Environmentalists insist on declaring the Gulf of Mexico "dead zone".

The oil industry is not the only culprit of slow destruction of the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. According to environmental organizations in its latest statement, the area of ​​the Gulf of Mexico the size of Massachusetts to declare a "dead zone". The reason is the severe pollution of the Mississippi River. As environmentalists say, the level of oxygen in the water in the area just sufficient to maintain the normal life of marine animals and plants.

Therefore, recently a number of environmental organizations, including the Council for the Protection of Natural Resources, has been sued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to tighten the regulation of wastewater and the conformity of the river water quality standards. In particular, the defenders called on EPA to test the water in the Gulf of Mexico to the level of nitrogen and phosphorus that stimulate excessive growth of algae that consume precious oxygen in the water. According to the Gulf Restoration Network Organization (GRN), in the Mississippi River reaches 41 percent of sewage from all American businesses, and with them - a huge amount of fertilizers and other chemicals from farms and cities across the country. Every summer, as soon as the water warms up in the Gulf, the volume of these microscopic organisms increases, thereby suppressing the development of the marine ecosystem.


At the same time, environmentalists say, and about poor water quality upstream. Thus, in the season, and Raccoon rivers in Des Moines found extremely high levels of nitrates. In order to keep the water of these rivers was suitable for drinking, requires special handling.
Matthew Roth, Director of Water Policy in the GRN, said that the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico for decades been the "national collectors," but now they need to be cleaned.The time has come when the EPA should take appropriate action.
It is worth noting that in 2008, environmentalists have appealed to the Office for Environmental Protection, calling for greater involvement in the control of pollution of the Mississippi River. However, if their application was dismissed with the statement that international water quality standards "are not an effective solution of significant water issues facing the American nation."