2013 Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico may be Largest Ever

I heard this on the weather channel last night. It seems our assault on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem is probably going to ramp up another notch...

Scientists from the University of Michigan report that the oxygen-deprived zone in the GOM could become as large as the state of New Jersey, this summer.

Due to the large rainfall totals this spring in the Midwest, copious amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff will fuel algae blooms. When these algae die and sink to the bottom, they are decomposed by oxygen consuming bacteria, resulting in low-oxygen (hypoxic) and no-oxygen (anoxic) regions. This in-turn will kill bottom dwelling organisms, such as clams and shrimp.

Here is a map showing the areas of the gulf affected.


The commercial fisheries of the region were worth over $620 billion dollars in 2009, according to this TIME article.

And this is just the Gulf of Mexico. The Chesapeake Bay also suffers algae blooms and dead zones.

As a nation, we all need to limit our use of fertilizers, and animal ranchers have got to keep their effluent out of our waterways. Grow more soybeans, which don't require additional fertilization, and can be used to make ethanol and fiberboard, not to mention high-protein foods.

Words cannot express how bad I feel.

Originally posted by rickymouse

Words cannot express how bad I feel.

Simple solution?
Shred steel scrap into coarse steel wool......
dump boatloads of it in the affected area.....problem solved.
You are welcome.......................s

reply to post by Olivine


Seems the BP catastrophe wasn't enough, we have to do more damage to the GOM. Humanity just won't be satisfied until we kill every last living thing on this earth, for profit, of course.

So very, very sad.

I see a business opportunity here....Let's cultivate the algea and make fuel from it....Hummmm....

2nd.

I agree that this is a solvable problem.

My solution would entail somehow breaking up the large swaths of commericial agriculture in this country, and returning to a land filled with hundreds of 1000's of small farms. Farms that rotated crops, grow green cover that gets tilled back into the soil, crops planted from non-GMO seed, and many diverse plantings over the acres, instead of monocultures.

We would be improving the soil, using less fertilizer, preventing dust bowl scenarios and keeping tons of nutrients out of the waterways, while providing honest work for millions of people.
I think it is possible to own a smartphone and still have dirt under one's fingernails.

Another way Monsanto has used their agenda to poison the land to branch into the waters.

Originally posted by chadderson
Another way Monsanto has used their agenda to poison the land to branch into the waters.

you do know tht monsanto a jewish firm bans gmo food in its canteens and its banned as not kosher in isrehell ??

strange the way some people trade shares before bad things happen like they have some majik power ?? .

president / furher obama is one of those ??

reply to post by Olivine


Quit being so sensible. That kind of practice will never be allowed in America, Big Business will never allow small businesses to flourish. The American dream has crumbled. We are supposed to be slaves of big business, we are not allowed to have them just help us to make it on our own. The companies supplying the chemistry and their salesmen are to blame. We have toppled the Alchemists more than one time in history for their practices.

I remember my days at Keesler some good years back where motels were just dumping their wastes right into the gulf, saw the hoses and everything, just gross. Then they tried cleaning up their act, but then human nature always seems to make a triumphant comeback.

I read your statement about dead spots...and I raise you this....


www.foodsafetynews.com...


Is it just algae blooms? or is it something more sinister....well as far as sinister microbial lifeforms go.

Originally posted by Olivine

and animal ranchers have got to keep their effluent out of our waterways. Grow more soybeans, which don't require additional fertilization, and can be used to make ethanol and fiberboard, not to mention high-protein foods.

edit on 6/27/2013 by Olivine because: (no reason given)

OMG, my first inclination was to laugh at this statement. My second was to call you an ignorant city dweller. My third is to calm down and exercise patience and understanding because not everyone works in the cattle industry, and I have read your posts on geological matters and I sincerely respect you. Sooooo. I will go with the later inclination in the hopes of educating you and others and hope I don't come off sounding snarky. That is not my intent.

Did you know the estimated population of bison in 1640 was 60 million?
Source.
And did you know according to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated population of cattle in the Midwest is about 52 million.
Source (It's a PDF that includes coastal regions so don't look at the 92 million total.)
So don't you think cow doo-doo going down the drain-O has been going on in the Panhandle for awhile? You are inferring we need to stop the cow poop from flowing into waterways, aren't you? Or am I an ignorant country dweller?

Pam

reply to post by Olivine


All of that red is just the stank.

Concentrating the chemistry is what can cause things like this to happen. It isn't the number of animals. If the cows were peeing in the woods, the trees would be more fire resistant, but that is not the case in todays world, they are all crowded together in big stock yards. If we didn't have all the unnecessary unnatural chemicals in our sewers, there would not be so much of a problem. If we didn't create all the toxic stuff we put into dumps, it would not be much of a problem. If we didn't need to take so many meds because our diet and foods have changed, they wouldn't be peed out and find their way to the oceans. If the meat processing plants weren't so huge, their ammonia excretions would be far less harmful to the environment. Small local meat processors are far better.

Big as New Jersey? Oh My God! Whatever will we do?

There's a parking lot in Dallas bigger than New Jersey!

Originally posted by elfrog
Big as New Jersey? Oh My God! Whatever will we do?

There's a parking lot in Dallas bigger than New Jersey!

how many boy racers does that hold xxxx me that is what you call a parking lot .

america does not do things by half eh

Shrimping business might take another hit. As if BP's oil spill wasn't enough.

reply to post by PamelaBritton2U


Hi, and thanks for not laughing at me or calling me an ignorant city dweller--I'm neither.

As rickymouse noted above, it is the concentration of the animals in 'factory farm' settings that is the largest problem when it comes to animal production.

Your statistics on bison vs. today's cattle production was valuable. Thanks.

Unfortunately, the problem isn't just cattle; both swine and poultry production are the largest pollution producers. This link from the EPA has good info on the amounts of oxygen-depleting substances, metals, pathogens and siltation that is caused by these industries.

In 2007, the United States raised 67.8 million hogs--they aren't native to North America. At 1.5 tons of waste generated per swine, that is a massive amount of poo to keep out our waterways.

According to the above article 59 % of our rivers, 31% of the lakes, and 15% of estuaries have been impaired by agricultural pollution.
We can figure this out and reverse the trend.


reply to post by lonewolf19792000

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
Shrimping business might take another hit. As if BP's oil spill wasn't enough.

If this algae bloom and dead zone is as large as expected, it sure might. Sad.