Milk thirst threatens Mexico's rare desert oasis - Reuters

[Eugene]

Milk thirst threatens Mexico's rare desert oasis

By Robin Emmott

Wed Feb 21, 1:56 PM ET

CUATRO CIENEGAS, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican dairy farming is endangering an
ancient oasis in the Great Chihuahuan Desert that scientists say can help them
understand earth's beginnings, global warming and the chances of life on Mars.

Farmers could dry up the warm water Cuatro Cienegas pools in northern Mexico
by the end of the decade if they keep tapping underground water supplies to
grow green alfalfa leaves to feed dairy cows, international biologists say.

"The turtles are dying, the fish will soon be gone," said Benigno Vasquez, a farmer
turned activist striving to contain the proliferation of alfalfa in Coahuila state,
near the border with Texas.

Prized by NASA researchers, the 170 cactus-ringed pools at Cuatro Cienegas
contain fish, snails, turtles, bacteria and unique living rock structures that offer
a glimpse of the life forms that flourished on earth 200 million years ago.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/sc_nm/mexico_environment_dc

[newburgh]

1. As if drinking puss and blood and osteoporosis-causing,

cholesterol-laden liquid isn't bad enough. A human mother's milk is for growing human babies and a mother cow's milk is for... adult humans? Producing it also kills the environment. Great. Milk- the perfect food.

:silly: