TheDay.com - A Vital Treasure In Danger: "A Vital Treasure In Danger - Growth and bad habits imperil the future health of Long Island Sound.
Published on 7/1/2007
This summer marks the 20th anniversary of an event that changed the way people view Long Island Sound. During the summer of 1987, oxygen levels in the western half of the Sound fell to deadly levels, killing marine life there at an alarming rate. That summer raised public awareness of The Sound's mortality. Beneath the glimmering waters of the estuary was a “dead zone,” several hundred square miles in area, inhospitable to fisheries during warm months of the year.
The immediate suspect is nitrogen produced by human activities along the shorelines of the Sound and the rivers that feed into it. More than half of the nitrogen comes from the effluent from sewage treatment plants. Lawn and agricultural fertilizers help make up the rest.
But as it became clear in The Day's forum on the Sound June 19, a greater threat underlies the problem: Unchecked and careless land development. ..."
