Three articles highlight an immense problem...

From Al Jazeera: inlandnewstoday.com

The Mississippi River helped build the United States. It made possible the giant agricultural expansion of the 19th century. It is still a crucial artery of industry.

Only from above do you get an impression of the scale of man’s impact. Less than 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, huge plants flank the banks. There are vast chemical, gas and steel works, all making use of Mississippi water.

The river also drains 40% of the US and the run-off from farmers’ fields has taken it toll. Pesticides, herbicides and general agricultural run-off flows in to the Mississippi.

This perilous cocktail ends up in the Gulf of Mexico and has created a Dead Zone, nearly 5,000 square miles of water, where NOTHING lives.

“This is a huge tract of sea which has been totally de-oxygenated, absolutely nothing can survive,” said Marine Biologist Professor Ivor Van Heerden.

While many farmers are reluctant to change their methods, there are those who want to be part of the solution, not the problem.

Cancer Ally

Downstream another problem. Between Baton Rouge and New Orleans lies a stretch of river some call Cancer Ally.

More than one hundred industrial plants flank mainly poor or minority neighborhoods. Residents say cancer rates in the area are above average.

Companies say their operations ARE clean and safe. They say cancer rates are no higher than the national average when you take into account the way people lead their lives and factor in habits like smoking.

Loud-speakers have also been installed in the street to warn residents of dangerous emissions. Every now and then locals are warned to stay indoors and turn off their air conditioners to avoid noxious fumes. (Source: Aljazeera)
Story Date: November 2, 2009

From TriParishTimes.com:
LUMCON, others getting $12M for dead zone research


COCODRIE, La. (AP) - Researchers in Louisiana and other states are getting more than $2.4 million this year to study the annual dead zone of oxygen-starved waters in the Gulf of Mexico, with up to $12 million planned over five years.

A team of scientists from the LUMCON marine-research center in Cocodrie and the University of Michigan are to get $766,600 this year and $4 million over the entire period to create computer models that can forecast the size and location of the ``hypoxic'' area.

Other teams will study the dead zone's effects on important Gulf fish populations including shrimp, Atlantic croaker, Gulf menhaden, bay anchovy, Atlantic bumper and Spanish bumper.

Oxygen becomes depleted in the summer, when there is too little wind to mix lighter fresh water carrying pollution and farm fertilizer from the Mississippi River into the heavier salt water.

Fed by nutrients from the Mississippi, algae and plankton spread, then die and decompose at the bottom. That decomposition uses up the oxygen. Any animals that cannot move out of the dead zone will die.

That can force shrimpers to travel farther into the Gulf to find their catches, wasting time and fuel, said Nancy Rabalais, director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and a top dead-zone researcher.

NOAA estimates that the Gulf dead zone threatens commercial and recreational fisheries that generate about $2.8 billion annually.

This year's 3,000-square-mile dead zone was smaller but more concentrated than in past years _ oxygen levels were lower, and hypoxic water was closer to the surface.

``We have sufficient scientific understanding to take action now to address the dead-zone problem in the northern Gulf of Mexico,'' said Robert Magnien, director of NOAA's Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research. More knowledge has raised more questions, which these projects will work to answer, he said.
Latest update: Nov 02, 2009 - 01:50:24 pm PST

From Physorg.com:

Expert to discuss phosphorus' impact on Gulf 'dead zone'
October 28th, 2009

Phosphorus is an essential element in production agriculture, however fertilizer runoff and wastewater discharge have led to massive eutrophication problems in water bodies worldwide.

Many researchers believe such contamination is at least partly responsible for offshore "dead zones," such as the expansive area found in the Gulf of Mexico. While wetlands often act as filtering or storage systems for nutrients, protecting our landscape from contamination, researchers still do not fully understand the complex relationships between phosphorus and wetland ecosystems.

Dr. Curtis Richardson, an internationally acclaimed ecologist and wetland soil scientist at Duke University, will share his perspectives on current phosphorus research as part of the William H. Patrick Jr. Memorial Lectureship at the 2009 Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) in Pittsburgh, PA.

Richardson's lecture, "Phosphorus Biogeochemistry and Wetland Function: The State of Our Understanding," will translate phosphorus biogeochemistry research into realistic management techniques to improve wetland ecosystems while sustaining ecological functions of the landscape. It will be held Tuesday Nov. 3, from 9:55 to 11:00 am in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Room 321.

