SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 24, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 5/30/23
In this edition:
*Memorial Day
*A Shameful Memorial Day Fact
*Evergreen Headline
*Graduations
*Rethinking Agriculture
*Shopping Your Values
*Did You Know?
*Memorial Day
Monday, May 29 is Memorial Day. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and I hope you spend at least a part of it remembering those who have died while serving our Country. Happy Memorial Day to all!
*A Shameful Memorial Day Fact
I really don’t know what to say about this. It is 2023, and this pisses me off: Nine states officially set aside a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War: Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia.
“Hey, y’all! Let’s celebrate traitors who attempted to overthrow the US Government because they wanted to keep black people as property!” Can’t we do better?
*Evergreen Headline
I hate to say it, but this headline from The Onion continues to be appropriate day after day, year after year. In reference to the incredible amount of mass shootings in the US:
The Onion: “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”
*Graduations
Memorial Day Weekend means graduations. Congratulations to all our graduating seniors! Commencement has already taken place at the UI and Kirkwood, and the local high schools are graduating soon.
I know that Melissa (and others) accuse me of being overly sentimental when it comes to these types of things. That may be true. But graduation really is a milestone.
Certainly, what graduates do in the future is much more important than what they have done to date. But the fact is, they have accomplished something important. Let’s reflect upon it, and celebrate it! Congrats again to all the graduates!
*Rethinking Agriculture
I recently saw retired UI Professor Chris Jones read from his new book, “Swine Republic “ at Prairie Lights. It reminded me of something I put in Salvos on 12/21/21. Here is that article. Meanwhile, please buy Jones’ book, available at Ice Cube Press.
It is not a popular position to hold in Iowa, but I think we need to reimagine the way we do agriculture. And there are opportunities to act now that would be to the benefit of us all.
For starters, look at the ongoing droughts in the American west. Why divert millions of gallons of water to agriculture in the west when most of those crops could be grown right here? That would allow westerners to respond to the drought, while we use our great soil to produce more actual food.
According to experts at Iowa State, all of the following vegetables thrive in Iowa and could do so at scale: kale, spinach, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard, beets, green onions, lettuce, arugula, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, beans, and radishes! We can grow just about everything!
My guess is that farmers in the west would hate the idea of ending production. But how much are we willing to spend to keep them in business? They are being heavily subsidized either way. So why use up all the water? It would be cheaper and better for the planet to pay them NOT to grow anything.
Farmers in the Midwest would hate it, too. Why? 1) People dislike change. 2) Farmers would need some new equipment. 3) Growing the crops would be more labor intensive. 4) It would be viewed as Communist.
But, Midwest farmers may NEED to consider something different soon. Because we are quickly moving to electric vehicles. What does that mean for farmers in the Midwest? Well, 33% of all corn goes toward ethanol. That ethanol will not be needed in electric vehicles. The market for a third of our corn could disappear. Shifting that cropland to food production makes a lot of sense.
Or, farmers can get on the solar train! Consider the following stats from Bill Nussey:
If you compare the energy utility of an acre of solar panels to an acre of corn, the acre of solar wins by a landslide.
Each year, one acre of corn produces 551 gallons of ethanol, which is the equivalent of 386 gallons of gas. Using the average miles per gallon of a US automobile, this equates to 9691 miles driven per acre of corn per year.
In Iowa, an acre of solar panels produces 198,870 kilowatt hours each year. A typical EV drives approximately 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour. So, each year, an acre of solar panels produces enough energy for an EV to drive 710,250 miles. This is over 70 times the distance the same acre producing corn could provide.
Unlike ethanol, an acre of solar can power anything attached to the grid. The same Iowa acre, for instance, could also be used to provide 18 average US homes with electricity for the year.
The financial utility of replacing corn with solar also promises huge gains for farmers. For example, it is not uncommon for a farmer to make two to three times more money per acre leasing to solar rather than planting corn. Solar also guarantees a steady stream of revenue, unlike corn which stands the risk of crop failure and price volatility.
Nussey doesn’t even talk about the environmental benefits of less nitrogen and phosphate in the water supply, and more of our precious soil remaining in place. And the red herrings that are constantly brought up about taking up farmland? What if we simply exchange the amount of land dedicated to ethanol for land dedicated to vegetables and solar? Plus solar panels are easy to remove. What a huge win!
It is well past time that we consider doing some things differently when it comes to agriculture. Let’s get ahead of the curve and put our land to work in a better way!
*Shopping Your Values
I have never bought anything on Amazon. Nothing. Ever. And I don’t plan to start.
Since the early ‘80s, I have made a single purchase at a Wal-Mart: diapers for my granddaughter when we were in a small town with no other options.
There are several other companies I have avoided to varying degrees: Koch Industries, Sinclair, Dollar General, and Uber are just a few of the companies I avoid that are on the Forbes “Bottom of the Barrel” 100 worst corporate citizens. But I have certainly been guilty of supporting companies who are on that list – Casey’s, just to name one.
The fact of the matter is, big corporations suck. Virtually every single one of them. They all hurt the little guy, whether it be through environmental destruction, labor violations, tax schemes – I am convinced there are no GOOD big corporations. When your sole pursuit is profit, you do a great deal of collateral damage along the way. The question is only how bad are they?
There are various websites that rank companies on various measures of social good. I’d urge you to do a little searching – you may find it eye opening!
So how does a consumer navigate their purchasing decisions nowadays? Honestly, I struggle with it! As a person who has these struggles, please allow me to offer a little advice:
First, PLEASE continue to shop with your values in mind. It is easy to throw up your arms and say it is too hard. I get it. But it is almost the only power we have!
Second, do not beat yourself up when you are not perfect. Sometimes, you just need to buy something. It is OK.
Third, continue to learn about the products you buy and the places you shop.
Fourth, buying local is almost always better!
Keep up the fight, fellow consumers!
*DID YOU KNOW? Despite millions of tax dollars going to farmers as incentives to improve our water quality, water quality in Iowa continues to get worse. (Source: University of Iowa.)
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 4:03 PM
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