Biofuels could contribute to historically big Gulf of Mexico dead zone
Still think corn-based biofuels will save the world? Here's another piece of the no-they-won't puzzle: Researchers say more intensive farming of more land in the Midwestern U.S. -- in part a result of the push for more corn production -- could contribute to the largest-ever "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. The zone is created when fertilizer and other runoff find their way down the Mississippi River and into the gulf, encouraging algae to grow. The algae's decay process sucks up all the available oxygen, leaving none for the poor little fishies. Last year's dead zone was 6,662 square miles; scientists modeling the zone for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say this year's could be as big as 8,500 square miles. "I am anticipating a historically large [dead zone] this summer," says Eugene Turner from Louisiana State University, noting that the change could be due to weather, love of biofuels, or other farming practices. Tom Philpott surveys the unseemly scene in Gristmill.
source: BBC News, 18 Jul 2007
see also, in Gristmill: Gulf Dead Zone: Bigger than ever
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Comments
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7river Posted 8:23 am
18 Jul 2007
to "Increase in unsustainable farming methods could contribute to historically big Gulf of Mexico dead zone"!!!
We all have to be realistic and pro-active about the realities of bio-fuels, but this story is biased and mis-leading. That, is a fact.
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GreyFlcn Posted 4:49 am
19 Jul 2007
http://www.tni.org/detail_pub.phtml?know_id=188
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dubliner8 Posted 3:12 am
24 Jul 2007
And, two, the Farm Bill is up for the vote this Thursday - perhaps if subsidies were cut and we weren't producing ridiculous amounts of "cheap" corn (cheap for those who buy it to produce ethanol, not so cheap for tax-payers who are supporting it) there would be greater pressure to mass-market better alt fuels that won't require high amounts of nitrogen and pesticides that can increase the dead zone.
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howsthatwork Posted 1:32 pm
25 Jul 2007
Realistic, pro-active? Fine. How about asking tough questions and setting up intelligent challenges? That is the Grist I've enjoyed. Not proclamations to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
It seems to me the challenge is to refine the concept of biofuels to address the identified weaknesses. Sustainably farmed biofuels.... is that not possible?
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