dbackjon wrote:From the class of 09 wrote:
1) No-till farming is practiced in many parts of the US, the Midwest isn't the east coast although there are more trees in the Midwest then there every was in the 30's.
2) Arizona is mostly desert, no? Try googling phoenix pollution and tell me how many articles there are before they blame farming as a leading cause of the air pollution. In fact most blame it on all the people there and the natural climate of the area.
3) 43k fatal car crashes in US dozens due to dust in the last 10 years? ok assuming that’s true something like .02% are caused by dust. Why doesn’t the government focus on the cause of 40% of fatal crashes instead of .02? Talk to me when they’ve got that under control.
4) No way in the world will every traveled road in the US be paved in my lifetime. Get outside your suburban bubble. Show me any cost equation that makes it worth while to pave every traveled road. I have a feeling our friends up in Montana would find this one a stretch too.
5) Farmers remember the dust bowl. Why would the one occupation that rely on the land the most for the long term be the first to forget a natural disaster like that? Please give some back up to substantiate your claim.
1) Starting in the 70's, with then Sec of Ag's "fence to fence" farming policy, the majority of fence row tree lines, shelter belts, etc have been removed. Corporate farms, that encompass what used to be 5 or 6 smaller family farms, take out all the barriers between the old farms, leaving flat, sterile landscapes.
2) Is Arizona naturally dusty? Yup. Is there more dust today, because of farming? definately.
Is dust the only cause of pollution? Nope. Is it a major cause? YES. And Arizona is not mostly desert, so that shows how little you know
3) Dust storms cause major pile-ups, that could in the most cases be prevented with better farming practices. The I10 corridor between Phoenix and Tucson is especially prone to this. Every life saved is worth it.
4) Where did I say that every road should be paved? No where. But moderately traveled roads should be
5) Because the corporate farmers have lost the connection to the land, and are driven by pure profit motive. And BTW, my family still owns (and in the family) operates a smaller farm that has been in the family for almost 170 years.
1)I'm talking midwest what you do in AZ is your problem you moved or choose to stay in a desert they are going to be dusty sometimes deal. In the midwest there are more trees than ever.
2)Point one repeated "you live in a desert". Again farming may contribute but most the articles I find seem to point to other things. Also let it be noted that wiki says AZ on average gets 13.1 inches of rain annually typical definetion of desert is 10 or less so you were right about that one
3) Agian you live in a desert move away or drive slower
4) Just to be clear lets just deal with AZ cuz the rest of us are going fine... although griz seems to think his unpaved road in AZ is doing ok too.
5) I'm glad you're in touch with the corporate farmers that you no how they feel and I'm glad your family has a farm mine does too in fact it would propably fall under a large corporate farm
In summery maybe AZ can control there dust just leave the rest of us out of it. Because those that choose not to live in a desert can handle the rural areas being a little dusty. We are talking about farms in the country they are supposed to be dusty.
