Every year in early summer, scientists at universities, research institutions and federal agencies release forecasts for the formation of “dead zones” and harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico, the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie. This year the outlook is not good.
Read MoreAccording to a recent analysis by environmental protection organization Mighty Earth, America’s largest meat companies are to blame for the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. The analysis shows that huge meat companies have constructed slaughterhouses, processing facilities, and industrial farms in areas throughout the Mississippi River basin that are prone to flooding.
Read MoreBad news is flowing towards the Gulf of Mexico. The catastrophic rains that have pummeled the Midwest this spring are flooding streams and rivers with farm runoff, fertilizers and sewage runoff that will soon hit the Gulf, greatly expanding the dead zone in the fishing grounds there. Scientists say that about 8,000 square miles of the Gulf will be affected, driving away crab, shrimp and fish as the water loses its oxygen. Marine ecologist Nancy Rabalais of Louisiana State University has been studying the Gulf waters since 1985, and she joins us now on the line.
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