Sunday, August 20, 2006

Crop Circles


This isn't a digital graphic design. It's a photograph. It's an aerial photo of Oregon farmland. I don't fly very often, but I remember being amazed by this geometric view from the air more than twenty years ago.

I found the photo on Earth & Sky's Human World page. It links to Robert Anex's description of the impact of agriculture on the earth. Anex says that while cities, roads, dams and such cover 1% of the earth total land area, cropland and pasture cover 40%. In Iowa, where Anex lives, 89% of the land surface is farmland. The impact of deforestation and increased nitrogen fixation and release of methane is undeniable. Anex says he is "cautiously optimistic that we CAN maintain agricultural production while improving the environment." I'm more cautions than optimistic.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amazing shot. I love how macro and micro visions of the world force us to take notice of the ordinary to which we are usually blind.