Science Study Shows Agricultural Fertilizer Choking U.S. Oceans

A peer-reviewed paper published today in Science demonstrates the extent of environmental harm from agriculture as practiced over the past few decades. Use of nitrogen fertilizer has risen dramatically, and half of all the fertilizer that has ever been used on Earth has been applied in the last 15 years, leading to massive pollution of coastal waters. Agricultural nitrogen fertilizers that run off into coastal areas squeeze oxygen from the water, leaving behind “dead zones” devoid of most life forms.

Polluted agricultural runoff from farms in the upper Midwest contributes to a dead zone the size of New Jersey located in the Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi River. Coastal waters and two-thirds of the nation’s rivers and bays are degraded from nutrient pollution, much of it coming from farms.

“Coastal waters are being decimated by pollution from nitrogen fertilizer,” said Environmental Defense senior scientist Bob Howarth, one of the authors of the Science paper. “Fisheries, coastal ecosystems and the recreational and commercial industries that depend upon them are being hit hard by fertilizer overuse. If trends of the past 35 years continue, nitrogen fertilizer use will more than double globally by 2050.”

A letter signed by 128 of the nation’s leading environmental scientists to Congressional leaders will be released today in coordination with publication of the Science paper. The letter calls for Congress to provide authorization funding for a plan to reduce nitrogen flux in the Mississippi basin by 30% in 15 years. All of the governors of the states in the upper Mississippi basin have signed the Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force Action Plan, but federal assistance is necessary for the plan to succeed. The letter and a list of its signatories can be found at www.environmentaldefense.org

“Congress must step forward and make the investments needed to foster an environmentally sustainable green revolution, which will make U.S. coastal and agricultural areas stronger, safer and more productive,” said Howarth. “They should support the Midwestern governors and provide funding for the Task Force nitrogen reduction plan. Congress should also revise the Farm Bill and help farmers make the transition to more environmentally benign agriculture practices. Planting winter cover crops and using somewhat less fertilizer, combined with full Congressional funding of wetlands restoration and preservation, are important and practical steps toward restoring the economic and environmental health of America’s coastal waters. Solutions are easily available that help preserve the oceans without harming crop production.”