Red Tide

"The Flood of synthetic nitrogen has fertilized not just the farm fields but the forests and the ocean too, to the benefit of some species (corn and algae being two of the biggest beneficiaries), and to the detriment of countless others. The ultimate fate of the nitrates that George Naylor spreads on his cornfield in Iowa is to flow down the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico, where their deadly fertility poisons the marine ecosystem. The nitrogen tide stimulates the wild growth of algae, and the algae smother the fish, creating a "hypoxic," or dead, zone as big as the state of New Jersey-and still growing. By fertilizing the world, we alter the planet's composition of species and shrink biodiversity."

Michael Pollan: The Omnivores Dilemma, A Natural History of Four Meals
Page 47 (lower part of second paragraph)