CHEW YOUR CORN GOOD BOYS-N-GIRLS!!!...;0)
Posted on 06/26/2008 6:25:23 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Des Moines, IA (AHN) - The marine dead zone resulting from the Midwest flooding is expected to expand to over 10,000 square miles, according to researchers from the Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.
The water in the dead zone, approximately the size of Massachusetts, does not have sufficient oxygen at depth to support marine life. Since 1990, the zone, located off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, usually covers 6,000 square miles, varying according to the flow of the Mississippi River.
Its low oxygen content is caused by the presence of large algae blooms which feeds on nitrogen and phosphorus from crop fertilizers, dead plants, lawn chemicals and sewerage than flow down the Mississippi. After the algae dies it consumes oxygen.
With the Mississippi flow up by 75 percent compared to last year's level, nitrogen levels of water pouring into the gulf is expected to go up by 37 percent, the highest on record.
Eugene Turner of LSU blamed farmers who increased their crops to accommodate the high demand for biofuel for the high nitrogen loading into the Mississippi. But Rick Robinson, representing the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, disputed Turner's conclusion since corn acres went down in 2008 in Iowa. "That is a politically expedient statement to make, but it's not based on scientific fact," Robinson said, quoted by the Des Moines Register.
Meanwhile, the Midwest flooding has caused a decline in the tourism revenues of Hannibal in Montana, the rural town where 19th century writer Mark Twain spent his childhood. Until the flood, the income of the Mark Twain Riverboat rose steadily by 3 to 5 percent every year.
The riverboat and a jambalaya restaurant had to temporarily close as tourists canceled reservations upon hearing of the rise in Mississippi River's waters and inundation in nearby areas. Levees, however, saved Mark Twain's town from the catastrophe that Cedar Rapids and other Midwestern towns suffered.
How does anyone support this boondoggle? How can EnviroWeenies support this? More farmland trashes marine life all the way down the Mississippi River! And this is GOOD for the environment? How?
Jerks.
He moved Hannibal, Missouri to Montana. If he can do something that big, I'm staying out of his way.
Hannah Montana syndrome.
Of course, blame the farmers. You don't suppose that the idiots in congress or the environwackos have any blame? Of course not, blame the the farmer. I guess if we just quit farming and returned the land to a vast grassland, that would be much better. A few billion people would starve, but so what, mother earth would be happy.
Hanna Montana + Hannibal, Missouri = Hannibal in Montana...........the elephants show up at the finale!.........
The writer’s Freudian Slip is showing............
It's hard to argue an issue when bandwagon and group think have prevailed, when a certain ideological angle has become main stream and the overwhelming paradigm in society. You can make all the sense in the world, no one will listen.
“Hanna Montana + Hannibal, Missouri = Hannibal in Montana...........the elephants show up at the finale!”
Or Hanna is served up with Fava beans and a nice Chianti.
How does anyone support this boondoggle?
::::::
Because the enviro-fascist left, like all moronic liberals, NEVER CONSIDER OR CARE ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS. Ethanol is a disasterous boondoggle, just something the radical left can hang on to and claim some kind of victory with their PERVERTED environmentalism. The price of food corn, the nitrogen-based ferterlizers they are dumping into the water system, all of it — one GIANT sham that the left and the liberals of Washington are all crowing about — while the RUIN THE ENVIRONMENT.
FOOLS AND IDIOTS.
GEEEEEEZZZ! If we’re stuck with bio fuels, just harvest the algae.
Additionally, a couple of weeks ago there was great hand-wringing over the millions of citizens of undeveloped countries that were going to starve because corn ground was being planted in soybeans (that are at an all-time high on the commodity exchange).
I think you are more interested in distributing the politically expedient statements than in mundane little facts like corn acreage being DOWN from 2007 levels.
It's the farmer's fault. It is also Bush's fault. Did I miss anyone? (/s)
boy, you can’t win for losing with environmentalists.
sheesh.
they want the world to stop.
now.
It’s those darned chemical fertilizers again! I knew they would strike again.
Corn is also at fault for most of world's problems: Corn has caused WWI and WWII, AIDS, Bubonic plague, sinking of the Titanic, tornadoes in the Midwest, Reruns of CHiPs on cable, the failure of Danny Glover's career ... need I go on?
In a related story.... The Floods: A Manmade Disaster? The Army Corps of engineers are the men.
There is no doubt that some endangered species in the Gulf would be used as the nexus of their litigation strategy to stop such a proposal in its tracks.
But wait, the whole idea of burning corn instead of eating it was the enviro’s idea of being at one with nature. This just shows what slaves the enviros are- slaves to their self-loathing which projects as a insatiable desire to seek redemption from Gaia by destroying the power and prosperity of this blessed country.
The most poisoned crop I know of is cotton, are they sure its corn???
What you question the divinity of corn/syrup/anol?
Heretic!
At least the dear writer had enough geography to choose a state having a name that starts with “M”. Just don’t tell me his education was prior to 1967. I’d truly be depressed for the balance of the day.
At least the dear writer had enough geography to choose a state having a name that starts with “M”. Just don’t tell me his education was prior to 1967. I’d truly be depressed for the balance of the day.
I would like for someone to calculate how much carbon is being permanently sequestered in the Gulf of Mexico in the “dead zone”. This is how we got coal and oil originally by dead plants and animals precipitating out on the bottom of shallow seas. Then the USA needs to get carbon credits for sequestering the carbon.
After the flooding we’ve had in the Midwest, there’s going to be a lot less corn, period.
Corn is up to $7.88 a bushel today; unheard of in all the years my family has been farming. It’s only going to go up for the near future. Temporarily good for my family, bad for the rest of the world.
Rick Robinson is correct. There was LESS corn planted this year than in 2007. Gene Turner is an opprotunist.
A year from now, Mr Turner is going to be whining because the midwest was unable to grow enough grain (due to the flood) to feed livestock. Good Quality (and poor quality, too, for that matter) Protein will be in extremely short supply in July and August of 08.
Of course, this will be the farmers fault, too.
Preach it, Granny!
FIL has 270 acres in corn, but we’re not flooded out. (Both FIL’s farm and ours are on hills, as is most of the tillable land.) The 700 acres of soybean around me are getting more valuable by the minute. You can hear them growing these days, and you can also hear a faint “ding” of a cash register adding up the increased price per bushel too, LOL!
I’m just glad my family likes simple foods like oatmeal, fried eggs, pancakes, venison hamburgers, etc. But, in a short matter of time, we’ll look like we’re living like kings when some of that stuff isn’t all that affordable to others anymore.
Thanks again, EnviroWackos! You got your wish to put more FOOD in the FUEL TANKS of Americans, but Mother Nature kicked you a good one in the behind this season.
She always wins. Always. They think that the oil markets are hard to predict? Just try predicting the growing conditions in ANY agricultural state in ANY given year.
That makes oil speculators look like pikers, LOL! :)
CHEW YOUR CORN GOOD BOYS-N-GIRLS!!!...;0)
“More farmland trashes marine life all the way down the Mississippi River! And this is GOOD for the environment? How? “
Ethanol is a silly idea. But connecting the “dead zone” to Midwestern agriculture, is most likely another form of rabies that environmentalists suffer from from.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.