With pen and purpose, Art Cullen confronts Iowa’s agricultural water crisis
Iowa journalist and author Art Cullen penned a book about the state’s issues with water pollution. He’ll be promoting it at the Iowa City Book Festival in October.
Art Cullen, a journalist, author, editor, co-owner of the Storm Lake Times Pilot, and Pulitzer Prize winner, has written a new book centered around Iowa’s complicated history with water pollution. Cullen focused on the state’s political climate and agricultural practices to create one cohesive narrative in “Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest: Notes from the Edge of the World,” which was published on September 22.
Speaking with RadioIowa about the project, Cullen said, “We’ve taken what is perhaps the most beautiful land in the world and destroyed it and destroyed a pretty good civic culture along with it.” He added, “It’s not beyond repair, but we’re flushing our natural resources down the river and we’re shipping people out and we’re marching backwards in time.” The idea behind the story is two-pronged: He wants to inform residents of what’s been happening right under their noses, while also inspiring those of voting age to understand the impact of their political decisions.
Cullen said that both rural America and rural Iowa “has been forgotten about and flown over — but this is where the political change took place that took Iowa hard right.” With the release of the book, along with his forthcoming appearance at the Iowa City Book Festival, Cullen is hoping to raise awareness of key issues that directly impact the hardworking people of the state.
Here’s what has been going wrong with Iowa’s agricultural practices
Factory farm water pollution has been slowly creating problems in Iowa for decades. According to Food & Water Watch, the state’s factory farms produce about 109 billion pounds of waste annually—which is 25 times higher than Iowa’s human population. Art Cullen’s research showed that it’s the most polluted surface water in all of North America, and that nitrogen fertilizer is one of the key reasons why this problem is persisting. He thinks that, because of this, water is going to become an incredibly important issue at the polls. Thankfully, solutions are easy to come by once everyone gets on the same page about the damage that’s being done to the local environment.
“There are real simple and cost-effective solutions to our pollution problems,” Cullen told RadioIowa. He added, “But every acre that is not sprayed with Roundup or has anhydrous ammonia applied to it is a dollar lost to the petrochemical complex.” Cullen says that, “farmers would make more money by eliminating a lot of their chemical costs by using such things as cover crops to cover bare ground in the winter and fall before spring planting — that can cut your herbicide cost by 75%.”
Not only would it save farmers money to opt for solutions that would protect the region from further pollution, but it would help Iowans save money, too. Food & Water Watch noted that residents may pay upwards of $66 million each year in increased water bills if the nitrate pollution issue continues to run unchecked. Plus, numerous health issues, including thyroid problems and “blue baby syndrome,” which is fatal, can be caused by nitrates.
To learn more about the issue, click here.
Cullen will appear along with other authors at the Iowa City Book Festival in Oct.
Existing fans of Art Cullen, or anyone who’s interested in hearing the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer speak more about Iowa’s agricultural landscape, can catch him during an upcoming appearance at the Iowa City Book Festival. The festival itself is held from October 5-12 and features a mix of author appearances, guided tours, bookworking showcases, and much more. For more information on the event, follow this link.
Cullen will appear on October 11 at 1 p.m. to discuss “Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest.” Check out the details here.
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