Fertilizer Pollution Problem Is Destroying the Gulf of Mexico

Summer might be a time for relaxation and holidays for you, however, if you were a fish living in the Gulf of Mexico you wouldn’t be praying for its arrival. 

Every summer something fishy happens, and a dead zone ranging from the size of Delaware to the size of New Jersey forms sneakily. Here is some info before you watch it: a dead zone is an enormous patch of water that doesn’t have enough oxygen for sea creatures to survive. If a crab ever gets caught in the dead zone, it dies almost immediately.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, this is not a “natural” occurrence and the reason why a dead zone forms is, of course, humanity. 

Humans need to eat, and with growing populations, it is impossible to do agriculture without fertilizers. Fertilizer pollution is the reason for these dead zones and problems such as contaminated drinking water and global warming. 

This video offers a counter-argument: cover crops. If you are curious about the fertilizer problem and how we can fix it, you should tune in. We can save the baby shrimps before its too late.