The Role Of Environmental Problems In The Gulf Of Mexico

Florida red tide blooms were linked to many emergency room check-ins regarding respiratory and intestinal ailments (Pierce and Henry, 2008). Even though some of these illnesses were attributed to toxic seafood consumption, many of the hospitalizations are a result of breathing in the aerosol from these toxic blooms, causing asthma attack and bronchitis. The blooms toxic aerosol floats to the seas surface in bubbles, which are blown on shore. The authors of the article states, “Future illnesses would range between $2 and $24 million,” if the futures yearly blooms continue (Hoagland et al, 2014). Due to the problems that the critical blooms create, there needs to be a remedy to reduce the high toxic bloom levels to insignificant

The main problem this paper intends to discuss regards the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. This dead zone, which for the most part encompasses the water off the coast of Louisiana, becomes depleted in dissolved oxygen. The dead zone is an outcome of nutrient runoff into the Gulf from urban areas, wastewater treatment plants, and from atmospheric deposition, however, the majority comes from fertilizers used in agriculture around the Mississippi River Basin. The increase in nutrients has been affecting the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem by forming difficult conditions in which organisms live. Another consequence that is directly related to the ecosystem damage is the effect on the fishing economy in in the region. In the paper I will address the questions, how has the dead zone specifically caused damage to the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico and how has that damage affected the economic productivity of the fisheries? Furthermore, what policy solutions exist to solve the dead zone problem?

The Gulf of Mexico, an ocean basin mostly surrounded by the North America continental, is generally referred as the south coast of America and one of the major regions for source and infrastructure of oil and gas supply in the United States. Four of the states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico consist of the significant petroleum-producing area. According to the data provided by the Energy Information Administration [1], the Gulf of Mexico offshore oil and natural gas production account for 17% and 5% respectively of the total U.S. crude oil and dry gas production. Additionally, about 45% of the petroleum refining and 51% of the natural gas processing capacity in the United States are spread out on the Gulf of Mexico.

Welcome to Grecho, a city found in Norway just by the Oslofjord, and where technology and nature coexist. The Gulf of Mexico brings in warm water making Grecho much milder than where its latitude will demand. The summer temperatures can range from 51 - 69.8° F, but during spring, maximum temperatures don’t go past 60.8° F. Winter is somewhat drier than summer, lasting from November to March, and temperatures can even go below 19.8° F. Although it stays at a pretty warm temperature throughout summer and spring, people like to come during winter the most. Skiing, ice skating, and snowboarding is what we’re all about during the winter time. Grecho is geographically situated at the top of Oslofjord. Our city is inclosed by protected forests and mountains. The highest mountain situated within our city limits is the Kirkeberg (629 meters). Two thirds of our city is covered in protected forests, hills, and lakes, making it a great place to tour and travel through. The climate and geography in Grecho is quite favorable, but you haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen our unique features and innovations.

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is one of many throughout the world. There are many factors that cause the dead zone and not all dead zones are caused from the same things. In the Gulf of Mexico the dead zone is cause by nitrogen and phosphorus (fertilizer) go into the gulf and trigger phytoplankton blooms or algae blooms. First the oxygen rich water comes into the gulf and stratifies going to the bottom. Then the majority of the the nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture and urban run offs from the Mississippi River watershed flow in the spring and early summer. For example 70% come from where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet, 39% come from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, 22% come from Ohio river basin, and 11% from the Missouri river basin, and the rest come from Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Next the phytoplankton use all that fertilizer and die. Then the phytoplankton falls to the bottom of the sea and decomposes using all the oxygen. Then because of water stratification the oxygen levels on the bottom do not get

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is a human problem, like most other disasters. What this means is that once the place thrived and was ecologically balanced, but we tipped the balance slightly and wrecked havoc upon the environment. It has been noted to occur since the 1950’s and is ongoing. The reason that this dead zone occurs is because of a phenomenon known as eutrophication. Eutrophication is when there is an excessive amount of nutrients in a body of water and it causes an abundance of plants to grow. In this case the nearby farms had been using nitrogen in their fertilizers. The nitrogen got carried into the ocean through rain and other forms of

Due to the potential dangers of dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, the American government needs to make dramatic and construal efforts to stop the growth of this dead zone.

On April 20, 2010, one of BP’s drilling wells below the Gulf of Mexico exploded and caused a disastrous oil spill. Thousands of barrels of crude oil flowed into the gulf every day, causing widespread pollution in the Gulf of Mexico (Law Brain, n.d). The habitats of many bird species are threatened by this oil spill.

