How did the state of California to get so polluted that it had to declare a State of Emergency? The answer lies in the large number of dairy farms in the area and the large amount of water they used. Between them, cattle and dairy farms spread their wastes on more than 400 million acres of ocean waters. The combined toxic chemicals from all of these sources is much more toxic than the toxic chemicals they put into the water themselves.

One might think that an entire marine ecosystem would be protected by a species of sea turtle. Unfortunately, the sea turtles’ range is limited to the south pacific and central Pacific. This means that the northern Pacific Ocean was too unoccupied to support their reproduction, which led to the extinction of the species. How did cows destroy an entire marine ecosystem in California? A recent study conducted in the area by Oregon State University showed how a constant influx of dairy cows resulted in increased levels of dioxins in the ocean waters.