For over 20 years, scientists have documented the appearance of a summertime "Dead Zone" that all but obliterates marine life in what is arguably the nation's most important fishery, the Gulf of Mexico. Each year the Dead Zone grows to an area that is roughly the size of New Jersey - ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 square miles. The main culprit: an annual flood of wasted fertilizer from heavily farmed land, running off into rivers and finally into the Gulf, where it feeds the development of massive algae blooms. The algae then die and decompose, robbing the water of oxygen and suffocating all life that cannot leave the area.
Featured Press:
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Small percentage of rural counties contribute to fertilizer pollution
Chicago Tribune | April 10, 2006
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The 'Dead Zone': You're Paying for It in More Ways Than One
Huffington Post | April 18, 2006
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Dead zone linked to farm subsidies
New Orleans Times-Picayune | April 17, 2006
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Farm Subsidies Lead to Ocean Pollution, Researchers Say
New Standard | April 12, 2006
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Report: Fertilizer is killing Gulf fish
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | April 11, 2006
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New EWG Analysis Says Nitrogen Pollution a Fixable Problem
Farm Futures | April 10, 2006
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Some Coastal Woes Begin Far Inland
Christian Science Monitor | June 24, 2008
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Fertilizer runoff creates 'Dead Zone' in Gulf
St. Louis Post-Dispatch | June 15, 2007
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With Water in Mind
Minneapolis Star Tribune | September 19, 2006
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The Dead Zone
Aberdeen American (SD) | August 25, 2006
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Time to help the 'dead zone'
Peoria Journal Star | June 26, 2006
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Report highlights reasons
Minnesota Pilot-Independent | June 20, 2006
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More than half of US streams polluted: EPA
Reuters | May 5, 2006
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First shot in the 2007 farm bill debate?
Delta Farm Press | May 5, 2006
