There is rumored to be a subterranean river under much
of Nevada, one
of the driest states in the nation. Given
the mountains bordering this state it seems possible. How adequate or
extensive this water source may be remains to be seen, but SCAF offers a way to
utilize it for farming where only four percent of the water normally required would
be needed to grow a genetically engineered wheat having few stomata and SCAF
CO2.
A Management Issue
The question of what happens when we use old water has
an answer in past experience where older water moves in to replace that we
pumped out. Tapped aquifers
recover. How well and how soon is
determined by test, but we have all the tools needed for good management.
In a
study published in 1984 by Jurik, et al, it was seen that CO2
enrichment increased photosynthesis up to 450% as well as adapted the
plants to a much higher temperature environment than they were normally
cultivated. (See Stomata Function for details.)
Where SCAF should improve by 50% the production of today’s grain
plants immediately and do more in the future, Nevada could become a big grain
state if the legendary water is there.
Genetic engineering and SCAF may well make Nevada the ocean of wheat that feeds the
world. There is no engine of economics, peace
or politics greater than grain. Our future
farms may be served by robot machines working round the clock.
