How to Heal the Heartland
No amount of homilies to a bygone age will bring people back to these little farm towns on the prairie. More than ever, we are an urban nation — at least three-fourths of the people reside in areas matching that designation — even in the Midwest.
.. The water is the Ogallala Aquifer, a great lake beneath parts of eight states, with enough volume to flood the entire United States in a foot of ancient liquid. And while that sounds like a lot of fresh water, it’s disappearing, because of heavy irrigation. At the current rate, 70 percent of the aquifer will be depleted by 2060, according to a study released last year by Kansas State University.