At what price will we eventually learn that what we disregard today, will come back to haunt us tomorrow. Scratchy and I took a drive yesterday, hoping to capture the last vestiges of a summer, but by the end of the day, I was moved to write about the tragedies I saw intertwined with the glorious visions of Iowa farmland.
Along side the beautiful autumn trails, my path led to a hog confinement breeding facility. Now the thing that disturbs me the most, is the fact that this is placed in what they call 'the bottoms'.
This is directly above a nature preserve, a wetland, set aside for waterfowl and upland game bird breeding. I have seen flocks of wild turkey and whitetail deer in abundance among said farmers corn fields, to which massive amounts of herbicide and pesticides are lavished on the crops and drain directly into the sanctuary through drainage ditches.
Now if this isn't disturbing enough, let's toss in a coal fired mass electrical producing, polluting machine. I once lived near this fire-breathing dragon. They say it doesn't pollute, but why did my new white shingles turn dark grey after only a year...mercury dust perhaps and we all (I hope) know what a small amount of mercury will pollute in the river nearby. Did I mention that a Monsanto plant only a mile away...so let's not go into the purple soil and nature preserve that Monsanto shares with this power plant...perhaps to monitor it's toxic effects on the surroundings...hmmm...
But the topping on the cake, is the 'black storm', reticent of the dustbowl days...oh really...have we not learned from past farming experiences. If you look real close, you can see a barn and out-buildings in the shot. This happens every year on what is called 'the island', which is where I live, although I live next to the bluff, which is a ways from the river. The Island is the Mississippi river bottom, a huge, flat area protected by highly maintained levee systems. Perfect for growing potatoes, melons and veggies of all sorts, corn and soybeans. It is a sandy soil that drains quickly and needs irrigation systems or it will dry up, as sand naturally does. This black cloud was blowing for miles and happens every fall...does he not see his topsoil setting it's mark for the river and perhaps he wonders why the Mississippi is so full of topsoil, silted away by the prevailing winds...could it be the almighty dollar that pushes man to forget...
We all pay for this neglect...sooner or later...
