Not such good news: "Gulf dead zone to be biggest ever

Interesting, Last couple summers we had some pretty good size dead zones off of Oregon, but so far this summer there hasn't been one. Right now the weather here looks like October and not July. I guess Al Gore's going to have to stick to the southern states for now. :lol:
 
flapbreaker":2sxmp5px said:
Interesting, Last couple summers we had some pretty good size dead zones off of Oregon, but so far this summer there hasn't been one. Right now the weather here looks like October and not July. I guess Al Gore's going to have to stick to the southern states for now. :lol:
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Global warming (which you presumably are referring to) isn't a uniform phenomena (some locations may actually cool down, some get more rain, others less). Some might even argue, though incorrectly, that your unseasonable weather is itself evidence for something being "up" with the climate. They'd be incorrect. Hopefully by now most sensible people gotten it through their heads that weather .NEQ. climate and that conditions observed at one local, at one point in time, are the former, not the latter. Climate is what you tell your children about ("When I was a boy I had to walk five miles uphill to and from school through 10' snow drifts!").

:tux rules! (sorry, just saw the icon and could not resist)
 
Hello KenG! Good to hear from another 16 Cruiser owner.
Local scientist believe the Gulf of Mexico "dead Zone" is caused by nutrients from farm run off flowing down the Mississippi into the gulf, not global warming.
 
The dead zones identified are largely the result of agricultural practices, and high nitrate loading. This "may be due to more intensive farming of more land, including crops used for biofuels, unique weather patterns, or changing farming practices."

Although climate change can obviously have an affect, it is apparently not the primary cause of nitrate loading in the 'dead zones.' As Capt Jim said, more ag runoff down the Mississippi.

Also, on a slightly different tack, and expanding a little on Ken G's comments -- climate change often has an interesting effect on local weather and, therefore, on us boaters. As a geologist, many of our friends are involved in studying paleoclimatology. A warming earth, for instance, may cause some glaciers to advance, some cool areas to become cold, some cold areas to be more cold and conversely a cooling earth can have local 'warming' effects. The changes in precipitation can be even more profound in local areas when global climates change. So, a warming global trend may mean your 'local' glacier will advance, your 'local' boating region may be colder or stormier, or whatever. We can think globally, like some politicians or media folk, but we should act locally in response to climate changes.
 
Capt. Jim":v1oz42q4 said:
Hello KenG! Good to hear from another 16 Cruiser owner.
Local scientist believe the Gulf of Mexico "dead Zone" is caused by nutrients from farm run off flowing down the Mississippi into the gulf, not global warming.
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Actually, it was the previous post by ... flapbreaker(?) which kind of connected the two. Dead zones like that off the mouth of the Mississippi are almost 100% certainly (which really means its a good bet) caused by too much nitrogen fertilizer and perhaps by some less than effective waste treatment plants, hog farms, and the like.
 
Didn't mean to start a global warming debate. I think dead zone's have very little to do with global warming. Some of the proponents of global warming do use local climate changes to sell the idea. Global warming is more believable to the massess when it's hot out. I was mearly joking with the Al gore comment. Kind of fell flat I guess.
 
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. One has to be cautious making generalizations based on local conditions (as noted in previous posts). There has been heavy rain in some of the drainage basins of this area, mostly off the Mississippi river system delta. (or what is left of the delta)
The price of corn, and secondary price of soy beans --which are indirectly related to the desire to use ethanol, is certainly a driving factor. Hard for me to believe that 25% more land is being cultivated than last year--if this is directly correlated.

As a corn/soy farmer, I can tell you that we are very conscious of our use of fertilizers and chemicals. Our tractors have differential GPS with maps of our farm which specifically determine how much chemical/fertilizer is dropped on each portion of the land. The cost of chemicals and fertilizers is increased significantly this year.

Another factor is the currents and Gulf streams actions (as well as the storm events) in mixing of the material comming down the river. Another major factor is the channalization of the Mississippi River system, and the subsiquent significant loss of the Lousiania wetlands.

Hopefully this prediction will not be true. Fishing had been good in Pensacola until last week--and local weather may have some effect--but at the tourniment last weekend, there were very few fish caught and only one bill fish tagged. (Sea state, fuel costs, number and types of boats all enter into the equation).

Regards,
 
Flapbreaker and all,
No debate here, just friendly discussion. And jokes about any politican welcome.

16 C-Dory owners prayer:

Oh Lord, Thy sea is so large and my boat is so small...
 
DoD":240brll8 said:
No rational person in this day and age can dispute that climate change is occurring. Then again evidence suggests that Earth's climate has histoically been in a constant state of change relative to geologic timeframe type events. I think the real debate is whether we (i.e. humans) are having an impact on the current climate change.
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In your studied opinion, will this change affect prop performance in the globally warmed water?
 
DogOn wrote: But then again I was over thirty before I figured out that PhD wasn't an abbreviation for Post hole Digger so weigh my opinion appropriately. I always wondered why those folks didn't have callouses on their hands .

DogOn, I are one!

And you need to know that there is a progression here:

BS = everyone knows what this is.

MS = More of the Same

PhD = Piled Higher and Deeper

Yours, in the spirit of fun ... and in the spirit of keeping an open mind, full of Too Much Information!

A dead zone is a dead zone; time will tell their significance.
 
There is no need for debate if one trusts the leading expert. Al Gore has certainly increased his own diameter over the past few years, but he still uses the same old pitch. Inconvenient perhaps, but true.
 
:roll: I am rolling up my pants leg a little with each post. The old saying "everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." Use to be a joke, today its true. Use to be "God almighty, now its Gore almighty.
Captd
 
captd":24vsrsth said:
:roll: I am rolling up my pants leg a little with each post. The old saying "everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." Use to be a joke, today its true. Use to be "God almighty, now its Gore almighty.
Captd
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I donned high water waders at the first mention of Al Gore . . . Anyone that would have worldwide rock concerts burning millions of gallons of jet and diesel fuel in the name of reducing oil consumption . . .

About oil: since we won't allow our companies to drill off Florida, guess who is? China and Cuba. Snooze we lose.
 
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