Solutions:
The term cultural eutrophication that is used to describe a human-made problem, dead zones where most organisms cannot live, implies there may be a human-made solution for the problem. Agriculture is a big component of creating dead zones, but so are the high use of fossil fuels and sewage discharge into waterways (3). One solution is to cut down on the use of chemical fertilizers, especially nitrates and phosphorus that wash into the rivers and into the sea. According to the EPA, the serious hypoxia problem in the Mississippi River-Gulf of Mexico waterway and estuary may be resolved by “nutrient reduction strategies”.
The 2008 Action Plan required each state to develop strategies to address the problem. Conscientious farmers in Indiana, for example, are organizing ways to reduce their footprint, including no-till farming, erosion control, and water quality monitoring. There are state and federal grants to assist farmers in their endeavors to be less harmful to the environment (7).
At the personal level of taking action, people can educate themselves to avoid products that contribute to eutrophication. They can buy organically and sustainably farmed food products. Also they can use less of life’s necessities that contribute to the pollution, like electricity and fossil fuels.
"There are no quick fixes, unfortunately," Peter Westman, The World Wildlife Fund, 2009 when talking about dead zone sollutions
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