Programs that provide drought relief to farmers use the U.S. Drought Monitor to determine eligibility, but some experts say it doesn’t always capture local conditions.
But the consolidation of the sector makes it increasingly hard for organizers to push for drinking water regulation. According to experts, local actions need to be paired with more federal regulation to properly address the drinking water nitrate pollution.
Due largely to lagging runoff prevention efforts in the Midwest, the low-oxygen area in the Gulf of Mexico is bigger than expected this year, imperiling marine life across nearly 4 million acres.
