On this leaky base under flyover skies the greens and not so greens brightly, yet so dimly, propose "sustainable" aviation fuels, to further lock in such inane land use ... until all the many ways this system is unsustainable are proven, not by reason but by failure. But not until after more costs and coercion (CO2 pipelines!) are suffered by those living under flyover skies. "For ours is an age of loss disguised as plenty" (Nathaniel Popkin)
You're right, Chris. My old brain couldn't wrap around the complicated first part but was able to comprehend the last part fine ... Thank goodness for brave ones, including yourself!! Mary
Is less alfalfa really going to help? It’s a perennial crop so it’s seeded for once for multiple years meaning there won’t be yearly tillage, and it’s a legume so it fixes nitrogen. Farmers are applying significantly more nitrogen to corn acres than alfalfa which in turn means nitrate runoff is significantly more likely from corn. With the continuous cover the amount of erosion is less and will lead to cleaner water.
Thanks Jerome. All that is true, and. There are other issues with alfalfa. It's grown throughout the intermountain west, California's Central, Coachella and Imperial Valleys on heavily subsidised irrigation. In Washington's Yakima Valley and elsewhere in WA and OR, it's displaced dryland wheat. it's grown for dairy cattle and for export to China, effectively exporting the Columbia River. While it can fix nitrogen, fertilizer is still applied, though less than on corn. The nitrate problems are from the cow manure and are in groundwater rather than surface water. I wrote about it here: https://johnlovie.substack.com/p/surf-or-turf-c7c
I had not known about the ‘$1000 inconvenience’ bonus
And I have discussed and argued the practice with super nice folks doing the work, at least in our case, and came to the conclusion that I could not affect anything
It’s wonderfully informative to have it all layed out by you
If one were to build a factory in a rural area, and one were to have plating, parts wash, or any of a dozen other processes, and did what the corn/bean/CAFO mafia do in Iowa,which is run the effluent into the nearest waterway, you would be in handcuffs. But, when one has an entire Legislature and Governor in your employ? Fuggedaboudit
On this leaky base under flyover skies the greens and not so greens brightly, yet so dimly, propose "sustainable" aviation fuels, to further lock in such inane land use ... until all the many ways this system is unsustainable are proven, not by reason but by failure. But not until after more costs and coercion (CO2 pipelines!) are suffered by those living under flyover skies. "For ours is an age of loss disguised as plenty" (Nathaniel Popkin)
You're right, Chris. My old brain couldn't wrap around the complicated first part but was able to comprehend the last part fine ... Thank goodness for brave ones, including yourself!! Mary
If Joni Ernst wants to go after graft and waste in government, here's a good one! Think that will ever happen?
Great work, Chris. Our ag nitrate issues in WA are more groundwater.
The best answer is fewer pigs and cows, and less corn and alfalfa.
Is less alfalfa really going to help? It’s a perennial crop so it’s seeded for once for multiple years meaning there won’t be yearly tillage, and it’s a legume so it fixes nitrogen. Farmers are applying significantly more nitrogen to corn acres than alfalfa which in turn means nitrate runoff is significantly more likely from corn. With the continuous cover the amount of erosion is less and will lead to cleaner water.
Thanks Jerome. All that is true, and. There are other issues with alfalfa. It's grown throughout the intermountain west, California's Central, Coachella and Imperial Valleys on heavily subsidised irrigation. In Washington's Yakima Valley and elsewhere in WA and OR, it's displaced dryland wheat. it's grown for dairy cattle and for export to China, effectively exporting the Columbia River. While it can fix nitrogen, fertilizer is still applied, though less than on corn. The nitrate problems are from the cow manure and are in groundwater rather than surface water. I wrote about it here: https://johnlovie.substack.com/p/surf-or-turf-c7c
I had not known about the ‘$1000 inconvenience’ bonus
And I have discussed and argued the practice with super nice folks doing the work, at least in our case, and came to the conclusion that I could not affect anything
It’s wonderfully informative to have it all layed out by you
If one were to build a factory in a rural area, and one were to have plating, parts wash, or any of a dozen other processes, and did what the corn/bean/CAFO mafia do in Iowa,which is run the effluent into the nearest waterway, you would be in handcuffs. But, when one has an entire Legislature and Governor in your employ? Fuggedaboudit