A letter signed by 128 of the nation's leading environmental scientists to Congressional leaders will be released today in coordination with publication of the Science paper. All of the governors of the states in the upper Mississippi basin have signed the Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force Action Plan, but federal assistance is necessary for the plan to succeed. They should support the Midwestern governors and provide funding for the Task Force nitrogen reduction plan. Congress should also revise the Farm Bill and help farmers make the transition to more environmentally benign agriculture practices. Planting winter cover crops and using somewhat less fertilizer, combined with full Congressional funding of wetlands restoration and preservation, are important and practical steps toward restoring the economic and environmental health of America's coastal waters.
Solutions are easily available that help preserve the oceans without harming crop production.
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