Gulf Dead Zone Now the Size of New Jersey

gettinwet

Almost 9K square miles. Naw, we don't have any impact on the environment......


http://www.yahoo.com/tv/gulf-mexico-apos-apos-dead-182100555.html

Grady-lady

Here's an idea - let's plant more corn and fuel our cars with it.

[email protected] Special

Good comparison since New Jersey is more or less a dead zone!

gettinwet

Grady-lady wrote: »

Here's an idea - let's plant more corn and fuel our cars with it.

Well, fueling your car will be the least of your worries as natural resources are depleted and the planet becomes uninhabitable. Plus that's already being done - unnecessarily raising food costs - and in reality amounts to welfare for agri-corps.

There are real solutions though - but it appears most people these days don't have the vision, imagination, and/or education/knowledge to overcome their own bias.........or look past their own lifetimes. Instead choosing to disparage progressive ideas - usually without really understanding them - or even acknowledging the issues they are trying to resolve. #SAD.

Grady-lady

gettinwet wrote: »

Well, fueling your car will be the least of your worries as natural resources are depleted and the planet becomes uninhabitable. Plus that's already being done - unnecessarily raising food costs - and in reality amounts to welfare for agri-corps.

Sorry, forgot to use the sarcasm icon. I agree, corn-based ethanol is not 'green' except to those who now make a living off it.

gettinwet wrote: »

There are real solutions though - but it appears most people these days don't have the vision, imagination, and/or education/knowledge to overcome their own bias.........or look past their own lifetimes. Instead choosing to disparage progressive ideas - usually without really understanding them - or even acknowledging the issues they are trying to resolve. #SAD.

I thought using food for 'renewable' fuel was a progressive idea? :huh Lots of folks knew the problems that would come with increasing corn production for fuel - and the growth in the size of the dead zone as a result was predicted more than a decade ago.

Ever since the Mississippi began to drain into the gulf there has been a 'dead zone' - and yes, agriculture activities add to the run-off despite efforts to implement runoff mitigation techniques. I'm willing to bet there's not a person on this forum who would deny that we can and have adversely affected our environment. We've made some real progress in the US in improving air and water quality. Nobody wants it to go backwards - but neither does any one want to be sold a 'corny' solution that is no solution. So yes, call it bias or ignorance, but 'solutions' should be examined ten ways from Sunday. As for the gulf dead zone, we could always let New Orleans be reclaimed by the swamp it has always been meant to be. That might help.

gettinwet

My original point had nothing to due with corn rather the Gulf dead zone - which has been growing with fears it could double in size this year alone. The primary driver is excessive nutrients from "human" activity which is the some affliction the Indian River now suffers.

If "most" don't deny that we negatively impact the environment - then some 40% or so need to stop voting for politicians - local, state, and federal - wishing to roll back the "real" progress that has been made on air and water quality at the behest of their corporate benefactors - which in my opinion should never been allowed to get to a poor quality state in the first place. Just look at Lake Apopka, Lake O, the Everglades, the Kissimmee and Indian Rivers in our own state to see how the current and past leadership has failed on this issue. All in the name of "growth".

Regarding food for fuel - maybe originally a progressive idea - but now corrupted into corporate welfare. Not to mention there has since been better ideas/technologies advanced.

Grady-lady

gettinwet wrote: »

My original point had nothing to due with corn rather the Gulf dead zone - which has been growing with fears it could double in size this year alone. The primary driver is excessive nutrients from "human" activity which is the some affliction the Indian River now suffers.

Human activity in the form of agriculture is a significant contributing factor to the nutrients (fertilizer) carried by the Mississippi into the gulf. Increased corn production for fuel should concern you.

mustang190

There is a tremendous amount of agriculture in the heartland of the country. But, if you want it scaled back, how do you propose to feed 330 million people?

mindyabiness

mustang190 wrote: »

There is a tremendous amount of agriculture in the heartland of the country. But, if you want it scaled back, how do you propose to feed 330 million people?

Seafood? :huh

permit_me

mustang190 wrote: »

There is a tremendous amount of agriculture in the heartland of the country. But, if you want it scaled back, how do you propose to feed 330 million people?

change our methods of agriculture and ag water usage. Use less chemicals, recover and reuse water...end monculture and gmo crops, rotate crops, dont subsidize corn, etc...

IRL/Banana River syetam, St. Lucie on south. S FL ICW is trashed through Miami, FL bay has serious problems, and then there is the outflow to the west from Lake O and those problems. Tampa Bay with dumping sewage on massive scale.
It aint improving.

Make an Island on the dead zone.

ericf

I'm not normally into radical ideas, and don't know I could do this myself, but here is an interesting article I saw the other day about net pollution in the world.

https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/535536/

I've ordered chicken a couple times since reading that at least...

I think there are a lot of ways to make major incremental improvements to our runoff system, but unfortunately demand is demand.