Fertilizer and other agricultural waste pouring into the Gulf of Mexico creates a larger and larger patch of lifeless ocean each year. Finally, the EPA has a plan of attack. Is it enough?
The abbreviation et al. means and others. It is most often used when a work you are citing in your paper has multiple authors. When a work has two authors, cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text.
Et al. is an abbreviation of the Latin loanphrase et alii, meaning and others. It is similar to etc. (short for et cetera, meaning and the rest), but whereas etc. applies to things, et al. applies to people.