Liberty Belle
Well-known member
I'm still busy in Pierre but after reading this on Tony Dean's website I just had to share it with all of you... after I quit laughing! :lol: I figured that the ranchers on here would especially appreciate knowing that cattle are the cause of so much pollution.
I'm sure you'll agree that this is "sound science" at it's finest but, although I really appreciate the humor Dean has to offer, I sure wish he would invest in a computer with spell check. :roll:
Dust in West Bamed on Grazing
The American West is 600 percent dustier than it was two centuries ago, and the chief reason is the 40 million head of livestock introduced to the arid region in the 19th century, a new report says.
"There seems to be a perception that dusty conditions in the West are just the nature of the region," said CU geology professor Jason Neff, the lead author of the report, which appears in this week's issue of Nature Geoscience. "We have shown here that the increase in dust since the 1800s is a direct result of human activity and not part of the natural system."
Neff and his colleagues examined sediment records from dust blown into alpine lakes in southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
"From about 1860 to 1900, the dust deposition rates shot up so high that we initially thought there was a mistake in our data," said Neff. "But the evidence clearly shows the western U.S. had its own Dust Bowl beginning in the 1800s when the railroads went in and cattle and sheep were introduced into the rangelands."
The study shows that "dust fall" in the West over the past century was five to seven times heavier than at any time over the last 5,000 years," said Neff.
The size and type of the dust particles found in the lakes indicate that most of it came from the American Southwest.
And while droughts can lead to erosion, the study found that droughts the past two centuries have been relatively mild compared with drought over the past 2,000 years.
The conclusion: The increased dustiness coincides with intensive land use, primarily grazing.
Neff said the 40 million head of livestock at the turn of the century caused "a massive and systematic degradation of the ecosystems."
In the arid West, four acres of land can sustain one cow and calf pair; in the lusher southeast, it's the reverse: one acre can sustain about four cow-calf pairs.
The 1934 Taylor Grazing Act imposed restrictions on grazing in the West, and coincided with a decline in dust accumulation rates in the San Juan lake sediments, the study found.
That decrease continues today. Nevertheless, Neff said, "We still probably have four times the amount of dust now" as before settlement of the West.
The big worry in the future is that climate change models forecast more severe droughts for the American Southwest, he said.
"When you have more severe droughts, it's clear you're going to have more dust," Neff said. "We may see more destruction because of longer drought periods."
While dust increased at least fourfold, so did nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium, which are the byproducts of ranching, farming and mining, the authors said.
http://www.tonydean.com/issues2.html?sectionid=9605
I'm sure you'll agree that this is "sound science" at it's finest but, although I really appreciate the humor Dean has to offer, I sure wish he would invest in a computer with spell check. :roll:
Dust in West Bamed on Grazing
The American West is 600 percent dustier than it was two centuries ago, and the chief reason is the 40 million head of livestock introduced to the arid region in the 19th century, a new report says.
"There seems to be a perception that dusty conditions in the West are just the nature of the region," said CU geology professor Jason Neff, the lead author of the report, which appears in this week's issue of Nature Geoscience. "We have shown here that the increase in dust since the 1800s is a direct result of human activity and not part of the natural system."
Neff and his colleagues examined sediment records from dust blown into alpine lakes in southwest Colorado's San Juan Mountains.
"From about 1860 to 1900, the dust deposition rates shot up so high that we initially thought there was a mistake in our data," said Neff. "But the evidence clearly shows the western U.S. had its own Dust Bowl beginning in the 1800s when the railroads went in and cattle and sheep were introduced into the rangelands."
The study shows that "dust fall" in the West over the past century was five to seven times heavier than at any time over the last 5,000 years," said Neff.
The size and type of the dust particles found in the lakes indicate that most of it came from the American Southwest.
And while droughts can lead to erosion, the study found that droughts the past two centuries have been relatively mild compared with drought over the past 2,000 years.
The conclusion: The increased dustiness coincides with intensive land use, primarily grazing.
Neff said the 40 million head of livestock at the turn of the century caused "a massive and systematic degradation of the ecosystems."
In the arid West, four acres of land can sustain one cow and calf pair; in the lusher southeast, it's the reverse: one acre can sustain about four cow-calf pairs.
The 1934 Taylor Grazing Act imposed restrictions on grazing in the West, and coincided with a decline in dust accumulation rates in the San Juan lake sediments, the study found.
That decrease continues today. Nevertheless, Neff said, "We still probably have four times the amount of dust now" as before settlement of the West.
The big worry in the future is that climate change models forecast more severe droughts for the American Southwest, he said.
"When you have more severe droughts, it's clear you're going to have more dust," Neff said. "We may see more destruction because of longer drought periods."
While dust increased at least fourfold, so did nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium, which are the byproducts of ranching, farming and mining, the authors said.
http://www.tonydean.com/issues2.html?sectionid=9605
It chaps my hind quarters when they put out PROPAGANDA that is baseless, factless and brainless! 