Environmentalists' Perspective

Dead zones are the byproduct of agrochemical practices and outdated urban sewage systems. Collectively these pollutants create a surplus of nitrogen and phosphorus in water, spur algae blooms, and deplete the amount of oxygen in underwater ecosystems. Dead zones not only suffocate underwater organisms to the point of annihilation, but they also effect fishermen who depend on this marine life for their livelihood. Therefore dead zones are both anthropomorphic and biomorphic issues.  In the United States, dead zones are the backlash of the irrefutable failure of the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement of the 1972 Clean Water Act. It is the duty of the EPA to “regulate the discharge of pollutants form point sources to waters of the United States,” (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination, 2012). Unfortunately the EPA has neglected to set pollution limits and effectively regulate the amount of pollution that enters U.S. waters. In result of the EPA’s shortcomings, dead zones consume vast water ecosystems killing both marine life as well as marine based economies. In order to combat these offenses environmental organizations are suing the EPA for their negligence and calling for a major reform in the EPA’s regulations on urban sewage systems and pollutant limits. The success of this lawsuit will result in two major reforms. First it will force the EPA to update their urban sewage systems in order to increase their efficiency and decrease the creation of dead zones. Second this will encourage the EPA to engage in contaminated watershed rehabilitation by strategically placing wetlands in areas that will collect agricultural runoff and naturally treat it before it drains into larger bodies of water (Howard, 2013). Successful environmentalist-applied action will pressure the EPA to accept their responsibility in the creation of massive dead zones and ideally restore ecological integrity to these once thriving underwater ecosystems.

(Bruncker, 2012) 

Above is a picture of deoxygenated water clashing with oxygenated water in the Gulf of Mexico

Work Cited

Bruncker, M. (2012) The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. Microbial Life: Educational Resources. ( Date Accessed: February 13, 2013.) <http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/topics/deadzone/index.html>

Clean Water Act. (2012) Elimination. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Date Accessed: February 11, 2013.) <http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cwa.cfm?program_id=45>

Howard, R. (2013) Bringing Coastal Dead Zones Back to Life. American Institute of Biological Sciences. (Date Accessed: February 13, 2013.) <http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/howarth.html>