* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Neil Young Plays Rare Full-Band ‘Ambulance Blues’ With The Chrome Hearts – Yahoo

    Neil Young Stuns Fans with Rare Full-Band Performance of ‘Ambulance Blues’ Alongside The Chrome Hearts

    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    Nantucket Dance Festival opens July 8 – The Inquirer and Mirror

    Nantucket Dance Festival Launches with Thrilling Performances Beginning July 8

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment’s ‘Mandala Murders’ Premieres July 25 – About Netflix

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse: Dive into the Chilling World of ‘Mandala Murders’ Premiering July 25

    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

    Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

    Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

    Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Neil Young Plays Rare Full-Band ‘Ambulance Blues’ With The Chrome Hearts – Yahoo

    Neil Young Stuns Fans with Rare Full-Band Performance of ‘Ambulance Blues’ Alongside The Chrome Hearts

    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    Nantucket Dance Festival opens July 8 – The Inquirer and Mirror

    Nantucket Dance Festival Launches with Thrilling Performances Beginning July 8

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment’s ‘Mandala Murders’ Premieres July 25 – About Netflix

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse: Dive into the Chilling World of ‘Mandala Murders’ Premiering July 25

    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

    Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

    Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

    Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Latest EPA assessment shows almost no improvement in river and stream nitrogen pollution

January 21, 2024
in News
Latest EPA assessment shows almost no improvement in river and stream nitrogen pollution
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

ST. LOUIS — The nation’s rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency assessment.

It’s a difficult problem that’s concentrated in agricultural regions that drain into the Mississippi River. More than half of the basin’s miles of rivers and streams were in poor condition for nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer that drains into waterways, the agency found. For decades, federal and state officials have struggled to control farm runoff, the biggest source of nutrient pollution that is not typically federally regulated.

It’s a problem only expected to get harder to control as climate change produces more intense storms that dump rain on the Midwest and South. Those heavy rains flood farm fields, pick up commercial fertilizers and carry them into nearby rivers.

“It’s really worrying that we are clearly not meeting the goals that we’ve set for ourselves,” said Olivia Dorothy, director of river restoration with the conservation group American Rivers.

The assessment is based on samples collected in 2018 and 2019 and it allows experts to compare river conditions from previous rounds of sampling, although different sampling sites were used. It takes years for the agency to compile the results and release the report, which is the most comprehensive assessment of the nation’s river and stream health. Phosphorus levels dipped slightly while nitrogen levels remained almost exactly the same.

About half of all river miles were found to be in poor condition for snails, worms, beetles and other bottom dwelling species that are an important indicator of biological health of the river. About a third were also rated as having poor conditions for fish based on species diversity.

“Controlling pollution is a big job. It is hard work,” said Tom Wall, director of watershed restoration, assessment and protection division at EPA. “Things are not getting worse, despite the tremendous pressures on our waterways. And we would like to see more progress.”

Water pollution from factories and industry is typically federally regulated. The Biden administration recently proposed toughening regulations on meat and poultry processing plants to reduce pollution, Wall said.

When nutrient pollution flows into the Gulf of Mexico, it spurs growth of bacteria that consume oxygen. That creates a so-called “dead zone,” a vast area where it’s difficult or impossible for marine animals to survive, fluctuating from about the size of Rhode Island to the size of New Jersey, according to Nancy Rabalais, professor of oceanography and wetland studies at Louisiana State University.

That affects the productivity of commercial fisheries and marine life in general, but nutrient pollution is also damaging upstream. Too much nitrate in drinking water can affect how blood carries oxygen, causing human health problems like headaches, nausea and abdominal cramps. It can especially affect infants, sometimes inducing “blue baby syndrome,” which causes the skin to take on a bluish hue.

The EPA established the hypoxia task force in the late 1990s to reduce nutrient pollution and shrink the dead zone, but it relies on voluntary efforts to reduce farm runoff and hasn’t significantly reduced the dead zone.

Anne Schechinger, Midwest director with the Environmental Working Group, said new regulations are needed, not voluntary efforts. She said the Biden administration has done a lot to improve drinking water, but not enough to reduce agricultural runoff.

Methods to prevent runoff include building buffers between farmland and waterways, creating new wetlands to filter pollutants and applying less fertilizer.

It’s a politically fraught issue, especially in major Midwest farming states that significantly contribute to the problem. Many of those states cite their voluntary conservation programs as evidence they’re taking on the problem, yet the new EPA data shows little progress.

Minnesota is one of the few states that has a so-called “buffer law” that requires vegetation to be planted along rivers, streams and public drainage ditches. But because groundwater and surface water are closely connected in much of the Upper Midwest, nutrient pollution can end up leaching underground through farm fields and eventually bypass those buffers, ending up in streams anyway, said Gregory Klinger, who works for the Olmsted County, Minnesota soil and water conservation district.

