APRIL 13, 2006
"The
spread of oxygen starved 'dead zones' in the oceans, a graveyard for fish and plant life, is emerging as a threat to the health of the planet." Nice story to read in the morning paper while sipping one's
café latte at the local coffee shop; especially if you live in the coastal regions of the world; or more specifically, the south coast of Texas and Louisiana, and the panhandle of Florida in the United States.
When I first heard the term dead zone I was confused. How can a portion of the ocean be dead? Does not the ocean have enough regenerative capacity to off set the pollution we pour into it on a daily basis? Apparently not!
The Gulf of Mexico is a huge body of water, yet an area the size of New Jersey is considered dead. This is a difficult concept to comprehend. This means that marine life can not breathe because the oxygen has disappeared. I am not a scientist, but I assume that something humankind has done has contributed to this problem, perhaps even caused it.
I have heard of red tide and watched the news several years ago when a red tide shut down a portion of the fishing industry in the Mediterranean Sea, but is this what they say is a dead zone? In part yes, because algae blooms or red tides rob the oxygen from the rest of the inhabitants of that particular part of the ocean. In addition, there is widespread concern over the continual leaching of agricultural pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers leaching into the water systems of the world.
A farmer in Iowa may over-nitrify his farmland near the Mississippi River and that nitrogen run-off may migrate all the way down the Mississippi to the Gulf of New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico. If enough agricultural run-of flows over time down the grand rivers of America then we will continue to see bigger and bigger dead zones in the oceans of the world.
I am partial to live zones, not dead zones. I like forests teeming with critters and creatures. I like rivers with trout and crayfish. I love oceans with leatherback turtles and right whales. I do not like dead zones, yet now Mexico is worried about the Gulf of California and China is worried about the China Sea - why, because both are exhibiting signs of dying from run-off.
We will either legislate the elimination of chemical fertilization or we will pollute the planet's bodies of water to death. The choice is our leaders.
--Peter