The presentation will focus on questions surrounding phosphorus cycling and limitations, as well as the role of phosphorus in wetland functioning and landscapes. Through a comparative analysis of new studies and research, Richardson will address these and other issues, providing a modern analysis of the importance of phosphorus to our wetland world.

Richardson is the director of the Duke University Wetland Center and a professor of resource ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment. He also serves as a scientific advisor to a USAID-sponsored project to restore the marshlands in southern Iraq. His research has focused on long-term ecosystem responses to large-scale perturbations such as nutrient additions, hydrologic alterations and trace metal effects in such areas as the marshes of Iraq and the Florida Everglades.

A new USDA program highlights the need for increased conservation practices. Called the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative, it provides a $320 million investment over four years to support programs in 12 states to help farmers voluntarily implement conservation practices which avoid, control, and trap nutrient runoff, improve wildlife habitat, and maintain agricultural productivity. In addition, agricultural researchers are developing sustainable conservation practices to decrease soil erosion and nutrient runoff.

Source: American Society of Agronomy

quote:

Originally posted by billbright:

There is a gentlemen nicknamed the King of Simple that has spelled it out very nicely and simply.

Compounding interest is a physical impossibility in a finite system. Social science will attempt to invent means to circumvent hard science but it is all smoke and mirrors.

Perpetual growth is required to sustain compound interest and is the very basis of our economy and our society. We have stumbled upon hiccups and even walls to this system a number of times. Sometimes they are called recessions and other times depressions. But there was always some sort of technological break through and mass die off/destruction (aka war) to lay the ground work for a new growth.

But today we are beginning to reap the results of perpetual growth. Disappearing natural resources, water principally, the destruction of ecosystems, global warming. It appears our growth has pushed the boundaries of our technological capabilities. Will there be another break through that allows us to push further or will things simply get much worse? At what point does it come crashing down around our heads? At what point do we ask the question about our technology and its ability to support ever increasing human populations vs the effects it has on the system we all live in?

There is a saying. Once you realize you are in over your head stop digging. Well it is becoming obvious that the digging will continue. Everything in our society depends on growth to exist.

HUH?

Hey Bill,
Another problem in corelation with the Gulf Dead Zone is "Red Tide".

Red tide lingering off Texas coast........

BROWNSVILLE — State parks officials on Wednesday were continuing to monitor “red tide” blooms along the state's southern coast, a month after the algae that causes it began killing fish and causing breathing problems.

Willy Cupit, a coastal ecologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Coastal Fisheries, said biologists flying overhead Tuesday saw streaks of red from about 10 miles south of Port Mansfield to Brazos Santiago Pass at South Padre Island.

Aerosol emitted from Karenia brevis, the single-celled organism that causes red tide, was particularly strong Tuesday but had lessened, he said.

“This morning it looked like it dissipated pretty good,” he said. “It's just unpredictable.”

Don Hockaday of the University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies Lab, said water samples showed varying concentrations of the organism.

“It's highly discontinuous,” he said. “From the sky you can see distinct clear streaks and clouds. If we take a sample and get 100 (cells per milliliter) we could walk two yards and get a thousand.”

Kerenia brevis is always present in the Gulf of Mexico but for unknown reasons tends to bloom in the fall. South Padre had its last major outbreak in October 2006.

Cupit said reports of fish dying in the blooms seemed to have peaked in mid-October.

Beachgoers with asthma or other respiratory conditions can have trouble breathing; others may find themselves coughing, sneezing, or experiencing watery eyes.

Winter's cold fronts and cooler water temperatures tend to break up the tides, Cupit said.

Find this article at:
*http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/69162427.html*

Just the other day, our local news showed pics of thousands of dead fish and other marine life washed ashore and piled up along the coast line for miles.

I remember a long time ago going to the beach and itching from the water. Later found out it was from "Red Tide". You can't see it or smell it. You don't know it's there until the dead fish start to wash ashore, which in our case was days later. We heard about it on the news.

Now they monitor and put out "Red Tide" warnings. "THANK YOU"!!!! Much appreciated....

How can farmers in the Mississippi catchment area afford to lose that much spray and fertilizer to run off? Nitrogen costs are creeping up all the time as are pesticides and every bit that ends up in the sea is money quite literally down the drain, regardless of the environmental consequences.

quote:

Originally posted by Bladensburg:
How can farmers in the Mississippi catchment area afford to lose that much spray and fertilizer to run off? Nitrogen costs are creeping up all the time as are pesticides and every bit that ends up in the sea is money quite literally down the drain, regardless of the environmental consequences.

I suspect it's a bit like the price of gasoline.

