Many people do not understand how an imbalance in the ocean can affect the world around them. In the article “Red Tides and Dead Zones,” Andrew Solow talks about how important it is to conserve and protect the ocean ecosystem. People cannot fathom that the most widespread environmental problem in the ocean is caused by an excess of chemical nutrients. This is due to a wide range of human activities such as: waste disposal, costal development, fossil fuel use, and the intensification of agriculture (Solow). Once these nutrients are in the ocean, they stimulate the growth of phytoplankton. When the concentration of nutrients is too high, more phytoplankton grow, leading to the depletion of oxygen in the water which causes eutrophication (Urry).
