GLIN==> Shrimp, the Dead Zone and the Corn Belt

[elzblap <elzblap@umich.edu>]

Title: Shrimp, the Dead Zone and the Corn Belt

Environment Report Connects Shrimp, the Dead Zone and the Corn Belt
 
Rebecca Williams, and the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Environment Report, produced a two-part series about the connection between increased ethanol production, farming and the predicted record size of the dead zone (hypoxia) in the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
Dr. Donald Scavia, Michigan Sea Grant Director and Professor at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, is among a number of scientists predicting that increased corn production in the “Corn Belt” will result in more nitrogen entering rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
High levels of nitrogen negatively impact the fishing industry and recreational activities. According to experts at NOAA’s Coastal Hypoxia Research Program, “hypoxia is now a persistent problem in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, Lake Erie, Puget Sound, and many other freshwater and marine centers of recreational and commercial importance.”
 
See the Environment Report, two-part series: http://environmentreport.org 
 
Also see: 
  -- NOAA Coastal Hypoxia Research Program:  http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/pollution/current/chrp.html  
  -- Michigan Sea Grant:  http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu 
  -- University of Michigan School of Natural Resources:  http://www.snre.umich.edu



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Elizabeth LaPorte
Michigan Sea Grant | Communications and Education Services
elzblap@umich.edu | 734-647-0767 | www.miseagrant.umich.edu