Beautiful Images and Practical Examples Found in Idaho Microbes

Volume 17, Number 2 308 Idaho forests. Organic, locally sourced food is becoming an important industry in the state, where morel mushrooms sell for up to $20 per pound (p. 44). Idaho consumers are increasingly demanding organic food that is locally sourced and supports area farmers, and these prized fungi are highly valued by restaurants and consumers. Idaho is known for its potatoes, but it turns out that the dairy industry exceeds the potato industry as Idaho’s primary cash cow. While the dairy industry brings in approximately $2.4 billion per year (p. 71), the odoriferous output of the state’s 2.3 million cows (1) presents more than just a smelly nuisance to residents downwind of dairy farms. Enter more Idaho microbes, as entrepreneurs like Jay Kesting employ anaerobic digesters to convert the nearly 40,000 tons of manure per year (p. 74) into a reported 3.2 megawatts of electricity (p. 77). But it is not just the energy produced by these anaerobic digesters that benefits the state, homeowners downwind of the dairy farms no longer have to tolerate “the smell of money” (p. 71). Steubner continues his microscopic analysis of the state of Idaho as he investigates the burgeoning craft beer industry, relates his all-too-personal experience with Giardia as a hiker and camper in the Idaho mountains, documents the scourge of blister root fungus in Idahoan forests, reports on the bioremediation of oil and gas leaks at a gas station south of Nampa, and further explores the influence of bacteria, fungi, and algae on the state. Idaho Microbes is accessible to all levels of readers with its copious and spectacular images, casual writing style and easy-to-read descriptions of microbial processes. Although at times the prose is somewhat lacking, Idaho Microbes is an excellent resource for K–12 teachers, introductory biology and microbiology instructors, microbe enthusiasts, and denizens of the Pacific Northwest.