Once again, the Dead Zone has reared its ugly head in the Gulf of Mexico. Last week, Dr. Nancy Rabalais from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMOCON) made her annual cruise to measure the Dead Zone and despite high seas caused by Tropical Storm Dolly, the Dead Zone measures about 8,000 square miles this year, which makes it the second largest ever recorded! In my time at GRN it has been frustrating to see so little done to fix this ecological nightmare. Think about it…we have an area in the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey where there is so little oxygen that shellfish and fish must swim away or suffocate. The Dead Zone is a national catastrophe that has been overlooked for decades and it is time for EPA to step up and bring the Gulf of Mexico back from the brink of ecological disaster. Recently GRN and conservation groups that border the Mississippi River petitioned EPA to take decisive action. Please join us in this call! It is important to let EPA know that the citizens of the Gulf and the United States want EPA to utilize its authority to make sure that the Dead Zone does not continue to grow. Please take a moment to send a letter to EPA to tell them to clean up the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico!Matt Rota Water Resources Program DirectorFor more information on what the Dead Zone is and what causes it, visit our website
