Thursday, February 4, 2010

Looking Beneath the Surface...

... is something all of us really should do. All the time.

So here's an example of that.

For every person out there trying to live more green, for everyone concerned about the environment, for everyone who's waiting for that ethanol-driven car to become mainstream and reduce our need for oil...

The increase in corn production, spurred on in part due the the demand for ethanol, has increased the amount of chemicals (fertilizer, bug repellent, etc) in the run-off in the Mississippi River, contributing to what is known as "The Dead Zone" in the Gulf of Mexico. The short-version is that life cannot live in this zone, due primarily to the low concentration of oxygen in the water. We're talking three thousand square miles. Larger than the state of Delaware.

Just something for you to think about.

Some additional resources:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090727_deadzone.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1048003520080311

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