I use several tons of 19-19-19 each season restoring slopes on airport and highway construction projects. Four years ago, we paid about 375 a ton for that particular mix...about a dollar a pound for the nitrogen component. Last year that tripled to
EDIT:>>>1200 a lb ton--more than 3 bucks a pound for the nitrogen. Two weeks ago it was 575 a ton again.

Maybe the nitrogen just isn't expensive enough to deter the methods of farming causing the problem...

Maybe those particular farmers aren't big fans of the science that says there must be a better way.

Maybe Con-Agra and Archer Daniels Midland hold enough sway to say that addressing the problem would drive up food costs and starve poor people...cost of doing business and all that.

Maybe if it doesn't affect the oil found beneath, then it just doesn't matter.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Yooper_tj,

quote:

Last year that tripled to 1200 a lb--more than 3 bucks a pound for the nitrogen. Two weeks ago it was 575 a ton again.

I suspect you meant $1,200.00 per ton here, right?

quote:

Originally posted by KJ1110:

quote:

Last year that tripled to 1200 a lb--more than 3 bucks a pound for the nitrogen. Two weeks ago it was 575 a ton again.

I suspect you meant $1,200.00 per ton here, right?

Right you are...or considering that I'm responding to Bladensburg's post, perhaps it should be tonne.

Thanks--fixed it.

quote:

Originally posted by Yooper_tj:

quote:

Originally posted by KJ1110:

quote:

Last year that tripled to 1200 a lb--more than 3 bucks a pound for the nitrogen. Two weeks ago it was 575 a ton again.

I suspect you meant $1,200.00 per ton here, right?

Right you are...or considering that I'm responding to Bladensburg's post, perhaps it should be tonne.

Thanks--fixed it.

Wouldn't that then infer a "long tonne?"

quote:

Originally posted by Yooper_tj:

quote:

Originally posted by KJ1110:

quote:

Last year that tripled to 1200 a lb--more than 3 bucks a pound for the nitrogen. Two weeks ago it was 575 a ton again.

I suspect you meant $1,200.00 per ton here, right?

Right you are...or considering that I'm responding to Bladensburg's post, perhaps it should be tonne.

Thanks--fixed it.

Not much difference really between a 20 cwt ton and a 1000kg tonne - 25kg is just shy of a half-hundredweight (55.1lbs in fact) so the difference is that metric is about 36lbs less than imperial.
£800/t for 19-19-19 is a bit steep though, we were whingeing when ammonium nitrate first climbed past £200/t and when it got to £350 I swear some people fainted when the bill arrived. 17-17-17 got past £600 and went out of production.

The thing is in the US with vast acreages I'd have thought that investing in the latest spreader technology would pay for itself fairly quickly, certainly investing in a GPS controlled spreader over here pays for itself in a couple of years if you've got the area to justify the initial investment (one chap claims to have saved £15,000 in a season on about 1000ha).

quote:

Originally posted by peaceforall:
Hey Bill,
Another problem in corelation with the Gulf Dead Zone is “Red Tide”.

Red tide lingering off Texas coast........

Just the other day, our local news showed pics of thousands of dead fish and other marine life washed ashore and piled up along the coast line for miles.

I remember a long time ago going to the beach and itching from the water. Later found out it was from “Red Tide”. You can’t see it or smell it. You don’t know it’s there until the dead fish start to wash ashore, which in our case was days later. We heard about it on the news.

Now they monitor and put out “Red Tide” warnings. “THANK YOU”!!!! Much appreciated....

So it’s not really the fertilizers and petroleum and various & sundry other chemicals that are mucking up the Gulf, it’s all the dead fish!

quote:

Originally posted by DaleU:
So it’s not really the fertilizers and petroleum and various & sundry other chemicals that are mucking up the Gulf, it’s all the dead fish!

It's a little of all mixed together but it's not nasty like that all the time. The fish get dozed up and hauled away. Don't ask me where to because I have no idea.

We are allowed to drive on our beaches and one year the dead hard head catfish were so bad that a lot of people were getting flat tires from running over them.

Other times our beaches are just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by peaceforall:

quote:

Originally posted by DaleU:
So it’s not really the fertilizers and petroleum and various & sundry other chemicals that are mucking up the Gulf, it’s all the dead fish!

It's a little of all mixed together but it's not nasty like that all the time. The fish get dozed up and hauled away. Don't ask me where to because I have no idea.

Probably to go into Fish and Bone-meal fertilizer... Who says America doesn't do irony.