As a society, we always think about our carbon footprint, but what about our "water footprint"? The Mississippi River basin and watershed in the U.S. is one of the most productive farming regions in the world: indeed, almost 40% of corn grown in the world comes from this area. Also grown are soy, wheat, cotton, and others. Think about how often you use these products. In the morning, you eat cereal made from midwestern corn, and you put on cotton clothes. Your car is partly fueled by ethanol, and your dinner of chicken and rice is also from this area. The problem is that pollution is affecting the water so bad, if current trends continue, the future looks grim.
Phosphorous fertilizer costs next to nothing for farmers, but just one speck per gallon can cost society millions in lost recreational value and cleanup costs. Rice in Arkansas has depleted the groundwater, dropping the local aquifer by 90ft. A "dead zone" the size of Connecticut served as a study that found that oxygen-deprived female fish developed testes.
Solutions to this pressing issue are not simple. For example, if winter rye was planted after harvesting corn or soybeans, the rye would absorb nitrogen so it wouldn't leach into the soil and end up polluting the Gulf of Mexico. When the rye is tilled, it would provide nitrogen for the soil. But heavy nitrogen fertilizers are cheaper. One man believes economic incentives need to kick in before changes are feasible. What do you think?
Also, check out this link to calculate your own water footprint: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator/
You can find the full article here: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/120123-mississippi-river-basin/
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