Dead Zones: How Agricultural Fertilizers are Killing our Rivers, Lakes and Oceans

Fertilizer run-off from industrial agriculture is choking the planet’s oceans, rivers and lakes. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution feed explosive algae blooms that suck the oxygen from the water as they grow. These algae blooms result in dead zones that have become a recurrent feature in every ocean and on every continent.

As global warming heats our oceans, these problems will only worsen. Unless measures are put in place to control fertilizer usage, losses to biodiversity will continue to mount, coastal and inland fisheries will suffer and summer beaches could become toxic no-go zones devoid of life.

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Authors:	Lead author: Reyes Tirado, Ph.D. - Greenpeace Research Laboratories - www.greenpeace.to
Date published:	08 July 2008
Format:	Adobe PDF
Number of pages:	25
ISBN:	978-0-9810375-1-6
Size:	14 Mb