Recent energy policies, combined with pre-existing crop subsidies, tax policies, global market conditions and trade barriers all provide economic incentives for conversion of retired and other cropland to corn production for use in ethanol production. Such conversions could lead to corn production on an additional 16 million acres…

The Dead Zone, an area in which there isn’t enough dissolved oxygen to support aquatic life, has been measured in the Gulf of Mexico since 1985. It’s caused by agricultural runoff overenriching the waters at the end of the Mississippi River - the downstream effect of millions of acres of intensely fertilized crops. Nitrogen and phosphorous, intended for corn but ending up in the river, make their way to the Gulf causing excessive phytoplankton production. In the process, all available oxygen is used up (hypoxia), and marine life has to move out or suffocate.

It turns out that the greater Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) drains a grand total of 40% of the contiguous United States. The cumulative effect of all this runnoff creates a Dead Zone approximatly 20,500 sq. km. - roughly the size of the state of New Jersey.

To address this issue, the Science Advisory board recommends a 45% reduction in nitrogen and phosphorous fluxes from farmland. Unfortunately, recent trends pushing corn-based biofuels are not exactly aligned with this strategy:

Certain aspects of the nation’s current agricultural and energy policies are at odds with the goals of hypoxia reduction and improving water quality. . .[A]n emerging national strategy on renewable fuels has granted economic incentives to corn-based ethanol production.

Without some change to the current structure of economic incentives favoring corn-based ethanol, N[itrogen] loadings to the MARB from increased corn production could increase dramatically in coming years, rather than decreasing, as needed…

The alternative is cellulosic ethanol and avoiding corn-based fuels altogether:

Alternatively, the use of perennial crops and other feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol requires a more complex refining process that produces more net energy and results in lower fertilization and thus less nutrient runoff than corn-based ethanol.

The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is a symptom our farming practices, and converting cropland to grow fuel will only exacerbate the problem. This is just another chapter in the corn-based ethanol saga. The EPA’s Science Advisory Board will vote on approval of the draft report in December.

Green Car Congress: EPA Science Advisory Board Suggests Revisions to Ethanol Incentives Necessary to Reduce Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone”
Science Advisory Board (SAB) Hypoxia Panel Draft Advisory Report

Photo Credit

When you wash your vehicle on a paved surface such as a driveway or parking lot, all that dirty, soapy water has to go somewhere. Chances are it flows into storm drains, which lead directly to creeks, lakes, and streams harming water quality and wildlife.

Believe it or not, taking your car to a commercial car wash is actually better for the environment than washing it at home. They use less water, and are required by law to send used water through to the sewage system where it will be treated. Many commercial car washes, especially in drought-prone areas, will recycle or reuse their water - but ask just to make sure. And don't make a special trip to the car wash — stop by on your way to or from somewhere.

When washing your own at home, look for chlorine free and phosphate-free soaps, like Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap, Bi-O-Kleen multipurpose cleaner or a green car cleaner such as Simple Green. Or try a waterless car wash product that you can spray on and wipe off with a cloth.

Use a spray nozzle on your hose, or take some gray water from your house to conserve water.

Park your car on your lawn or grassy area. The ground will serve as a natural filter for the run off.

Make your own car wash kit to redirect dirty water away from the storm drain. The city of Seattle has directions on how to build your own using a pump, a hose and a few other items you can find in your local home improvement store. (This kind of thing might be best for school or church fund raising car washes.)

Amy says: I've always preferred taking my car through the car wash, not because it was environmentally safer, but simply because it was easier and always got my car cleaner than I ever could.

More on enviro-friendly aspects to car washing:

Stormwater Magazine

Grist

About.com

Related info from GO:

Nude Car Wash

Car Sharing Services (so you don't have to worry about washing the car)

This chemical disruption is not going to facilitate spawning! Do we dare to question what these chemicals are doing to us? A World Wildlife Foundation Briefing on the chemical states that "NPEs has been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone oestrogen, and it is a potential factor in the increasing incidence of reproductive organ disorders and decreasing sperm counts in men."

The Sierra Club has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to ban this compound in areas where wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to extract it. The greater question is, how is it getting into our waterways and estuaries and effecting wildlife? In this I respond with: water is the most abundant molecule on earth, it is also referred to as the universal solvent. Combine these two facts and we get a lot of water that is not clean.

The World Wildlife Foundation report on how NPEs are reaching our water environment:

• 37% NPEs via the sewer system
• 46% via sludge spreading on agricultural land

Chemical pollutants that cause hazardous runoff come from lawn fertilizers, industrial pesticides, household cleaners, leaky tailpipes, industrial waste, store byproduct (such as a drycleaners), this runoff is not good. If you take this information inside with the newspaper, you realize that the pollution in your home is due to off gassing from materials you bring in that were treated with chemicals (everything from carpet to magazines) and cleaning products.

So here is the simple solution: just read your labels. We can’t eradicate chemical pollution immediately, but we can start acting consciously by purchasing safe and simple cleaning products, fertilizers, and food. A rule to shop by, if you can’t read it, don’t eat it (remember that 46% of this stuff is spread on our industrial farms-buy organic), and if you can’t pronounce it, don’t spray it on your counter (when you wash your hands this water goes down the drain to the treatment plant…).

One of the scariest commercials on TV right now is for a cleaning company whose products contain compounds we should not come in oral contact with. It shows the mom cleaning the countertop with this product then her child eating cookies from a box that just tipped over onto the same countertop. The mom is relieved because she just cleaned the counter from harmful bacteria, but simultaneously she could have put harmful chemicals on it that are equally as disrupting to her child’s health.

One sixth of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water. Most water born problems are due to bacteria that cause them to contract harmful diseases. We don’t need to add chemical hormone disruption to this list. In purchasing safe cleaning products, food, and supporting safe practices we are creating a safer living environment, reducing pollution in our waterways, enabling biodiversity, promoting natural reproduction, and helping to provide safer drinking water for the entire world.

WWF: Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPE)

The Green Report: Ban Sought on Detergent Ingredient

Image Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography