Discovery.com has a disturbing report on the expansion of dead zones in the world’s oceans.I’ve been concerned about the Gulf Dead Zone for years, especially this year, when so much farm land around the Mississippi River and other rivers were inundated. All that pollution, fertilizer, and more is not a good thing to wash into our estuaries and oceans.
Are we going to have to show our grandchildren pictures of corals, fish and crustaceans? Are we going to have to try to describe the taste of fresh Gulf shrimp, because they won’t have any to taste themselves?
We all need to work on this problem. From the Montana State University page on the dead zone:
The key to minimizing the Gulf dead zone is to address it at the source. Solutions include:
- Using fewer fertilizers and adjusting the timing of fertilizer applications to limit runoff of excess nutrients from farmland. (Note from Libbi: This includes using only time-release fertilizer in your yard and garden. Then nutrients are released bit by bit and only when it rains, not washed into the gutter.)
- Control of animal wastes so that they are not allowed to enter into waterways
- Monitoring of septic systems and sewage treatment facilities to reduce discharge of nutrients to surface water and groundwater
- Careful industrial practices such as limiting the discharge of nutrients, organic matter, and chemicals from manufacturing facilities
These solutions are relatively simple to implement and would significantly reduce the input of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Gulf of Mexico. A similar approach has been used successfully in the Great Lakes’ recovery from eutrophication. The government is also funding efforts to restore wetlands along the Gulf coast to naturally filter the water before it enters the Gulf.