Fertilizers Cause Dead Zone In Gulf Of Mexico

"Every year, excess fertilizers and animal manure flow down the Mississippi River and empties into the Gulf of Mexico, leaving an increasingly large swath of the gulf completely lifeless.

The Gulf's "Dead Zone," as it's commonly known, is largely the result of excess fertilizer use; as the NOAA website on the gulf hypoxic zone puts it, "Nutrient over-enrichment from anthropogenic sources is one of the major stresses impacting coastal ecosystems." When too much fertilizer and animal waste flow off of farm and ranch lands, it adds too much nitrogen and phosphorus to the water, which depletes oxygen, results in algae blooms, and drives off fish, shrimp and other aquatic life.

In addition to killing off massive amounts of sea life, the Gulf's dead zone has crippled fishing industries for long stretches of the summer in Louisiana and eastern Texas. Last year, the NOAA predicted the largest-ever dead zone, at 8,800 square miles about the size of New Jersey."

ORIGINAL SOURCE: GreenBiz.com