The dead zone of the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico has seen better days. We all know about the huge oil spill caused by the explosion of the oil drilling rig, the Deepwater Horizon, on April 20, 2010. It took them 3 months to finally plug the well, but by then, the damage was done. . This is, to date, the worst oil spill we have ever experienced.
But to add insult to injury, the Gulf of Mexico has had many other “problems” over the years. One of the biggest is the fact that there is a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico … and it is growing. Now you are probably wondering, “What is a dead zone?” A dead zone is any area in the water where the oxygen supply has been depleted. When this happens, the water is said to be hypoxic. If there is not enough oxygen, plant life (such as algae) cannot grow. If there is no algae in the area, much of the marine life has nothing to eat. This marine life will starve and die, or if they can, they will flee the area and try to find a better place to live.
Water becomes depleted of oxygen when there is too much nitrogen and phosphorus in it. The reason the Gulf of Mexico is so susceptible to this problem is because of the Mississippi River. The mouth of the Mississippi opens out into the gulf, and boy, is it a big mouth!
Starting in Minnesota, the Mighty Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico and carries all the by-products of agriculture along with it. All of the chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides used on farmland along the Mississippi seep into the soil surrounding the river and begin their journey south.
The man-made chemicals used in agriculture are extremely rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. In fact, these chemicals contain more nitrogen and phosphorus than crops could use, so all the excess is absorbed into the soil and eventually makes its way into streams, creeks, rivers, and lakes … which all end up in somehow be connected to the Mississippi River!
Unfortunately, the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has only grown over time and shows no signs of stopping its growth anytime soon. Men and women who live off the sea have no control over this problem and only have to deal with it. Marine life obviously has no voice! And now, in addition to everything else, there is also the devastating effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to deal with!
We are killing our planet! That’s all about it! The blatant misuse and overuse of chemicals in agriculture is causing dead zones where marine life cannot live. Our thirst for energy lends itself to unsafe circumstances and overlooked precautions when it comes to oil drilling. We need to be accountable for our action, all of us, not just the people who make a living from the Gulf of Mexico and the marine life who try to make a home there.