Filtered digital photo on canvas.

I took this photo while flying above the Texas Panhandle and enhanced the image to minimize haze. The circles of cropland are created by center pivot irrigation systems, which pump water from aquifers and spray it in circular patterns. These systems are efficient, and they helped transform the High Plains region from a dustbowl to a highly productive center of agriculture and livestock in the second half of the twentieth century. The unchecked use of these systems has led to the decline of the the major source of water in this region - the Ogallala aquifer - and has eliminated the potential for future growth in the area.