April 7, 1997: & the Waters Turned to Blood - Rodney Barker
The Art Bell Archive · Arthur William Bell III
September 9, 20231h 52m
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Show Notes
Investigative author Rodney Barker joins Art Bell to discuss his alarming book about Pfiesteria piscicida, a shape-shifting microorganism discovered in the coastal waters of North Carolina that has killed tens of millions of fish and poses a growing threat to human health. Barker details how aquatic botanist Dr. JoAnn Burkholder identified this ancient organism, dormant for possibly millions of years in river sediment, now activated by agricultural runoff and industrial pollution.
The organism releases a powerful neurotoxin that becomes airborne, causing open sores, cognitive impairment, immune suppression, and memory loss in exposed humans. In laboratory experiments, it was observed swarming around human blood cells and consuming their contents. Barker reveals that 110 North Carolina physicians wrote to Vice President Gore pleading for federal intervention, while state bureaucrats continued to downplay the crisis to protect the tourism and fishing industries.
Callers from North Carolina and surrounding states confirm encounters with mysterious fish kills, unexplained illness, and official silence. Art Bell connects the ecological disaster to the broader theme of environmental reckoning explored in his own book, The Quickening, painting a picture of a coastline in quiet crisis.
The organism releases a powerful neurotoxin that becomes airborne, causing open sores, cognitive impairment, immune suppression, and memory loss in exposed humans. In laboratory experiments, it was observed swarming around human blood cells and consuming their contents. Barker reveals that 110 North Carolina physicians wrote to Vice President Gore pleading for federal intervention, while state bureaucrats continued to downplay the crisis to protect the tourism and fishing industries.
Callers from North Carolina and surrounding states confirm encounters with mysterious fish kills, unexplained illness, and official silence. Art Bell connects the ecological disaster to the broader theme of environmental reckoning explored in his own book, The Quickening, painting a picture of a coastline in quiet crisis.