I have worked late too many nights in a row to pen a witty and funny article so I will go with my default of random thoughts on multiple topics.
I see something in the cornfields that I had never noticed before. The outer rows of most fields are only 24” tall, and each subsequent row is about 10” taller. Once you get to the 4th or 5th row the corn is very tall, about 6’ tall. I speculate that the grass in the ditches and field borders consumed so much moisture during the recent dry spell that the outer rows of corn are stunted from severe drought stress.
Climatologists have confirmed that the planet is heating up. Debate exists about whether humans can alter or are responsible for climate change. Agronomists have documented the importance for corn plants to rest overnight at temperatures below 70 degrees. Will high overnight temperatures each summer adversely affect corn yields?
I have a theory about why the planet is heating up, in addition to China burning coal like it is going out of style. On any given night I wonder how many homes in the suburbs are burning wood in a fire pit in the backyard. No wonder the meteorologists claim the nighttime temperatures have risen dramatically. When politicians outlaw S’mores, please do not blame me.
I bristle when I read literature that is promoting electricity from natural gas as “clean energy.” The clean energy claim is misleading; it is not truly clean. It is cleaner than coal, but I believe nuclear is truly clean energy. I fear that someday we will be using so much natural gas to generate electricity that our gas lines for our houses will not have enough gas to heat our homes. I advocate not only saving nuclear energy production in Illinois, but expanding it.
Which brings me to my wild idea for indoor farming. LED lights have finally reduced the high cost of electricity to grow food indoors, especially in winter when natural light is short. The other major expense is heating the facility. The earth may be getting warmer, but we are a long way from growing tomatoes, sweet corn and zucchini year-round in most of the United States. I propose building hundreds if not thousands of acres of greenhouses in close proximity to the nuclear power plants. Why let all that heated water go to waste in the cooling ponds when it could be heating the greenhouses that raise our food in winter.
In my travels around Will County it appears there are a lot more wheat fields than years past. By the time the postal service delivers this paper, in the next 2-4 months (ha-ha), most of those fields will be harvested. I sure hope the forecasted rains arrive and alleviate the dryness in our area and the risk of fires from all the dry stubble left over in the fields after the grain harvest.
And by all means, if you have a fire pit in your yard and/or live by a wheat field, please, no fires. That way we won’t catch the wheat field on fire and maybe the corn crop can enjoy some cooler nights. Perhaps we can use that fire pit this winter in my greenhouse. I’ll supply the drinks if you bring the fixings for S,mores.
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