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Dead zones off U.S. Coasts growing in number
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In the last 50 years, the number of "dead zones" in U.S. coastal waters has increased at an alarming rate – multiplying 30-fold – and endangering both the environment and local economies.
According to a recent report released by the White House, these "dead zones" – areas in coastal waters where oxygen is so depleted that it is harmful to marine life – can be traced to pollution, such as wastewater and fertilizer runoff.
The report, entitled "Scientific Assessment of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters," was created by an interagency task force of federal, state and private scientists. They found that 300 ecosystems -from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic, including the Gulf of Mexico – have been affected. One of the largest dead zones exists where the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers meet the Gulf of Mexico. There are an additional 20 dead zones off of the Pacific coast.
Later this week, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubenko and Nancy Sutley, the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality will outline new policies to address the threat of hypoxia, as well as acidification of ocean waters, excessive fishing and warming waters.
Fighting dead zones will require better coordination between federal and state agencies, the report says, and a better effort by the White House to explain the effects of global warming to the American public.
"It is not possible to mount a serious effort to stop the destruction of the oceans, let alone reverse and start to heal them, if you don’t take on greenhouse gases seriously," Joseph Romm, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, told the blog Paper Trail. "And the administration has failed to explain to the public what’s going on. I think there needs to be a serious education campaign."
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