Huge pockets of collapsing earth, like the Kansas sinkhole that formed overnight this week in Dalton Hoss' cow pasture, are becoming a frequent occurrence now.
Normally sinkholes develop after periods of heavy rain and flooding or where man has wantonly overdeveloped, shifting rock and soil deposits and thereby compromising the land's natural integrity.
But, assuming Kansans know what they're talking about, the Kansas sinkhole is an anomaly in that there aren't any large wells, caverns or mines in the area, and the region hasn't experienced that much precipitation either.
In fact, experts theorize that the recent lack of normal rainfall throughout large swaths of America over the past several years could be the clue as to why sinking land is on the rise lately.
It's basically yet another symptom of a hotter, ailing planet, they say.
It's basically yet another symptom of a hotter, ailing planet, they say.
Whether through excess water or drought conditions, the destabilizing effect on soil containing large amounts of soluble rock such as limestone, gypsum and salt, could be the same: It gives out suddenly, in the process of crumbling or resettling creating massive cave-ins.
Geologists familiar with sinkhole dynamics claim nearly 20 percent of communities in the United States are situated on the type of potentially unstable earth -- called 'karst terrain' -- that could one day, without warning, start to sink.
Key U.S. states where sink-holing is not so rare are Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. But the phenomena has been spreading.
What should we do with our new, fast-growing bottomless pits, besides exercising an abundance of caution when taking pictures of them? Why, fill these ever-expanding holes in the ground with tons and tons of trash, of course!
Unless, like Americonic Art, you intend to repurpose your garbage.
(Read about Sinkhole Montreal next.]
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