Editor,
Poison makes perfect.
In the cities, folks use chem lawn or tru green (a euphemism) to perfect their lawn and to project the illusion that Perfectville exists here. No dandelions. No violets. No problems.
In the cities, pesticides and selective herbicides are sprayed on lawns so the continuing death spiral to ecological systems isn’t as noticeable. There’s still green. It’s been perfected, kill everything, but stay green, and all is good.
But once you start spraying, you can’t stop. In rural Arkansas, the natural state reeks of chemical carnage along Dam Site Road, scenic federal highway 62 and Indian Creek Road where land owned by the Nature Conservancy and the Arkansas Heritage Commission was just sprayed with herbicide. Is this what conservation means in Arkansas? Killing with lethal chemicals? When you kill plants, you kill animals. The foodweb is a real thing. It seems that the Nature Conservancy did not get on the “No Spray” list.
Glades on limestone bluffs are like coral reefs in the sky filled with natural wonders of floral and faunal connections that are treasure troves of life in the Ozark countryside.
Invasives, far worse than little dandelions, like sericea lespedeza, Johnson grass, tall foxtails, nutsedge, bush honeysuckle, Japanese honeysuckle and kudzu are taking over scenic ecological areas because we are disturbing the soil with chemicals everywhere.
The roadsides are a disgrace to look at. Please go see for yourself. We are killing the golden goose. And no one seems to notice or care.
Susan Pang
Garfield