The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) doesn’t have high hopes for ecosystems in Gulf of Mexico this year. The NOAA predicts that the size of the “dead zone” found off the coast of Louisiana and Texas will be the largest on record, extending between 7,450 and 8,456 square miles this summer.
 
The phrase “dead zone” refers to an oceanic area plagued with decaying algae that seeps oxygen from the water, blocks sunlight, and creates an inhabitable ecosystem for most aquatic life. Dead zones are caused primarily by the nitrogen runoff from commercial farms via Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Our growing demand for ethanol, our reliance on high-fructose corn syrup and our increasing obsession for meat (feed corn accounts for most U.S. cropland) are all partially to blame for the influx of nitrogen-based fertilizer into the Great Plains and Midwest. 

So what’s a generation to do? Well, what’s done is done for the summer of 2009. The spring rains have already swept away the nitrogen and it’s en rout to fertilize the Gulf of Mexico. This year, the ecosystem in the Gulf will suffer, and the fishing and tourist industries will suffer with it. Populations along the coast will have trouble breathing in late August when the oceanic winds blow inland. Those with asthma will have to steer clear of the coast as particles from decaying algae consume the air. But we’ll have plenty of junk food to consume, meat to eat and fuel for our summer road trips. As long as we’re not heading to the Gulf Coast it should be an enjoyable ride.