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1 September 2017
Life in the Soil: The Lizard and the Fire Ant
After a slow, plodding climb up a steep hill in West Virginia, the miogeocline side of the Apallachian mountains, I sat down on a log to catch my breath when, soon, this gregarious creature skittered toward me and, seemingly, looked me straight in the eye. This eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) was about seven inches long, and out in full sunshine near the edge of a clearing. It was a …
17 August 2014
Soil Connections: Drought, Dust and Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
An unfortunate sequence of events involving drought, depleted water resources, wastewater management, antibiotic resistant bacteria (ABR) and dust storms may pose a real health risk in desert states – and, perhaps, beyond. Briefly, here’s the sequence of steps, beginning with drought and ending with a respiratory infection: 1. Arid states can’t grow everything they want with what little rainfall they get – so they irrigate. 2. Limited fresh water used …
1 June 2011
New Soil Blogs
Years ago, a fellow geology major and friend who went on to graduate school to focus on structural geology and tectonics liked to “razz” those of us interested in surficial processes, dismissing it all as “superficial geology.” In rebuttal, someone would remind him that structure and tectonics are only significant to the extent those things are expressed at or near Earth’s surface where we all try to make a living. …
John Freeland earned a PhD in Soil Science (Pedology) at North Dakota State University and is a consultant working in the private sector. He has published soils research and taught at the high school and college levels. John is interested in wetlands, soil genesis, science communication, the intersection of art and science, and soil-water-landscape processes. John lives near the Ohio-Michigan border and plays bass in multiple music projects.