Dead Zones Could Kill 80% Of U.S. Coast

Two of every three U.S. estuaries, comprising 80% of the coastline, are threatened by the runoff of fertilizers. The excess load of nutrients threatens to fuel "dead zones" of depleted oxygen created when algae populations balloon, according to a new report by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and Maryland's Center for Environmental Science.

Several areas of the country are already affected by dead zones -- notably the Gulf of Mexico, where scientists predict a record dead zone the size of New Jersey may form this year, and the Chesapeake Bay. For the sixth year straight, a dead zone has formed off the coast of Oregon, as well, signaling that yet another coastal area is affected. The problem is fueled by a variety of forces, none more powerful than the use of chemical fertilizers on farmland.

The ethanol boom, driven by government subsidies, for instance, has inspired farmers to plant more corn than anytime in the last 50 years, which in turn has not only fattened the wallets of chemical fertilizer companies but also led to record loads of nutrients flowing into streams and rivers that flow to the sea. The clearing of land for development can also decrease the land's natural ability to reduce nutrient loads before they reach streams.

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