Take Part Post - Ocean Dead Zones Spreading in U.S. Waters

By Ben Murray
September 14, 2010

"The image of an ocean dead zone is stark: a barren, underwater desert of silt, littered with the bodies of suffocated crabs and asphyxiated fish. Caused when agricultural runoff feeds huge algae blooms that suck oxygen out of the water when they decay, so-called hypoxic zones are increasingly common in U.S. waters, a recent government study finds. Thirty times more common, in fact. In a report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a White House commission September 3, researchers said the 30-fold increase has occurred since 1960. At least 300 U.S. waterways now have 'stressful' or hypoxic zones...."

http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/09/14/ocean-dead-zones-spreading-in-us-waters