The world’s most pervasive groundwater pollution problem – nitrate in drinking water – is under scrutiny in the richest farming region of the United States. This week, a report for the California Legislature revealed that 250,000 people living in Central California, including four of the top five agricultural counties in the U.S., are currently at risk for nitrate contamination in their drinking water. Many of them are among the poorest Californians. Nitrate, in this instance, is a byproduct of nitrogen fertilizer. In drinking water, high concentrations of it can interfere with the ... Read More
Resuscitating Coastal Dead Zones Starts Far From Shore
March 19, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
Today, chemically synthesized nitrogen is recognized as a major cause of aquatic eutrophication ( a state where excess nutrients spur excessive plant growth) and anoxia (the absence of oxygen, which results in "dead zones") in many coastal regions of the world. A large effort is directed toward preventing nitrogen from getting into aquatic systems to restore coastal shellfish populations and the coastal fishery — important food sources for much of humanity. Current monitoring indicates that most of the nitrogen responsible for coastal deterioration originates as runoff from fertilized ... Read More
