8A the university daily kansan
news
monday, march 15, 2004
In the shadows
Colin Roblifing, St. Louis senior,
adjusted a roll of tissue paper as part of his assignment for his Lighting as Art class last week. For one of his weekly assignments,
Rohlfing used lights to create shadows in certain spots of the paper.
Abby Tillery/Kansan
Officials object to insecticide ban
By Bill Cross
bcross@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
An ozone-eating insecticide is being phased out, but farmers and government officials say the agriculture industry can't go on without it.
The United States' use of methyl bromide, used primarily to fumigate soil before planting crops, is to be phased out by next year, according to the Montreal Protocol of 1991. The protocol called for decreased use of the fumigant beginning in 1999. The United States filed a request to exceed its quota of the chemical with the United Nations last week, insisting that the chemical was essential.
Kansas State University's Kansas Pesticide Newsletter said the United States could be at a competitive disadvantage because
underdeveloped countries, such as Mexico, have until 2015, to phase out methyl bromide.
David Braaten, associate geography professor at the University of Kansas, said methyl bromide was one of the most destructive chemicals for the earth's ozone laver.
"It is more efficient, molecule for molecule, at destroying ozone than the chlorine that comes from CFCs." he said.
CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, include fumes from aerosol and air-conditioning fluid and are commonly associated with ozone layer depletion. Braaten said CFCs, despite being less potent, have a greater long-term effect on the ozone layer.
"Methyl bromide has an atmospheric lifetime of 0.7 years, so phasing it out would show results quickly," Braaten said. He said the CFCs that have been
banned stay in the atmosphere more than 100 years.
Methyl bromide is still widely used because of its low cost and multiple uses: It kills insects, fungus, weeds and other crop-threatening pathogens, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Fields now fumigated with only methyl bromide will have to be fumigated with a variety of chemicals to have similar effects.
Several alternatives have been pioneered and are widely used.
According to Kansas State's Consortium for Integrated Management of Stored Product Insect Pests, non-chemical methods are gaining popularity. For example, harvested crops and farm equipment can be heated or stored at extremely low pressure to kill insects and nematodes that damage crops. These methods are not useful for large-scale fumigation.
Braaten, who studies the geography of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, said he supported the use of any viable alternative.
Tom Batchelor, a member of the of the Methyl Bromide Subcommittee on the United Nations Environment Programme, said the fumigant is dangerous to the ozone because it breaks down ozone molecules, O3, into oxygen gas, O2.
Mary Beth Kirkham, professor of crop physiology at Kansas State, said that she was aware of the problems caused by methyl bromide and that plastic tents used to trap in methyl bromide may not be effective.
Low-level aquifer threatens seven states' fertile farmland
"We do need to control gaseous emissions. The Montreal Protocol was a step in the right direction."
Kirkham said the United States was not close to realistically phasing out the fumigant.
By Bill Cross
bcross@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
— Edited by Collin LaJoie
Western Kansas' main source of crop irrigation is starting to run dry.
The High Plains/Ogallala Aquifer, an underground reservoir of water-soaked sand and gravel, can no longer supply as many farm wells with enough water, said Gary Hecox of Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.
"Large areas of wells could have problems in 10 to 20 years," he said.
Hecox spoke at Thursday's Water and the Future of Kansas
Conference in Lawrence, where topics included fecal bacteria in the waterways, animals threatened by flood control, silt buildup in the state's surface water and resistant waste created by medical waste. William Busby, associate scientist with the Kansas Biological Survey, said he welcomed the opportunity to have an open forum about these issues and more.
The management of the High Plains/Ogallala Aquifer was the dominant topic.
water. This could change the farming business in western Kansas.
"We may see a shift to lower water-use crops like milo, sunflowers and wheat," he said.
Norman Klocke, professor and irrigation engineer at Kansas State University, agreed. He said the farmers whose wells were running dry during the growing season had two options: put less water on one crop, or raise several crops that require less irrigation.
Like a water-soaked sandbox built on a mountain range, the aquifer lies on the earth's bedrock. The sand and gravel soak up the water, and once full,
spew water into streams and rivers. At least that's what used to happen. Now most of the water is pumped out.
Drinking water supplies are also threatened by aquifer depletion. Cristi Hansen, hydrologist
"It's like a big bucket," Hecox said. "It used to run over and make streams, but now everyone put their own straw into the bucket and started sucking it dry."
John Huslig, financial analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the aquifer is close to one third of its original capacity. It was first tapped in 1912. Huslig owns a farm in western Kansas.
for the United States Geological Survey, said the aquifer also supplied drinking water to some cities and towns, including Wichita.
Hansen said climate and the shape of the underlying bedrock were the most important factors in determining the life of a well. More rainfall had a double-positive effect, she said. It refills the aquifer and lessens the need for watering. Dry summers have contributed to depletion during the last years.
While other crop options are available, none are as profitable as corn, Huslig said, so farmers are hesitant to shift to other crops.
Hecox said water overuse was
the single biggest factor contributing to depletion — much more so than climate or bedrock topography. He said farmers with water problems should consider growing less corn. Hecox said he did not anticipate noticeable effects on the national market for corn, since he made his recommendations to only a few counties in northwest Kansas.
Depletion of the aquifer threatens the most fertile farm land in parts of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota and Wyoming.
— Edited by Collin LaJoie
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