There should also be a focus on preventing over-fertilizing – about 30% of farmers are still using more than the recommended amounts of fertilizer on their fields, said Brad Carlson, an extension educator with the University of Minnesota who communicates with farmers about nutrient pollution issues.

Martin Larsen, a farmer and conservation technician in southeast Minnesota, said he and other farmers are interested in practices that reduce their nutrient pollution. He’s broken up his typical corn and soybean rotation with oats and medium red clover, the latter a kind of plant that can increase nitrogen levels in the soil naturally. He’s been able to get by with about half as much fertilizer for a corn crop that follows a clover planting as compared to a corn-corn rotation.

Growing oats and red clover as cover crops improves soil, too. But Larsen said it’s difficult for many farmers to plant them when they often rely on an immediate payback for anything they grow. Cover crops are planted on just 5.1% of harvested farmland, according to 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Larsen said since regulations are so unpopular, more should be done to incentivize better practices. For example, he said that could include companies shifting the makeup of feed they use for animals, giving farmers an opening to plant some crops that use less fertilizer. Or government programs that do more to subsidize things like cover crops.

He said that many farmers in his community acknowledge the need to do things differently. “But we also feel very trapped in the system,” he said.

___

Walling reported from Chicago.

___

Follow Melina Walling on X: @MelinaWalling.

___

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : ABC News – https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/latest-epa-assessment-shows-improvement-river-stream-nitrogen-106548031

Tags: assessmentlatestnews
Previous Post

Inside Pitchfork’s absorption into GQ: When ‘music media’ becomes ‘men’s media,’ what’s lost?

Next Post

Paradigm Initiative & Sunshine Cinema Join Forces to Drive Digital Inclusion and Tackle Youth Unemployment

Russia’s economy just flashed warning signs about manufacturing and employment – Business Insider

Russia’s Economy Sends Alarming Signals in Manufacturing and Employment

July 3, 2025
Neil Young Plays Rare Full-Band ‘Ambulance Blues’ With The Chrome Hearts – Yahoo

Neil Young Stuns Fans with Rare Full-Band Performance of ‘Ambulance Blues’ Alongside The Chrome Hearts

July 3, 2025
Registered nurse explains reasoning for health care workers strike against WellSpan Health – WGAL

Registered nurse explains reasoning for health care workers strike against WellSpan Health – WGAL

July 3, 2025
Judge blocks Trump asylum ban at southern border, says he exceeded authority – NBC News

Judge blocks Trump asylum ban at southern border, says he exceeded authority – NBC News

July 3, 2025

Stellantis Revives SRT: High-Performance Street and Racing Division Makes a Triumphant Return

July 3, 2025
Josh Hart Delivers Promise to Fans After Knicks’ Recent Move – Yahoo Sports

Josh Hart Delivers Promise to Fans After Knicks’ Recent Move – Yahoo Sports

July 3, 2025
LensToLens: Wetlands guard bird species from plateau to urban landscape – Xinhua

How Wetlands Safeguard Bird Species Across Plateaus and Urban Landscapes

July 3, 2025
Commentary: Vatican defends science from politics, ideology and misinformation – The Salt Lake Tribune

Vatican Takes a Bold Stand: Defending Science from Politics, Ideology, and Misinformation

July 2, 2025
Scientists Merged 3 Human Brains by Thought Alone – Popular Mechanics

Scientists Achieve Mind-Blowing Feat by Merging Three Human Brains Through Thought Alone

July 3, 2025
Retired woman shares inside look at lifestyle after moving into unconventional tiny home: ‘The best decision I’ve ever made’ – The Cool Down

Retired Woman Reveals Life-Changing Joys of Living in an Unconventional Tiny Home: “The Best Decision I’ve Ever Made

July 2, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (702)
  • Economy (729)
  • Entertainment (21,617)
  • General (15,685)
  • Health (9,768)
  • Lifestyle (732)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (729)
  • Politics (736)
  • Science (15,946)
  • Sports (21,226)
  • Technology (15,712)
  • World (709)

Recent News

Russia’s economy just flashed warning signs about manufacturing and employment – Business Insider

Russia’s Economy Sends Alarming Signals in Manufacturing and Employment

July 3, 2025
Neil Young Plays Rare Full-Band ‘Ambulance Blues’ With The Chrome Hearts – Yahoo

Neil Young Stuns Fans with Rare Full-Band Performance of ‘Ambulance Blues’ Alongside The Chrome Hearts

July 3, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version