Talking about dead zones in the oceans, the results of algal blooms, we get this:
Prof Diaz began studying dead zones in the mid-1980s after seeing their effect on bottom life in a tributary of Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore. "Dead zones were once rare. Now they\’re commonplace. There are more of them in more places."
The key to reducing dead zones is "to keep fertilisers on the land and out of the sea."
Prof Diaz says that goal is shared by farmers concerned with the high cost of buying and applying nitrogen to their crops.
"They certainly don\’t want to see their dollars flowing off their fields into the bay," says Prof Diaz. "Scientists and farmers need to continue working together to develop farming methods that minimise the transfer of nutrients from land to sea."
Another argument for GM crops of course, many of which require less fertilisation: there are even varieties which fix their own nitrogen from the air.
Roll on technology to solve our environmental problems!