Nemesis catching up fast with energy hungry developed world. Vast stretches of sea where nothing grows, the dead zone, as it is called.
The nitrogen run off from the Corn Belt states in US is rendering Gulf of Mexico increasingly sterile, meaning an area so oxygen-depleted that no marine organism will grow there. Fish, crabs, shrimp, all suffocate, forcing fishermen to go further and farther out into the sea.
Corn, promoted as an alternative fuel, is grown in a big way in those regions. Because of rising demand for ethanol, American farmers are growing more corn than at any time since the Depression, news agency AP reports.
Corn is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And the nitrogen that runs off the fields in Corn Belt states, it makes its way to the Mississippi River and eventually pours into the Gulf.
The dead zone was discovered in 1985 and has grown fairly steadily since then. For decades, fertilizer has been considered the prime cause of the lifeless spot.
With demand for corn booming, some researchers fear the dead zone will expand rapidly, with devastating consequences.
"We might be coming close to a tipping point," said Matt Rota, director of the water resources program for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, an environmental group. "The ecosystem might change or collapse as opposed to being just impacted."
Environmentalists had hoped to cut nitrogen runoff by encouraging farmers to apply less fertilizer and establish buffers along waterways. But the demand for the corn-based fuel additive ethanol has driven up the price for the crop, which is selling for about $4 per bushel, up from a little more than $2 in 2002.
I was, however, distracted with your inline advertising [in my post I only use those hyperlinks to definitions, often Wikipedia, for more information.
Although I usually post environmental issues to my website Immaculate Earth©, and will add this post, next week. URL: http://www.immaculateearth.com/
And, there is a lack of references or links to citations (the sources for your research; what is 'Source-Medindia'GPL/P?] I did a little digging, and did find a URL: http://www.medindia.net/ - the homepage for "Asia’s premier health portal" ?? - but I could not locate the specific article.