Unit 7 Blog

Suggested Vocabulary:

Maximum Sustainable Yield - (especially in forestry and fisheries) the maximum level at which a natural resource can be routinely exploited without long-term depletion.
Clear Cutting - cut down and remove every tree from (an area).
Selective Cutting -  is the cutting down of selected trees in a forest so that growth of other trees is not affected.
Ecologically Sustainable Forestry - seeks to provide the social and economic benefits to the community from the use of forests, including recreation, while considering the impact on the biological diversity and health of these forests.
Urban Sprawl - the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas.
Urban Blight - (also known as urban rot and urban decay) is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude.
Smart Growth - planned economic and community development that attempts to curb urban sprawl and worsening environmental conditions.
Undernutrition - is the condition that develops in an individual as a result of continuously failing to get enough of the nutrients the body needs to stay healthy and functioning. 
Overnutrition - is frequent or habitual overconsumption of nutrients by eating too much food to the point that it becomes dangerous to your health. 
Agribusiness - agriculture conducted on commercial principles, especially using advanced technology.
Energy Subsidy - are measures that keep prices for consumers below market levels or for producers above market levels, or reduce costs for consumers and producers.
Green Revolution - a large increase in crop production in developing countries achieved by the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crop varieties.
Waterlogging - refers to the saturation of soil with water. Soil may be regarded as waterlogged when the water table of the groundwater is too high to conveniently permit an anticipated activity, like agriculture.
Salinization - is the process by which water-soluble salts accumulate in the soil. 
Monocropping - is the agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the absence of rotation through other crops or growing multiple crops on the same land (polyculture).
Bioaccumulation -  refers to how pollutants enter a food chain; biomagnification refers to the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to the next.
Pesticide Treadmill -  is a term indicating a situation in which it becomes necessary for a farmer to continue using pesticides regularly because they have become an indispensable part of an agricultural cycle.
Shifting Agriculture (Cultivation) - a form of agriculture, used especially in tropical Africa, in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation and cultivated for a few years and then abandoned for a new area until its fertility has been naturally restored.
Desertification - the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture.
Nomadic Grazing - is a form of pastoralism where livestock are herded in order to find fresh pastures on which to graze.
Sustainable Agriculture - is the production of food, fiber, or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare.
Organic Agriculture - is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control.
CAFOs - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, is an industrial-sized livestock operation.
Aquaculture - the rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food.

Forestry Discussion

In many ecosystems, forest fires are an important natural process.  In recent years it has become more commonplace for prescribed burns to be used as an alternative way to manage forests.  Discuss at least one benefit and one cost for managing forests in this manner.  Make sure that for each example given, you discuss the economic, ecological and human impact of your example.

Benefit: Forest fires are essential and play an important role in the the natural changes that occur in Earth's ecosystems. The diversity of plant and animal life throughout every forest in the world, prairies, and wetlands is partly dependent on the effects of fire. This occurs because some plants cannot produce without fire and fire usually starts the process of germination. Forced fires also release nutrients stored in the ground resulting in making the land more fertile and healthy. Fertile lands allows farmers and agricultural workers to produce more benefiting their income as well as lifestyle. The forest fires also allow natural breaking down of organic matter into soil nutrients which again help the land and people.

Cost: There are many ways to manage the cost of the fire such as suppression costs, direct cost, rehabilitation costs, indirect costs, and additional costs. Costs associated with forest fires extend both beyond the acres burned and the days or weeks of the fire event. Suppression costs only capture the immediate costs for the wildfire itself. Direct costs include immediate and direct impacts prominently including federal, state, and local suppression costs. These costs, also are expenditures based on aviation, engines, firefighting crews, and insurance. Rehabilitation costs are usually restoration and refurbishing where as indirect costs are extended over years and include sales and county taxes. However costs and the forest fire itself comes with negative effects. The air quality in the are would decline and lead to reparatory health problems for residents living in the are resulting in an unhealthy immune system and long + short term revenue losses.  

Global Nutrition Discussion

While meat is a regular part of most American's diets, many people in other parts of the world have a primarily plant-based diet because meat is very expensive.  Explain why meat production is more costly than grain production in terms of the amount of land required, the amount of energy and resources needed and the overall environmental impact of meat production.

