EWG News release
Pollution Solutions For Gulf ‘Dead Zone’ Disaster
Immediate Action to Reduce Agriculture Run-off Critical to Restoring Health of Mississippi River Basin
AMES, IA, October 17, 2008. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from agriculture sources flowing from the Mississippi River is devastating the northern Gulf of Mexico and impacting human health, killing fish and limiting recreation along the way. Lack of funding for voluntary conservation programs and inadequate regulations are contributing to this environmental disaster known as the Gulf ‘Dead Zone.’ Environmental Working Group (EWG) Vice President Midwest Craig Cox focused on the critical solutions required to mitigate run-off pollution in the Mississippi River Basin in a speech today before the Iowa Environmental Council’s annual conference.“The weaknesses in voluntary programs too often result in random acts of conservation rather than the highly focused acts of conservation needed to solve water quality problems,” Cox said.Click to see the full text of the speech.
# # # EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. EWG’s reports on the environmental impact of modern agriculture can be found at http://www.ewg.org/content/research/4