In the latest sign of trouble in the planet's chemistry, the number of oxygen-starved "dead zones" in coastal waters around the world has roughly doubled every decade since the 1960s, killing fish, crabs and massive amounts of marine life at the base of the food chain, according to a study released yesterday. "These zones are popping up all over," said Robert Diaz, a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Low oxygen, known as hypoxia, is in significant measure a downstream effect of chemical fertilizers used in agriculture. Air pollution, including smog from automobiles, is another factor. "The next big challenge, after global warming, is going to be addressing the massive upset of the world's nitrogen cycle," said Douglas N. Rader, chief ocean scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund. 

Armed with new research into what makes some people environmentally conscious and others less so, the 148,000-member American Psychological Association is stepping up efforts to foster a broader sense of eco-sensitivity that the group believes will translate into more public action to protect the planet."We know how to change behavior and attitudes," says Yale University psychologist Alan Kazdin, association president. "We know what messages will work and what will not."

Whether a person is planning a child's diet or staking out a position on global warming, insights from science are indispensable, experts say, but only if someone knows which findings to trust."People will respond to demagoguery if they don't believe they have sufficient knowledge and sufficient confidence in their ability to weigh arguments and assess what's behind them," says Walter Massey, a board member of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, which commissioned the survey.

             Carole Ashkinaze is on vacation until August 12.

            NEWS of the PLANET

                    will resume when she returns.