There's one thing that's very important to remember when we talk about the Gulf of Mexico and the aftermath of the BP oil disaster. Which is this: That it's not as if everything was all hunky-dory in the region, environmentally speaking, before April of 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded. To the contrary, human activity -- industry, agriculture, suburban development -- along the mighty Mississippi basin has been placing major stress on the Gulf, and the extent of the problem has led to expanding dead zones. This major, lengthy investigation from Environmental Health News is one of the best pieces that I've read lately on what -- besides spilled oil -- has been killing marine life in the Gulf:
Washing off farms and yards, nitrate is largely responsible for the Gulf of Mexico’s infamous “dead zone.” Nitrate and other nutrients from the vast Mississippi River basin funnel into the Gulf, sucking oxygen out of the water and killing almost everything in their path. The pollution is one of America’s most widespread, costly, and challenging environmental problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Sewage treatment plants along the rivers already have spent billions of dollars, and some farmers now use ...