The New York Times published the following op-ed piece, Let the East Bloom Again, in its 22 September 2007 issue. Richard T. McNider and John R. Christy, Professors of Atmospheric Science at the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH), co-authored the article.
Download let_the_east_bloom_again.pdf
McNider and Christy present an interesting thesis: the USA has two major security challenges this century - energy and water. The bulk of our agricultural production occurs in the West, where irrigation is used.
The East used to be a big agricultural producer. In 1940, Maine was the leader in potatoes, closely followed by New York. As a youngster growing up on Long Island, NY, I remember potato farms, but those have long since yielded to subdivisions, malls, and vineyards. Idaho and Washington now lead, and irrigation produces more uniform potatoes (ask McDonald's about that). Cotton production, once the hallmark of the Deep South, is now centered in Arizona, Texas, and California.
By 1980, the East's agricultural system had gone downhill while the West bloomed. But that price has been steep in terms of environmental flows, water quality, and sustainability. And what about using more Western land for biofuels. Where will the water come from?
McNider and Christy suggest revitalizing irrigated agriculture in the East, being careful to use small storage reservoirs on individual farms that would capture irrigation water in the winter so as to not impair summer streamflows. But they caution that Federal government support would be essential to build these off-stream storage reservoirs.
Interesting idea - certainly worth considering. But there may be issues with water contamination from irrigation, which they mention, but downplay.
"Everything you're sure is right can be wrong in another place." -- Anonymous
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