Comment 26452

By treytrey (anonymous) | Posted August 31, 2008 at 09:54:35

turn the housing survey back into farmlands? an interesting thought. Only it's about 2000 percent more difficult then turning farmland into housing. If it is even possible here's some of the obstacles.

1. the top soil is gone - sold off by the home builder to garden centers so that the new home owners can purchase it and put it back on their 'land' to grow a lawn and shrubbery to make believe they live in the country.

2. Ashphalt roads will make it a 'brown field'. It's a petroleum product that will have to be cleaned up suitable for farming.

3. Utilities. underground wires, sewers, house basements etc would be an extensive and expensive effort to remove. Corn would have to be $10 a cob in order for the market to justify undertaking this effort. At that price increase, food riots and civil unrest would happen before we expropriate land for farming.

4. Expropriating the land. It is one of the most difficult things to do for a federal effort let alone a city.

5. the soil is dead. all organic matter, along with the top soil that took a million years for nature to make cannot be easily man-made without chemical inputs. the root systems that were removed prevented flooding and the immediate run-off of rain water. the roots allowed the rain water to slowly be reabsorbed rather then cause miniature grand canyons from the water rushing for the nearest drain pipe. soon after a heavy rain the soil is dry again.

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