Three things happen every single year:
1. As a result of fertilizer pollution from the Corn Belt, a Dead Zone appears in the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Dr. Nancy Rabalais studies that Dead Zone.
3. The Heinz Family Foundation gives out nine “Heinz Awards” honoring individuals “whose remarkable mix of vision, creativity and passion has produced significant achievements benefiting the environment.”
This year, one of those awards went to Dr. Nancy Rabalais for her research on the Gulf of Mexico’s annual Dead Zone. Thank you, Dr. Rabalais for spending twenty-seven (27!) years of work illuminating both problems and solutions in our current systems.
Says Teresa Heinz, chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation, “She simultaneously advances the state of our knowledge of the causes and consequences of dead zones and helps develop public and private responses to those challenges.”
To read more about the Heinz Award and Dr. Rabalais’ work, click here.