Mapping Coastal Eutrophication By Garry PetersonResilience Science; Ecosystem services, Greenlash, Regime Shifts and Visualization; Jan 28, 2008For the Map and the full story, please go to: http://rs.resalliance.org/2008/01/28/mapping-coastal-eutrophication/ Current industrial agricultural practices produce a tradeoff between agricultural production and the quality of coastal ecosystems, because agricultural fertilizers that increase crop yields lead to the creation of [...]

Livestock Sector Drives Increasing Water Pollution By Lisa RaffenspergerWorld Resources Institute; Earth Trends Environmental Information; January 30, 2008For the full story, please go to:  http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/279 Anyone who's ever seen a cow pasture would likely recognize some of the most immediate environmental impacts of large-scale livestock farming--trampled ground, eroded stream banks, lots of manure. However, a [...]

U.S. study says Iowa among main Gulf polluters By PHILIP BRASHER REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU JANUARY 30, 2008 Des Moines Register; 30 January 2008http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801300376 Washington, D.C. - Farms in Iowa and eight other Midwestern and Southern states are causing most of the pollution that creates a "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, a government study [...]

Dead zone diet By MEGHA SATYANARAYANASun Herald, Biloxi, Mi; January 30, 2008http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=11E826E2530264E0&p_docnum=1Farms and their animals feed Gulf's algae The nutrient-rich muck created by corn, soybean and livestock farming in Mississippi and other states is fortifying the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, according to federal scientists in a new study. A possible trade-off of plentiful terrestrial [...]

9 states deemed biggest dead zone contributors By Bruce AlpertTimes-Picayune; 30 January 2008http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-2/120167404552400.xml&coll=1They produce bulk of nutrient runoff  WASHINGTON -- Increasing pressure on federal regulators to impose mandatory reductions in agricultural runoff, a new government report says that nine states in the Mississippi River Basin contribute most of the nutrients in the northern Gulf of [...]

Media Advisory: Agriculture Practices in 9 States Contribute Majority of Excessive Nutrients to Northern Gulf of Mexico By U.S. Geological Survey1/24/2008  http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1859 Released: 1/24/2008 12:34:15 PM Contact Information:U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological SurveyOffice of Communication119 National CenterReston, VA 20192 Rich Alexander Phone: 703-648-6869 Jennifer LaVista Phone: 703-648-4432 Editor's note: This story is of particular interest [...]

Mississippi water flows see increase By Amy WoldBaton Rouge Advocate; January 27, 2008http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/14459507.html Farming practices since ’50s found responsible for trend Since the mid-1950s, changes in farming practices in the Mississippi River basin helped put more water and more carbon into the Mississippi River, a trend that continues today, according to a science article published [...]

Turn tide on Florida pollution By Sally Swartz, Editorial WriterPalm Beach Post; January 23, 2008http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/opinion/epaper/2008/01/23/a20a_swartzcol_0123.html Red tide makes people cough and sneeze, and kills fish, dolphins and manatees. Once rare on the Florida's east coast, it appeared again during the holidays, for the third time since 2002. The killer tide may have drifted south from [...]

EDITORIAL: On our teamTimes-Picayune; January 8, 2008http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1199773215152710.xml&coll=1 Louisianians understand how vital wetlands are: They serve as a buffer against storm surge and are nurseries for marine life and habitat for waterfowl. The loss of coastal wetlands is a crisis for this state. But Louisiana's environmental well-being also depends on wetlands far outside its boundaries -- [...]

Grass Makes Better Ethanol than Corn By David BielloScientific American; January 8, 2008http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=grass-makes-better-ethanol-than-corn Midwestern farms prove switchgrass could be the right crop for producing ethanol to replace gasoline Farmers in Nebraska and the Dakotas brought the U.S. closer to becoming a biofuel economy, planting huge tracts of land for the first time with switchgrass—a native [...]