I'll have the plankton soup with my soupy swill, please

According to a report by two U.S. scientists, "Spreading Dead Zones and Consequence for Marine Ecosystems," there are 405 asphyxiating dead zones in our oceans. At this rate, one scientist says, all that will be left for the next generation to harvest from the sea is "plankton soup."

Dead zones are caused by nutrient pollution, such as fertilizer runoff from agriculture, that adds phosphates and nitrogen to the water, causing massive algae blooms. The algae then die, and sink into the ocean, where bacteria consume it, sucking up the oxygen from the water and causing what is known as hypoxia, or a dead zone.

North America's largest dead zone is in the Gulf of Mexico: a 22,000-sq-km sea morgue the size of New Jersey.

Other dead zones have been discovered off California, in Lake Erie, around the Florida Keys, in North and South Carolina creeks and in Washington's Puget Sound. Together, they have turned 246,048 sq km of the seas - an area the equivalent of all five of the Great Lakes - into marine wastelands.

Because fish and other organisms can't live without oxygen, dead zones can be extremely detrimental to the fishing industry, as well as to aquatic ecosytems.

The good news is that with proper pollution prevention dead zones may be reversible. But, if we keep going the direction that we are going, all we have to look forward to is seas emptied of fish and filled with "soupy swill" - algae, bacteria and jellyfish and their ilk - the "rise of slime." This brave new ocean will resemble ancient oceans - a soup of primeval muck where "microbes and jellyfish . . . may constitute the only surviving commercial fishery"

This is fracking ridiculous

Fracking* fluids, or fracturing fluids, are fluids that are pumped into the ground to break up rocks and increase oil production in a process known as hydraulic fracking. Around 90 percent of all oil and gas wells in the U.S. uses this process.

The problem is, these fracking fluids are extremely toxic and go largely unregulated. Yet, millions of gallons of these fluids are used every years, and there are hundreds of reported spills.The EPA, however, says that fracking fluids are safe for the environment and groundwater, even though this is clearly not the case. Check out this Newsweek article on the health and environmental effects of fracking, and story of one woman who got poisoned by exposure to fracking fluids.

The upside is that in yet another example of states stepping in where EPA fails, Colorado has just announced it will be issuing regulations on fracking fluid. Yay, Colorado!

*Brian has pointed out that frack is also a swear word commonly used on Battlestar Galactica. For all my sci-fi geek fans (Megan), I apologize for the confusion.

Good news to start the weekend!

The Senate Environment and Public Works committee passed legislation today that addresses toxic substances in drinking water, advances environmental justice issues, limits the release of mercury, tracks hazardous waste, cleans up the Great Lakes, and improves sanitation systems for rural and native villages in Alaska.

Superhero Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the EPW Committee said: "The bills approved by the Environment and Public Works Committee today tackle some of the most dangerous pollution threatening our families and communities."

Great work, EPW! (Congress, don't screw it up)