(1) Talent? Everyone appreciates the wildflower's brilliance, but
few care to follow the slow, steading ripening of the seed.
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| go to the Picture/Poem Poster, Redbud shown at the right (prints 81/2 x 11" (A4)) Also available as .pdf download (170k) | |
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(2) Towards a more rational agriculture
The simplest and most powerful of all possible tests
is the test of doing without.
Anhydrous ammonia (NH3), made up of one part nitrogen (N) and three parts
hydrogen (H3),
is one of the most widely used sources of nitrogen applied to keep crops
green and prevent
them from withering in the heat. Because NH3 contains no water— anhydrous
= "without water" —
and is therefore hydroscopic, it seeks moisture from the nearest source,
including the human body.
In its pressurized, liquid ammonia form, NH3 is injected about 15 cm under
the soil's surface to
prevent the liquid from vaporizing. The machinery used for this is complicated,
hard to use and
expensive. NH3 has a distinctly noxious ammonia smell which can easily be
detected at distances
of up to half a kilometer or more. Humans can detect NH3 in concentrations
as small as 5 parts
per million (ppm); exposure to concentrations of 2,500 to 6,500 ppm can result
in death. Partly
made from crude oil, NH3 has risen in price to about $30 an acre, or about
the profit that can be
expected from the same acre of corn at current market prices. In addition
to its agricultural
applications, NH3 is widely stolen for the production of methamphetamine,
known as "meth", a
popular illegal street drug which affects the central nervous system and
is strongly addictive.
(Sources of data: Personal field observations; Groliers Encyclopedia
(1996);
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nasd/docs2/as63100.html;
http://www.ae.iastate.edu/safety/pm1518d.txt;
http://www.cpha.net/theft.htm)
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| go to the Picture/Poem Poster, NH3 / WITHOUT shown at the right (prints 81/2 x 11" (A4)) Also available as .pdf download (170k) | |
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(3) The Pass
The pass is clearly
in view,
but the way—
how impossibly confused.
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| go to the Picture/Poem Poster, The Pass: Granite Sky shown at the right (prints 81/2 x 11" (A4)) Also available as .pdf download (170k) | |
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