Farm animals or any animal in general take up much more land than crops do to produce a given amount of food so in this way livestock production requires enormous amounts of energy. Cattle consumes 16 times more grain than they produce as meat and not just that, they take energy to process beyond the energy that goes into their feed. This energy or food that is consumed by the cattle also needs lands to grow which becomes a resource needed by the meat producers. In addition to food or the animal's energy source, water is also required for growth, stability, and sustenance. Livestock in general are responsible for 18 percent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Meat belongs and originates from animals which have their place at the top of our food chain. Just as stated above they require more energy and labor for meat production and transportation. Labor including human work is required or is necessary to help speed up the meat production process. Overall environmental impact includes the use of fossil fuels that damage and destroy the environment. Through food or meat production their is a wide range and usage of machines, tractors, and equipment. The use of this machinery results in fossil fuels being burned, pollution in the air (which sometimes destroys land, animals, and plants), and increased amounts of energy being used. 

Genetic Engineering Discussion

Genetically modified crops have become increasingly popular in the industrialized world.  Describe the benefits and costs of farming GM crops versus non-GM crops in terms of their environmental and economic impacts. Make sure you discuss one at least one benefit and one cost for each impact.

Genetically modified crops are plants used in agriculture in which their DNA is modified or altered using genetic engineered techniques. The whole purpose is to introduce a new trait to the plant that does not normally occur in the species. A recent study by Brookes and Barefoot in 2011 shows that genetically modified crops have benefited farmers because globally they have increased or gained more than 44 billion in farm income. The benefits of farming genetically modified crops are found to be great for farmers in developing countries because due to more effective pest control, crop yields are often higher. The bigger yields create more efficient use of land, less uses of herbicides and other pesticides. Other benefits include creating plants and having better resistant to weeds, pest and other diseases such as corn. Foods have better texture, flavor, nutritional value, and a longer shelf life for easier import and export. Lastly, genetically modified crops create an essential and sustainable way to feed the world. The costs of genetically modified crops are definitely reduced at a larger scale. Although the seed of the genetically modified crop is expensive, the crops have a lower cost of production because there are reduced inputs of machinery, fuel, and chemical pesticides. The benefit of growing crops are that it gives one more control over the food supply rather than having to rely on wild plants. Cultivated plants also increase food supply. The cost for growing crops includes 

not only the labor required but also energy. Resources such as machinery, and people are further needed to carry out the process of harvesting crops. Between the two options of genetically modified crops and regular crops, genetically modified crops are better and prove to be a sufficient way of spending and saving money. 

Sustainable Agriculture Discussion

The dust bowl of the 1930's was caused by a combination of extended severe drought conditions in the midwest and poor farming practices.  Not sure what the dust bowl was???  Take a look at this 3 minute video to help you get a better idea of the utter devastation that took place!  Http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl/videos/black-blizzard

In an effort to avoid a second dust bowl, soil conservation has become a priority to many farmers.  Discuss at lease two examples of farming techniques that can be used to prevent soil erosion and improve soil quality.  For each example, discuss both the economic and environmental benefits of these techniques.  

Due to negative effects of the dust bowl farmers have started to practice and conserve soil in order to keep their land, homes, and families sage. Farmers started to use farming techniques to prevent soil erosion and improve soil quality. Positive steps to control erosion included minimum tillage. The less top layer of the soil a farmer tore up, the more resistant that soil became to water run     off. Another way to prevent soil erosion is planting grasses and small trees on steep slopes and also through stubble mulching. Stubble mulching is putting the harvest waste back onto the ground providing an additional layer of insulation against environmental effects. Improving soil quality comes from adding plant filter strips and rotating plant filter strips. The economic and environmental benefits include saving money or being able to restore the land without excessive care and also improving the soil and land around with better and more efficient farming techniques.

Pest Management Discussion

Many farms have started using integrated pest management as an alternative to traditional pesticides.  Define IPM and give at least two examples of of how it works.  For each example, explain how this method of pest control is considered to be more environmentally friendly to farms than traditional pesticide use.  Additionally discuss whether or not the method is considered to be more cost effective than traditional pesticides. 

IPM or the Integrated Pest Management is a process you can use to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment. It is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common sense practices. The program uses current, and comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. There are a variety of different techniques used to minimize pesticide inputs but the programs include set action thresholds, monitoring and identifying pests, prevention and control.

