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Watch "Marine Life Doomed In Gulf Dead Zone"
From The Weather Channel Android App: https://weather.com/science/environm...l-editor-picks
I know it's not in Gulf Shores but who knows what's effects it's having on nearby waters. Hope the video loads correctly
The correlation between the size of the dead zone each summer and the amount of fertilizer (phosphorous & nitrogen) and freshwater coming out the mouth of the MS River is pretty well established. Water Quality scientists who study & monitor the dead zone have gotten very good at predicting how large it will be each summer based on spring measurements.
Only thing that will ever stop it from forming (or more realistically reducing the size greatly) is stopping the fertilizer from millions of acres of ag land up river from getting to the rivers in the first place. They've made some progress working with farmers up river in the Corn Belt but much more needs to be done.
Don't blame it all on the farmers, there are a lot of lawns and landscaping upstream that use a lot of fertilizer.
You are correct, but even the Ag Industry and farmers acknowledge they are by far the largest contributors.
And they also want to change that: fertilizer going down the river is fertilizer they paid for but that didn't do their crops (and their bottom line) any good.
Plus most farmers try to be good stewards of the land & water. Working with them to reduce runoff is win/win for everyone.
But yeah, trying to convince Joe Homeowner that he doesn't need to fertilize his yard every weekend from May to August is like probably the biggest educational challenge. Farmers get it, but for some reason Joe Homeowners think they aren't part of the problem, its someone else...
I was fishing at pickwick in April. Homeowner was on a very steep bank at the edge of their yard blowing all of the leaves into the water. Can't believe they didn't fall, but despite the fact they had little business on that steep of bank or the fact that they were never down in that area, or the fact that the leaves weren't harming anything, they were determined to get every last lead in the water, just to make it look good. Lots of other lawns had their leaves blown in as well. Leaves, grass clippings, fertilizer. They don't care as long as things look nice. Farmers on the other hand don't want to lose any nutrients, though many do because of the way they farm.
I've read that golf courses are some of the worst offenders when it comes to over-fertilizing and over-watering. Of course there are a lot more corn fields than golf fairways.
I support farmers 100% and my dad works in the AG industry but they and golf courses over fertilize. Now you're seeing more sustainable methods of soil nutrition on the rise. Composting, permaculture, etc.
Chicken litter is the best stuff on earth for crops and gardens. A cotton farmer down the road cleans his chicken houses out and spreads that out. He always has a beautiful crop even though you can smell that litter from a mile away. Every time I clean out my coop it goes in the garden. My tomatoes are still green and already bigger than a baseball. I compost too, it takes time but it's worth it.