1. WATER POLLUTION:
Corn ethanol boom fueling Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone,' scientists say

A surge in Midwest corn production to meet U.S. demands for ethanol is apparently worsening pollution problems in the Gulf of Mexico, a team of federal and state scientists said today. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting that a record spike in nutrients from the Mississippi River basin this summer will produce the largest Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" ever -- an area the size of New Jersey with dissolved oxygen levels too low to support marine life. Go to story #1