Malakoff stated that the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is a creature of the Mississippi (Malakoff). Scientist believe the surplus runoff of nutrients from agriculture in the great Mississippi River drainage basin is the result of the Gulf’s dead zone (Dybas). There’s a conflicting collaboration between human productivity and ecosystem health with the hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico (Joyce). According to Joyce, the Mississippi basin is very important economically. She informed that the basin drains about 31 states and 40% of the contiguous United States. In addition, the basin represents nearly 55% of American agricultural lands and 33% of U.S. farm-related jobs and produces over $98 billion annually in agriculture (Joyce). Plus, since 1980 the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers annually discharged 1.6 million metric tons of nitrogen (mostly nitrate), 100,000 metric tons of phosphorous, and 200,000 metric tons of silica into the basin (Joyce). Therefore, about 56% of nitrate enters the Mississippi above the Ohio river in the states where agricultural production is the highest and that eutrophication has compromised water quality in the basin (Joyce). The Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone was not monitored like many of the U.S. coastal ecosystems until water quality degradation was

Texas is probably one the biggest states in America. Nobody can compete with that. However, the one thing that’s not so best about Texas is our environmental problems. The main issues of our Lone Star State is our water pollution, air quality, land conservation, energy sources, and waste pollution.

The rich habitats of the Gulf of Mexico help make it one of the most ecologically and economically productive bodies of the water in the work. The meeting of land and sea along more than 16,000 miles of coastline from Texas to Florida creates a wealth of ecosystems (National Geographic Society, 2010). The dynamic mixing of saltwater and freshwater and the daily infusions of sediments from rivers nourish areas that provide habitat for wildlife and protection from pollution and storms (National Geographic Society, 2010).

Sediment collected from the riverbank as the river flows downstream is also a problem; it increases the turbidity of the river, and this makes it difficult for plants to receive the necessary sunlight needed for survival. When these plants die, there is less food for fish and other river animals. Bacteria levels also rise in the water, because it can cling to sediment very easily. When there is more sediment, there are more places for the bacteria to collect. (Helsel & Mueller, 2009). All of these problems are occurring as the water is flowing along the river banks, collecting even more sediment, and pollutants as it travels downstream and deposits into the Gulf of Mexico. When all of this sediment, nitrogen and bacteria flow into the Gulf of Mexico, it causes changes in the water there. The increase in the level of nitrogen causes plankton to grow faster. When the plankton decomposes it takes a large amount of oxygen out of the water. The bacteria break down the decomposed plankton, which releases carbon dioxide, taking increasing levels of oxygen out of the water in the Gulf. Eventually the level of oxygen decreases to a point where most living organisms cannot survive. Some animals flee while other plants and animals that cannot leave usually die. This is referred to as the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. (Gulf of Mexico; NOAA, 2009). With an expected increase in the size

Seasonally, the Gulf region experiences eutrophication due to an overload of nutrients in the watershed. Over seventy percent of the nitrogen and phosphorus that ends up in the Gulf of Mexico originates from agriculture. The input of nutrients into the Gulf region causes a massive algal bloom. The algae take up all of the excess nutrients, and then die off. Decomposers then break down the dead organisms and use up all of the oxygen in the water, leaving a dead zone. The lack of oxygen in the water supply kills The anthropocentric approach to agriculture is necessary to be sure we meet the nutritional needs of our citizens,

With the huge impact of the oil spill on marine life and coastal regions, fishing and tourism industries of the places affected in the Gulf Coast severely declined. In the fishing industry, the incident led to an approximate $2.5 billion loss, while tourist industries experienced a loss of a predicted $23 billion (Jarvis, 2010). In addition, the moratorium placed on deep water drilling left 58,000 workers unemployed (ibid).

The majority of the US population lives near the coast, not just because the ocean is beautiful but because the ocean is a major hub of economic activity. The sea provides us with food and livelihoods along every coast of the United States and its territories. Commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries bring in many millions of pounds of fish and dollars each year to coastal communities. People also use the ocean and shoreline for a multitude of recreational and resourceful activities that allows one and many to live their daily life. Despite the development of planes, trains, and automobiles, shipping is still the major mode for transporting goods internationally, and many cities rely on their ports as a major source of revenue. The ocean is also valued for the natural resources that lie beneath the ocean floor. In the Gulf of Mexico there exists billions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas. The story of the shipping industry since the first steamships were built more than century ago has been one of ingenuity, professionalism and fabulous profits. Maritime transport encompasses all forms of transport by sea, intermodal links and inland ports but has certain difference from other modes of transport. Maritime economics is not only revolving around transportation, although the largest aspect of maritime economics; oil, natural gas, and mineral exploration all play an unprecedented amount in the worlds economic. 70% of the world is covered in water, 80% of