Mississippi Flooding Worsens Gulf Environment
(Posted May 31, 2011 06:42 am)
PENSACOLA, FL - The most severe flooding of the Mississippi River in many decades has earned it a "special mention" in American Rivers' annual list of Most Endangered Rivers recently announced, and that flooding is also expected to worsen the state of the environment in the Gulf of Mexico. The pollution threatens drinking water and quality of life from Texas to Florida.
Nancy Paraskevopolus, a marine life activist, says
the flood water is contributing to the most tainted
coastal ecosystem in the world, approaching the North
Florida coastline.
"So, the Mississippi River was added to the American
River's list due to the unprecedented nature of the
flooding, which has caused this enormous Dead Zone."
The Dead Zone is caused by an overgrowth of algae that
feed on the nutrients washed from farmland. The algae
consume most of the oxygen in the water, which kills off
the other marine life.
Paraskevopolus says that if farmers don't take more
advantage of federal programs nothing will change.
"What will happen in the future is exactly what is
happening right now. If we keep on the same track, our
communities will continue to be devastated."
Scientists estimate that simply returning lands in the
Upper Mississippi River basin to their original form,
wetlands, would significantly reduce flooding in
Mississippi and Louisiana.
After the Mississippi River Delta, the second-most
threatened marine coastal ecosystem is where the Ganges
River drains into the Bay of Bengal off the Indian
subcontinent.