Gulf of Mexico’s growing dead zone blamed on ethanol demand

July 25, 2013 |

In the Gulf of Mexico, corn production in the Midwest is being blamed for the swath of low oxygen known as the “dead zone”. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects the zone to be the largest ever and triple last year’s size, reaching from Texas to Alabama. The executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi says it’s demand for ethanol that is boosting corn production and therefore the negative impacts on the Gulf.

Category: Fuels

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