Reducing the growing dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is a huge scientific, technical, economic, and political challenge. It's a conundrum that agricultural and environmental experts from across the United States deliberated at the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. One new approach they discussed is voluntary nutrient trading. According to a new study conducted by WRI staff for the EPA, this strategy could be used in the Mississippi River Basin to cost-effectively reduce nitrogen and phosphorous pollution and shrink the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.