Dead zone in the Gulf article

[ZANYMASTER]

http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080723/ap_on_sc/dead_zone.html

 

[fritz]

Wow yahoo has a green section now. I don't get why the article is in the green section.

The phenomenon is caused when salt water loses large amounts of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia that is typically associated with an area off the Louisiana coast at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The fresh water and salt water don't mix well, keeping oxygen from filtering through to the sea bottom, which causes problems for fish, shrimp, crabs and clams.
This year's dead zone has been aggravated by flood runoff from heavy spring rains and additional runoff moving into the Gulf from record floods along the Mississippi.

So the extra rain is bad? Really? I thought we were facing droughts all over because there wasn't enough rain. Wasn't Atlanta almost out of water recently? Isn't the availability of freshwater a major concern in the US?

"We saw quite a few areas that had little or no oxygen at all at that site," DiMarco said Tuesday. "This dead zone area is the strongest we've seen since 2004, and it's very likely the worst may be still to come.

WOW since 2004! Holy crap that's insane! That means 50% of the time it's less and 50% of the time it is like it is now. This is news? Can you say SENSATIONALIST HEADLINE!

"Since most of the water from the Midwest is still making its way down to the Gulf, we believe that wide area of hypoxia will persist through August and likely until September, when it normally ends."

OMG! Until September! Oh wait that's when it normally ends. So he's saying "Nothing new here"?

DiMarco said a tropical storm or hurricane likely would have no impact on this year's zone, believed to be caused by nutrient pollution from fertilizers that empty into rivers and eventually reach the Gulf.

WTF is this guy talking about?
I got this from the article:
Rain falls and goes into rivers
Rivers empty into the gulf
When freshwater mixes with salt water oxygen can not filter through to the bottom.
Extra rain means extra freshwater mixing with salt water which increases the area effected.
Hurricanes and large storms do not cause additional rain to fall. (Is my understanding of Earth Science way off?)
(and of course, the out of left field comment at the end that is mentioned no where else in the article) Nutrients from fertilizer may be causing this and not the rain.



WTF?

 

[Wes]

WOW since 2004! Holy crap that's insane! That means 50% of the time it's less and 50% of the time it is like it is now. This is news? Can you say SENSATIONALIST HEADLINE!

The sensationalism is getting rediculous...And what do you know?!?!? there is a presidential election coming up :scratch:

 

[georgelc86]

Does anything think this may be related to the OffShore Drilling topic?

 

[fritz]

I think it has less to do with politics and the presidential election and more with making a buck off being green. Yahoo is a big company, if anything they're for McCain. More likely though they could care less who's president here any more than they care who's the German Chancellor. Yahoo is a multinational corporation, America and it's politics is just one slice of the pie.

green.yahoo.com is about making a buck off the green cause, just like Home Depot convincing you to spend $10 for a mercury filled, requires a hazmat crew to clean it up if it breaks in most other countries "GREEN" light bulb. Truth of the matter is there is nothing "GREEN" about those bulbs.
1. The metals in the ballast and plastic in the casing have a larger carbon footprint than a regular bulb.
2. The bulb is full of mercury and quiet literally requires a special crew to clean it up should it break in many other countries. It's REALLY toxic stuff.
3. What happens when they go to a landfill and break? Or when the garbage man compresses it and it breaks? Where do those chemicals go? Into the ground, nothing is as green as putting toxic chemicals in the ground it would seem.

Yeah go buy your energy saving green lightbulbs. I on the other hand will be looking out for our food and water supply by burning the old fashioned type. I can use all the money I save to buy gas.

Thanks for the link, I now have something else to read and laugh at everyday. I had no idea yahoo was peddling the green stuff also.

 

[Wes]

I think it has less to do with politics and the presidential election and more with making a buck off being green. Yahoo is a big company, if anything they're for McCain. More likely though they could care less who's president here any more than they care who's the German Chancellor. Yahoo is a multinational corporation, America and it's politics is just one slice of the pie.

The article is from the Associated Press. Yahoo is just compiling all the "green" articles into one area. You are probably right about yahoo only caring about making a buck on the Green movement. Unfortunately, most of these "Green" articles are one sided and sensationalistic. So I think we are both right here. Yahoo just cares about the money and the author of the article is politically driven. After the election is over the entire "green" thing will be less of a hot topic...Unless McCain wins.

speaking of those Mercury filled lightbulbs, there are alot of politicians in Washington who want it to be illegal to use anything BUT these bulbs. GE will be making some big $ if that happens.

I can't decide on who to vote for. This country is becoming more and more Fascist. Republicans are owned by Big Oil, Haliburton, etc. now Democrats are owned by Big Green. I might just stay home on election day...

vote Ron Paul

 

[fritz]

sadly all very very true

I'm with you, vote RuPaul!