bump bio-dump hurts ocean
the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, a huge swath so depleted of oxygen that almost nothing can live there... now spans 14,600 square kilometers, or 1,460,000 hectares, a region larger than Connecticut. It is triggered every spring and summer when nutrient-rich water flows from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers into the Gulf of Mexico. The nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, come primarily from fertilizer washed off of farms throughout the Midwest. They trigger blooms of algae that then die and are eaten by bacteria. The bacteria use up most of the water's dissolved oxygen, killing fish, shrimp, crabs, and other organisms. The U.S. federal government and agencies from several states in the Mississippi River Basin have established efforts to reduce nutrient flows into the Gulf of Mexico in hopes of limiting the size of the dead zone to 500,000 hectares, about one-third of its current size. But in 2007, Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) that aims to reduce oil imports by backing the production of 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022. Of that, 15 billion gallons is slated to come from corn ethanol and the rest from cellulosic ethanol and other "advanced biofuels" that require less energy and fertilizer inputs.That's okay -- Congress will shut down agriculture in the United States, including organic farming, as part of the Obamanation's drive to push us into dependence on hostile foreign powers for our food supply. Thanks GeronL.