might lead to changes in how timber might be harvested in New Hampshire in the future, the report said. Visit colsa.unh.edu/resource/estimating-monitoring-moose-density-abundance.
This year’s top teacher
A Pinkerton Academy math teacher has been named New Hampshire’s Teacher of the Year. “Christa Powers, a math teacher at Pinkerton Academy, was named New Hampshire’s 2027 Teacher of the Year during a surprise celebration,” the New Hampshire Department of Education announced in a June 10 press release.” Powers was chosen for her creative methods of teaching math and her leadership within the school.” Her colleagues praised her dedication to her students and her passion for math, as well as her track record of mentoring new teachers.
QOL score: +1
Comment: According to a Dept. of Education webpage, “The purpose of the [Teacher of the Year] program is to select a teacher who is capable of speaking for and energizing the teaching profession and representing the positive contributions of all teachers statewide.” Visit education.nh.gov/who-we-are/commissioner/recognition-and-awards-programs/teacher-year.
Bad beer news for Granite Staters in 2045
A study from predictionist.com — a news website focused on prediction markets — reported that the average price for a case of beer might reach $38 in 2045, almost twice what it is now. The current average price is $18.54, a June 11 press release from the website stated. “The squeeze is coming from every direction: brewers paying more for aluminum, grain and shipping, plus fresh tariffs on imported materials. It all rolls down to the price at the register, and the reliably cheap case is slowly slipping away.”
QOL score: -1
Comment: That projected price will actually be fairly modest, predictionist.com reported. “The standouts are clear. Alaska is on course to blow past $69 a case, with Wyoming close behind near $59, while Illinois, South Carolina and New York stay cheapest at about $34.New Hampshire looks comparatively protected in that spread,”
QOL score last week: 48
Net change: 0
QOL this week: 48
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