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Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' to grow dramatically due to federal biofuel mandate

A new study says efforts to shrink the massive, oxygen-depleted dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will be stifled if the U.S. continues to increase its biofuel production.
By Bryan Nelson
Wed, Sep 16 2009 at 9:47 PM EST
Read more: AGRIBUSINESS, BIOFUELS, OCEANS

DEAD ZONE: Nutrient-rich sendiment flowing out of the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico can be seen from space. (Photo: AP News/NASA)
Every year copious amounts of fertilizer and nutrient-rich sentiment dump into the Gulf of Mexico from the mouth of the Mississippi River, feeding massive algae blooms so large that they starve the ocean of oxygen. These oxygen-depleted waters, which last year grew to the size of Massachusetts, form a vast "dead zone" completely devoid of all marine life.
 
Now a new study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, says the problem stands to get far worse if the U.S. follows through on its current federally-mandated efforts to increase annual biofuel production to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
 
The federal mandate, which was passed by Congress in 2007 in an effort to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil, set targets for the U.S. to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels a year into the U.S. fuel supply, up from the 11.1 billion gallons projected to be blended this year. That would increase biofuels' share of the liquid-fuel mix to roughly 16% from 5%, based on U.S. Energy Information Administration fuel-demand projections.
 
That may be good for releasing America's reliance on oil, but an increase in biofuel production that large would also mean more fertilizers washing off farm fields throughout the Mississippi River basin, which could be devastating to both the Gulf's marine ecosystems and its fishing and shrimping industry.
 
The most intense hypoxia levels (areas which are low in oxygen) are usually between 30 to 60 feet below the surface. Fish in this area can be "stressed", meaning they can die of suffocation or, at the very least, move to other areas, which adversely affects fishermen in the dead zone region.
 
The zone is already 17-21 percent larger than it was in 1985 when it was first measured, and the five largest Gulf dead zones on record have occurred since 2001, with the largest measuring at a sprawling 8,894 square miles. "The growth of these dead zones is an ecological time bomb," said ecologist Donald Scavia, a professor at the U. of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.
 
The Mississippi is the largest river in the United States, draining 40 percent of the land area of the country. It also accounts for almost 90 percent of the freshwater runoff into the Gulf of Mexico. It's no wonder that any increase in biofuel production along the river's basin, which is America's farm belt, stands to have a profound impact on the size of the dead zone, which is already one of the two largest such zones in the world.
 
Government officials had hoped to reduce fertilizer runoff and shrink the zone to the size of Delaware by 2015, but that would be virtually impossible if biofuel production is increased as currently projected. Unfortunately it'll probably have to be one or the other.
 
The good news is that dead zones are reversible. One such example comes from the Black Sea dead zone, which was itself once the largest in the world. It mostly disappeared between 1991 and 2001, after fertilizers became too costly to use following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Fishing has again become a major economic activity in the region.
 
For more information:

And watch this short documentary video about the impact of the dead zone on the Gulf's local fishing and shrimping industry:

 

 


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Comments(11)

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Posted By Anonymous - Tue, Dec 01 2009 at 3:45 PM EST

video

K-E-A-L-O-H-A
a lot of kealoha in our day
we're spreadin a lot of kealoha around the world

Posted By Anonymous - Sat, Sep 19 2009 at 3:08 AM EST

Leavers and Takers

Enter your comments here Lets Do Inform Ourselves currently there is enough global food production to feed our nearing seven billion people, so the bio fuel is an effort to thwart off fossil fuel usage. The increased production could certainly have effects on the Gulf dead zone, as all human activity has impact. The answer is in alternative energy and its time to do our parts to ensure longevity. If everyone took the position that we as adults are here taking care of mother earth for our.... More

Posted By J - Sat, Sep 19 2009 at 12:04 AM EST

The problem isn't Bio-fuel or Algae

we live in a finite earth that can only produce finite life and is limited by its resources the problem is people around 7 billion of them. nature left to its own devices finds balance. We do not we take more and more every day so we can fight each other over whats left and continue this unnatural cycle. What we need to do is cull our numbers. if deer and other game animals are considered a threat to environment what the frik frak are we humans doing to it. what just cause some fictitious.... More

Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Sep 18 2009 at 10:17 AM EST

Rediculous Claim

What a shame to hear more unjustifiable slander against biofuels. the US is one of the largest corn and soy exporters in the world. Less than 10% of billions of bushels of each is used for biofuels. There will never be a shortage of food for the sake of biofuels especially when less than 2% of the us fuel consumption is biofuel. I would like to see more constructive articles here....

Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Sep 18 2009 at 10:06 AM EST

not all biofuel is bad

soybased biodiesel does not contribute to fertilizer runoff. very few, if any, farmers fertilize a soybean crop. it burns cleaner and actually prolongs the life of the diesel engine due to its cleansing action. it is good stuff.

Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Sep 18 2009 at 4:03 AM EST

Massive Algee Blooms...

"feeding massive algae blooms so large that they starve the ocean of oxygen" - someone should find a profitable way to harvest them for bio-fuel ...

Posted By JOhn - Fri, Sep 18 2009 at 1:26 AM EST

gulf

Biofuels are no good. What it does is takes food away from people and into cars. We'd rather drive than feed everyone? Makes no sense, and especially with the dead zone in the Gulf. There are better ways.

Posted By Anonymous - Fri, Sep 18 2009 at 10:11 AM EST

BIODIESEL CREATES FOOD

INFORM yourselves. We all know now that that the food vs fuel debate was created by GMA or BIG FOOD to justify increasing thier profits. Two facts you need to know:
1. No corn or soy has ever been grown exlusively for biofuels. These are commodities that are sold to anyone willing to buy them whether it is the food industry, biodiegradable products like corn/soy based utensils, paints, plasics, glue, ink or biofuels.

2. Since soy beans are 12% oil, the rest of the bean is meal.... More

Posted By Wendy Jones - Thu, Sep 17 2009 at 2:57 PM EST

Sounds Like Dead Sea to Me

Seems like the lessons learned from the Dead Sea dead zone should be incorporated into the Gulf of Mexico as soon as the Obama administration solves the health care debaucle.

Posted By Anonymous - Thu, Sep 17 2009 at 11:22 AM EST

Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' to grow dramatically due to federal b

yes, farming can cause this bloom but why does this target biofuel farming and I also would ask why the term biofuel? Algae farms are biofuel but they wouldn't be a problem. This looks to me like it was 100% backed by the oil industry trying to say 'look, biofuel is going to destroy the Gulf' because it eats into their profits.

Posted By Anonymous - Thu, Sep 17 2009 at 9:54 AM EST

Gulf of Mex

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