and benefits of herbicide use. Most weed scientists are very enthusiastic about herbicides because of their po tential for preventing soil erosion and for saving fuel. But just as entomolo gists 30 years ago saw few problems associated with insecticides, it may be that herbicides pose latent problems that have not yet fully materialized because weed killers have been used in great quantities and in great variety for only a few years. The possible problems with herbi cides suggest that just as integrated pest management is the best way to control insects, an integrated approach to weed management may be the most desirable technique for controlling weeds (see ES &T, Vol. 16, No. 5, 1982, p. 282A). Among other things, integrated weed management involves using a variety of control measures including in some cases a limited ap plication of herbicides rather than in discriminately applying large quan tities. Several techniques may be used in combination as a total or partial sub stitute for herbicides, such as me chanical cultivation, proper spacing of crop rows, hoeing, burning, proper timing of crop plantings, and biological methods. For a number of crops, it may be more desirable to cultivate mechanically between crop rows and use herbicides only in the row where the crop is grown. In certain situations less herbicide can be used if a postemergent type is applied to the foliage of the weeds after they appear and the farmer knows the kinds of weeds he has to contend with. Crop rotation has been traditionally and remains one of the most effective methods of weed control. To combat soil erosion, a va riety of techniques can be employed in addition to no-till and minimum till age. These include crop rotation, con touring, terracing, strip cropping (the growing of a cultivated crop in strips alternating with sod-forming crop), and intercropping (growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same plot). More research in weed control is definitely needed. If the risks are not clearly understood, the enthusiastic use of herbicides could alter the soil and create weed problems that our tech nology is not yet able to deal with. Overall, what Β. Ε. Day wrote in the book "Pest Control Strategies" is probably true: "Prolonged dependence upon a single chemical or cultural practice or repetitive combination of factors, regardless of how successful initially, will fail over the long term." —Bette Hileman 650A
Environ. Sci. Technol.. Vol. 16, No. 12, 1982
Biggs moves on Her top-notch capabilities and unremitting efforts have given much of the ACS chemical literature the superb quality for which it is world famous. E S & T wishes Katherine Biggs a long, healthy, happy retirement In a performance evaluation early in her career, Kay Biggs was said to be like the Rock of Gibraltar. For it is on Kay's shoulders that the ACS peerreviewed evaluation of technical pa pers for a half-dozen publications—a monthly magazine, one bimonthly, and four quarterlies including three engi neering quarterlies—has rested for more than 20 years. In fact, Kay saw the beginnings of the half-dozen pub lications for which she has had the re sponsibility for peer review of technical manuscripts. Her name is the only name on the ES& Τ masthead that has been there from the first issue (Janu ary 1967) to this issue! Retiring this month after 33 years of ACS service, Kay has seen editors come and go, yet has kept a "hum ming" office throughout all the changes. The number of manuscripts she has handled in her career is mind boggling. (Kay describes her ES&T experiences in this month's editorial, p. 636A). She notes that Jerome Seiner of PPG is the third editor of I & EC Product R&D; Bruno Zwolinski is the third editor of the Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data; and Irvin Liener became the editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry this July. The editors of the other two publications have not changed (see photo caption). The statistics of Kay's career are easy to cite, but more difficult to ex press in words is the warm, heartfelt appreciation that is extended to Kay for the way she has conducted ACS business. Kay's ACS career goes back to 1949. There are fewer ACS em ployees than you can count on the fin gers of two hands who can claim a similar work record. Kay has gone to more ACS meet ings than many would like to remem ber. She went to her first in 1950 (the fall meeting in Chicago), and her at tendance at the Kansas City meeting this fall was her 51st. Modestly she says that she has missed a few. She
says her presence there is useful for meetings of the editorial advisory boards and for meetings with editors and authors of manuscripts. A native Washingtonian One of six children, four brothers and a sister, Kay was born in Wash ington, D.C., grew up there, graduated from American University, and now lives in the Maryland suburban area. Kay joined the ACS as an editorial assistant in 1949 and moved up the ladder to manager of the manuscript reviewing operation in 1962. She looks forward to retirement, and serving as a consultant to the ACS on matters relating to peer review of manu scripts. Although not a "workaholic," Kay
0013-936X/82/0916-0650A$01.25/0
© 1982 American Chemical Society
can and does muster a terrific effort when necessary—for example, to set matters right earlier this year when records for six months were lost through a computer failure. She is a sensitive, beautiful person who just naturally likes to help others. She is active in her church, Georgetown Presbyterian, where she does volunteer work. She hopes to make up in time what she might not be able to continue to contribute financially after retire ment. One program she is active in is Meals-on-Wheels, which takes meals to shut-ins—those who might be handicapped, old, or recuperating from illness. Travels, travels
Travel has been one of Kay's big joys. She reminisces and says, "Ge ography was my favorite subject in the fifth and sixth grades. I would look at the maps and take vicarious trips." Now, she makes these trips a reality. Before 1970, she had been to Europe and Canada several times. But in 1970, she visited her sister and family in Brazil. It was during this visit that she realized a childhood dream of visiting
the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru, which date back to 400-500 B.c. What makes travel such a joy for Kay is that she travels with a group of people she has known all her life. There was a 1978 trip to the Orient, a 1980 trip to Europe that included the pas sion play at Oberammergau, Bavaria, which is performed only once every 10 years, and a 1981 trip to Alaska, which she says was far less interesting than her 1982 whirlwind tour to Paris, Vienna, Milan, Dubrovnik, and Is tanbul (where she bought a rug). After retirement, she plans to travel in the U.S., to National Parks, for ex ample, some of which she will be re visiting. But first she plans to visit her brother and family in Florida. From there she will take a sun-filled Carib bean cruise this winter. The forte of A C S publications is its peer-reviewed literature. A C S publi cations are at the forefront of the world's chemical literature. Kay Biggs has contributed much to the superb quality of this literature in the fields that she helped to shape. We wish you luck, a productive retirement, and good trips. Bon voyage, Kay.
Comtex Scientific Corporation
Holding court. Ms. Biggs (center) with her editors at this year's Editors Conference in Tucson, Ariz. Clockwise: Russell Christman, editor of Environmental Science & Technology; Philip Bates, editor of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry; Hugh Hulburt, editor of I&EC Process Design and Development; Jerome Seiner, editor of I&EC Product Research and Development; ACS Executive Director Raymond Mariella; and Robert Pigford, editor of I &EC Fundamentals. Bruno Zwolinski (missing in the photo) is editor of the Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data. CIRCLE 4 ON READER SERVICE CARD Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 16, No. 12, 1982
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