More corn but no fish?
An interesting article, Dead Serious, which discusses how "little progress has been made this decade in reducing the size of the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, a massive area of oxygen-depleted water caused by agricultural and urban runoff."
The researchers identify corn crops as the worst offender and predicts even greater future problems due to increased demand for ethanol, a farm bill that subsidizes corn production and but not runoff mitigation practices by farmers, etc.
Thoughts?
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4 Comments:
The 'farm bill' is a travesty - a gift from the ruling class to itself. It is a perfect example of business running government.
zapatista at 5:50PM on 01/10/08
This subsidized corn is also made into high fructose corn syrup which is directly linked to the obesity epidemic, which in turn taxes the healthcare system.
SSMom at 6:21PM on 01/10/08
In addition to the pollution problems it causes, growing corn for biofuel is not nearly as efficient as other crops. A new one being developed (by the DOE) is switchgrass. It seems to be much more economical and environmentally friendly than corn.
http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/switgrs.html
One of the really nice features of switchgrass is that it does not need to be replanted every year. No tillage means much less loss of soils due to erosion. So, there is hope for the future!
Library Lady at 11:15AM on 01/11/08
Hemp is also much more efficient at being converted to energy, and requires almost zero maintenance while growing, it can grow in any climate with very little need for water or fertilization, and if allowed to go to seed, it will come back on it's own, but we all know how our government and the petrochemical industry views hemp.
Boycott the corn industry is what I say, read the labels on everything you buy that has an ingredients list and dont buy anything that has corn in it, and dont buy meats that come from animals that were fed corn. Every little bit of resistance helps.
seyo at 12:09PM on 01/11/08