The
Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico
The
Problem: Every summer a Dead Zone (an area of critically low oxygen)
forms in the Gulf of Mexico, extending from the mouths of the Mississippi
and Atchafalaya rivers. Wile the size of
this area fluctuates annually, in 2006 it was 6,662 square miles-the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined!
The Dead Zone can stretch from the west coast of Mississippi
into Texas,
resulting in a huge area where most aquatic life must flee or die. So what
causes this dead zone? The Mississippi River drains 41% of the
conterminous United States,
and carries huge loads of Nitrogen and Phosphorus pollution that come
from various sources, including agricultural fields, urban areas, and sewage treatment facilities. When this pollution flows into the warm salty
water of the Gulf of Mexico, huge algae blooms
occur. When the algae dies, it sinks to the saltier water below and
decomposes, which uses up the already low oxygen-causing the Dead Zone.
Solution: The bottom line is that we have to reduce the Dead
Zone-causing pollution flowing down the Mississippi River, into the Gulf of Mexico. This must happen on multiple
fronts, including reducing the Nitrogen and Phosphorus-rich fertilizers that flow into rivers from agricultural fields, enforcing strict limits on sewage treatment
facilities and industrial sources, and restoring wetlands that can absorb and
utilize nutrients before they reach the Gulf.
Urgency: The Dead Zone has been occurring for many years, and yet
precious little has been done to prevent it. In 2001, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency produced and Action Plan to reduce the size of
the Dead Zone. To date, very few of the actions outlined in the plan have
taken place, or even been funded. This Dead Zone forms every year in a
region that should be teeming with juvenile shrimp, and other sea life.
As these marine organisms die or leave the area, once fertile fishing grounds
become voids, causing fishermen, shrimpers and wildlife to look
elsewhere.
Action: We must, at the very least, make sure that the Action Plan
is implemented. State governors and congress
delegations in the Gulf and throughout the Mississippi River basin
must be urged to fully support and fund the dead Zone Action Plan.
Additionally each state must be required to actively pursue aggressive nitrogen and phosphorous reduction strategies.
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