, Columnist
Gulf of Mexico's Extinction-by-Ethanol
A swath of the northern Gulf of Mexico that each summer turns into a dead zone, drained of oxygen and devoid of life, will be larger than usual.
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Less than a year after the summer drought of 2012 baked the U.S. grain belt, farmers in the region have been deluged by rain.
Aside from the threat that weather might pose for a second year to the U.S. harvest, the heavy rains may help fulfill of a prediction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: A swath of the northern Gulf of Mexico that each summer turns into a dead zone, drained of oxygen and devoid of life, will be larger than usual.