Through countless acts of reckless behavior exhibited by humans, we have caused a plethora of problems that have permanently harmed our environment. An example of a consequence of mistreatment of the planet are ocean dead zones, commonly referred to as "reduced oxygen" in the water, where we lack "enough oxygen to support marine life" (Paine , 1). These dead zones are caused by a large concentration of chemical nutrients present in the oceans, which leads to a large amount of algae destroying the amount of oxygen available in the areas. As we continually increase our use of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels (a well-known and notorious practice), the number of dead zones in coastal oceans "has expanded exponentially since the 1960s" and resulted in “serious consequences for the functioning of the ecosystem” (Diaz, Rosenberg, 1). Dead zones create what is commonly called a “biological desert”; a particular place that should be teeming with life is completely dead due to environmental alteration (in this case, ocean dead zones), and this will become a serious problem in the near future if we don't find a method to Stop it and, more importantly, make humans understand that by not taking care of the environment, we are harming ourselves and ourselves, not just our environment. In recent years, marine life, such as shells and starfish, have been washed ashore, meaning that many of the areas where fish should live comfortably are filled with excess oxygen and are therefore no longer a habitable zone for them; this problem could be blamed particularly on climate change or global warming...... middle of article ...... ways to increase biodiversity » The Examiner, 2013. Web.5. Jacquot, Jeremy Elton. “Tropical dead zones are expected to expand by 50% due to climate change. » TreeHugger, 2008. Web.6. Diaz, Robert J., Rosenberg, Rutger. “Propagation of dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. »ScienceMagazine, Vol. 321, 2008. Web.7. Merchant, Brian. “An Introduction to Marine Dead Zones Caused by Global Warming” TreeHugger, 2009. Web.8. Breitburg, Batiuk. "Derivation of habitat-specific dissolved oxygen criteria for the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries." » Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2009. Web.9. Paine, Victor. “What causes ocean dead zones? » Scientific American, 2012. Web.10. Shen, Jiang. “Hypoxia in a Chesapeake Bay Coastal Bay: A Model for Diagnostic Study of Oxygen Dynamics” Federation of Coastal and Estuarine Research, 2008. Web.