Albert Lawrence
April 24, 2012
GD Outline
Introductory Paragraph
Attention Getter: Dead Zones have a big sway on the local economy, what would
you do if you couldn’t go out to eat at a seafood restaurant?
Areas of Focus:
A. *Area of focus #1- Dead Zones
B. **Area of Focus #2- How can dead zones impact the local economy.
C. ***Area of Focus #3- What are some alternative strategies for farmers to help stop this
crisis.
Thesis Statement: In Latin America, Dead Zones occur in both fresh and saltwater
systems like in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which is known world wide for being the
biggest there had ever been.
Quotes
“Mostly anything that can swim away leaves, but anything that can't leave,
such as the bottom-dwelling bugs that fish and shrimp, will die.”
The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
Latin America Dead Zone
Dead Zones have a big sway on the local economy, what would you do if you
couldn’t go out to eat at a seafood restaurant? In Latin America, Dead Zones occur in
both fresh and saltwater systems like in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which is known
world wide for being the biggest there has ever been. Dead zones have had major impacts
on sea life, but it can also impact the local economy. In the Latin America farmers are
looking for alternative strategies to help stop this crisis. Dead Zones occur mostly on the
world’s coastlines, because that’s where the streams intersect with oceans. Dead Zones
can be obtained if farmers use natural products to grow their crops. At the rate Latin
America is going, they might decrease in some of the fish you see in the gulf today.
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is one of the largest in the world. Dead zones can
be found in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, off the coast of Oregon. Dead zones may also be
found in lakes, such as Lake Erie. In the Gulf of Mexico there is a dead zone that was
known to be the biggest dead zone in 2011. Dead zones are areas of oxygen-depleted
waters that form when nutrients motivate the growth of algae blooms. Dead zones are
found in large regions of water just of the coast of islands or countries, therefore all
fertilizers and junk goes to one place, which pollutes the ocean in one area, which cannot
support any sea life. When there is low oxygen the algae dies. Eventually the algae sinks
and decomposes and then the decay process begins, focused by bacterial respiration.
According to Don Scavia, a professor of natural resources at the University of Michigan
says “mostly anything that can swim away leaves, but anything that can't leave, such as
the bottom-dwelling bugs that fish and shrimp, will die.” The lack of oxygen can cause
large die-offs of fish and other invertebrates. In the marketplace there will be no seafood
to sell, which will hurt people who sell and consume seafood. Also a lot of famous
seafood restaurants will go out of business. And for the restaurants that have seafood,
their prices will increase because it’s so limited.
In the Latin America farmers are looking for alternative strategies to help stop this
crisis. But it’s hard to say if anything will every change because 31 agriculturally states
full rich crops and 2 Canadian provinces drain into the Mississippi River, which is one of
the biggest rivers in the United States and its streams, which than drain into the Gulf of
Mexico causing the gulf of Mexico drop zone.
The report urges the USDA and the EPA to form a water quality center for the
entire river basin that can evaluate the various efforts that are being made to reduce
nutrient loads into the Mississippi.
From the video posted below about dead zones. How a dead zone can impact local
economy, as well as you and me is when I was on the commuter rail from North station
to north Leominster, I saw exactly what we talked about in class on Friday. I usually take
the train in the night, so I never really saw anythineg like it before. First I want to start off
with the pros, I saw a fast flowing river that looked very clean. A con was on my left
outside the window, the train past farms were farmers were growing their crops. I seen
the steams that lead from farm to farm but I couldn’t see were the streams ended. In
between the farms were swampy areas that had large trees pulled from there roots laying
over the river and it seemed to me that the trees were starting to grow thinner than before,
which in the long run isn’t good, because that means the wildlife isn’t going to have as
much oxygen as they did before and some may die due to the type of environment they
live in. In the United States the population keeps getting bigger, which means they
increase in crops and when it rains all the fertilizer is washed away in the stream like
today.
If the United States gains more dead zones I think there will be a major decrease
in fishing, because nothing lives in a dead zone and if a dead zone starts to occur it will
kill everything. In the marketplace there will be no seafood to sell, which will hurt people
that only eat seafood and vegetarians. Also a lot of famous seafood restaurants will go out
of business. And for the restaurants that have seafood, their prices will increase because
it’s so limited. I have thought of some alternative strategies for farmers to help stop this
crisis. If farmers use natural products to grow there crops that will definitely decrease in
dead zones and product, but farmers can’t really do so because like I said before, the
population is only getting bigger so the farmers need to grow there products fast to make
their money. I think before the fertilizer goes into the big ocean scientists need to find a
plant to absorb some of the water, that way we will be able to control a dead zone or
prevent one from occurring.
Work Cited
"Record 'dead Zone' Predicted in Gulf of Mexico."
Http://content.usatoday.com. Doyle Rice, 17 June 2011. Web.
"Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico." Hypoxia in the
Northern Gulf of Mexico. Web. 02 May 2012.
<http://www.gulfhypoxia.net>.