40% of America's rivers are too
polluted for fishing, swimming,
or aquatic life.
The Mississippi River—which
drains nearly 40% of the continental
United States, including its central
farm lands—carries an estimated
1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen
pollution into the Gulf of Mexico
each year. The resulting hypoxic
coastal
dead zone in the Gulf each summer
is about the size of Massachusetts.
In any given year, about 25% of
beaches in the US are under advisories
or are closed at least one time
because of water pollution.
For
more information about reducing
pollution visit Surfrider.org
