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Guilt factor does nothing to improve environmentHere in Iowa we have a state-wide newspaper by the name of the Des Moines Register that has a long term tendency to use a lot of environmental type literature. Sometimes they go to extremes to the point of making it seem that if you happen to live in Iowa you are automatically guilty of something or other just because they found some educated nobody that can sit in his ivory tower and point his finger. Of course, the newspaper will always find an excuse to not be able to print an objection to such nonsense, so I'm writing this to the High Plains Journal knowing very well that it isn't just an Iowa problem. The article was on the editorial page of the Sept. 19 issue and submitted by Neil D. Hamilton, professor of law and director of the Agriculture Law Center at Drake University. The article starts out about "how little politicians did to improve Iowa's environment." Then he makes the point that, "This responsibility is one we share as citizens, especially if "we own any of Iowa's land." Then he suggests, "10 actions to consider." I'll not bother you with the details except to say that he keeps coming back to the "your land" bit, as in, "especially if we own any of Iowa's land." My thoughts on such insinuations are that in the case of soil erosion we, the owners, have saved more top soil by accident than any lawyer will ever save on purpose. So how do I justify a thought like that? Well, much of Iowa is hills and valleys. In other areas, those hills and valleys are used for grass and legume production rather than row crops. Anyone that's been out in the sun far enough would know the only reason we've got a layer of top soil is because the grass has kept the soil from eroding away. It also, over the eons, has decomposed into more top soil. Compare this to what would be left on top if not for this accident of nature. May I suggest that the various extremist environmentalists should stop emphasizing the guilt factor and instead emphasize the innocence factor. Even I know there to be varying degrees of innocence. --Dwight Joy, Humeston, Iowa 10/8/07 Date: 10/3/07
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