Through the prevention program as a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to manage the crop, lawn, or indoor space to prevent pests from becoming a threat. In an agricultural crop, this may mean using cultural methods, such as rotating between different crops, selecting pest resistant varieties, and planting pest-free rootstock. These control methods can very effective and cost efficient, presenting little to no risk to people or the environment. Another way would be through the control program. The control program monitors, identifies and with the help of action thresholds, indicates that pest control is required and preventive methods are no longer effective or available. Effective, less at risk pest controls are chosen first, and are used in trapping or weeding. If further observations indicate that the controls are not working than the next step would be to spray at a particular target the pesticide. 

The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program is the voluntary program recognized to partner with pesticide users to reduce the health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use. They are implementing pollution prevention strategies and pesticide risk reduction means. The Integrated Pest Management is definitely more cost effective than traditional pesticides because the IPM eliminates the threat posed by that pest and at the same time reduces the use and impact of harmful synthetic chemicals.   

BIG Picture Discussion  

This is where you will make the four BIG PICTURE connections to the ENTIRE UNIT (forgot what these were over the holiday???  human impact, environmental impact, economic impact and legislation that applies to the unit). Please tie in information you learned in your reading (chapters 10 and 11), from completing your assignments, the documentary we watched and from your labs.  There is not an exact length that I am expecting other than it should definitely be at least a paragraph for each section, should be thorough and show understanding of the topic.  Remember to be specific in your examples.  Do not just say "there are laws that govern this" or "people destroy the Earth."  Give me the names of the laws, what they regulate and who enforces them.  Tell me what humans are doing to destroy the earth.      

Human Impact: 

Humans have created a huge impact in the world today through actions such as farming, grazing, forestry, agricultural uses, the use of machinery in various different environments, exposing the communal areas to fossil fuels and toxic chemicals. Not only through physical actions but the humans, through labor and the work they do to make this world and nation function deeply impacts lifestyles and health of many other people. The agricultural revolution allowed for many agricultural tools to be developed which then was used by humans to further develop farming techniques and agricultural practices. Through the scientific revolution, machinery and its faster more innovative practices have definitely increased production and reduced the amount of time it takes for tasks to be completed but it has also forced humans to fall into this "being lazy" mode in which humans are fully dependent on access to machinery and its benefits. However the human and its labor is necessary in order to sustain and sufficiently keep the world running. 

Environmental Impact:

Environmental Impacts include the destruction of many land sites and the introduction to diseases and bad health conditions. Due to overpopulation there has been a wide range of unequal distribution of food in developing countries around the world resulting in a high infant mortality rate and starvation. In developed countries the effect is inverse in that people are over nourished resulting in diabetes, heart disses, increased amounts of cholesterol and blood pressure, and obesity. Forest fires of course offer and provide lands with fertile soil after recovering from the high temperatures, but they also destroy the land based on whether the fire is forced or planned. Based on the amount humans litter and take out trash land fills have also been filling up quickly and it has resulted in pollution, unhealthy environments, and an odor that can be smelt from far distances. There are programs and agencies that take care or manage ecosystems and communities such as the Bureau of Land Management but they can only delay environmental impacts not fully prevent them from occurring. 

Economic Impact: 

The economic impact includes maintaining and paying for the land that is destroyed due to so many different factors. There are many industries including, agriculture, mining, grazing, and even forestry. And advances in each with better technology and resources costs a fortune. The government including many organizations and even people in general have to pay taxes and money to keep these programs running. Also through programs such as the IPM and genetically modified crops, people are saving more money and it is an efficient way to prevent the destruction of land or spread of pesticides. 

Governmental Legislation: 

The governmental legislation plays a role in maintaining, sustaining, and further developing the surrounding lands. The National Environmental Policy Act, passes in 1969 mandates that every project have a more thorough investigation or assessment done to come up with alternative ways of keeping the environment safe and clean such as the Clean Air Act (1963), Endangered Species Act (1973), and Clean Water Act (1948 & 1972). The Food Stamp Act created in 1964, originated for supplemental nutrition assistance to benefit those who have no food and are going through rough times. All these acts go towards somehow renovating and refurbishing the land and resources that are needed to maintain the industries, economy, and environment.