The Oil Drum

kdolliso,

Yes they do, however I have studied this and you clearly have not. Sure there are CRP acres not in use that could be put inito good production. Thus my comment about scaming the system. It proves nothing. You are talking about many millions of acres that you seem to think are just being wasted because we are not growing something on them. This kind of opinion was underestandable in the 1800's when there was a virtually complete ignorance of how the natural systems functioned. It is not excusable in todays world. No one who has spent any time studying the various scientific disciplines that cover how life exists and sustains itself on this planet would even think of arguing that it is a good idea to fully utilize all arable land in the world. It would be suicidal. Taking Pioneers statement at face value is not a good plan. Look into the effects of over using land. There will be serious consequences for doing what the current plan proposes. It is hard for us today to understand how utterly humans have transformed the world if we have not lived long enough to see it or studied well enough to understand what has happened to it.

Human agriculture is long past the point where current practices can be considered susstainable in any way. We are degrading the land at a significant rate and thus having millions of acres fall out of production every year. This land is damaged and much of it will take millenia to recover, if ever. If humans just took the amount of virgin land into cultivation that replaced the same amount of production land we are having to abandon each year it is straightforward to see that even that is not sustainable.

It all boils down to a choice between short term gratification or taking into account future generations.

A great problem runs through these types of issues in our culture. The argument between development and conservation has been morphed into one between liberal/conservative or democratic/republican. Politics always twists complicated issues to some percieved advantage. Once it is successfull in a new labeling those who are proponents of either ideology seldom if ever actually check into the facts again. If they ever had in the first place. These issues are independent of politics just like morals and ethics are not owned by individual religions. I grew up a republican in one of the most conservative places in the US, but I have always believed that we did not make this world and we do not own it. We have a moral obligation to take care of it just like we have an obligation to protect children who cannot take care of themselves. Those who would destroy it through either ignorance or greed must be opposed because it is our joint obligation. Our children and grandchildren on into time will pay the price for our failures far beyond any accounting we might personally recieve.