Jackson asks a thought provoking question in his Post Carbon Reader Series about human impacts upon the environment of North America. From 1492 to 1765, everyday life in agrarian American remained relatively consistent with Pieter Breugel’s The Harvester (1565) painting. (Jackson) It was not to remain still life forever. The pace of advancement quicked after the industrial revolution, Louisiana purchase, homesteader prairie settlement, agricultural mechanization, and Green Revolution which has now left us with a system of homogenized crops grown in isolation of ecosystems and kept alive by chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. It isn’t just bad for the crops -- it’s damaging our ecosystem on a broad scale. Jackson states that “the …show more content…
According to the European Union’s Joint Research Center, soil contains nearly one third of all living organisms, but only about one percent have been identified. Another study in 2003 featured in the journal Ecosystems estimated that 5% of the United State’s soil biodiversity was “in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization.” (Robbins) The damage comes from multiple sources. Paving or building over soil effectively blocks out the air, water, and light needed to have a functioning soil biome meaning that roads, cities, sidewalks, houses, and businesses have destroyed the soil beneath it. Agricultural practices remove organic material, decreasing food, and then allows fallowed land to become dry and exposed to the elements. Household, industrial, and agricultural toxins can also sterilize soil if not disposed of …show more content…
It is well known that the best option on paper would be to suddenly reduce the input of additional greenhouse gases into the environment, the recylce everything, and to ensure that all future development comes about in a sustainable way. According to a new climate-modeling study, stabilizing the climate will mean having to go to zero emissions almost immediately. (Mooney) However, as scientists, Teller and Woods “doubt people would ever give up enough of their costly energy-consumption habits to prevent climate-associated risks,” and see “global greenhouse gas treaties like Kyoto as they had been of arms-control agreements during the ’80s.” (Mooney) Effectively, conservation only options are now being given less credibility in addressing the entire crisis. What’s the new plan “Direct, aggressive intervention, either in the upper atmosphere or low Earth orbit, essentially to turn down the volume knob on solar radiation” states
Dr James Hansen’s argumentative essay, “A Solution to the Climate Problem,” discusses his premise that it is imperative for humankind to deal with carbon dioxide emissions, which he believes needs to be phased out by the mid-21st century. He begins with the current paradigm in government efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and claims that so far it has been a lot of talk and action in the other direction. Dr Hansen argues that while governments pay lip service to agreements such as the Kyoto Accord, they are going full steam ahead with projects that will result in increased carbon dioxide emissions, such as going forth with coal-fired power plants, coal-to-liquids, hydraulic fracturing, and tar sands oil extraction. Dr Hansen believes
(Phillips, 2008, p.385) Farmers are the reason as to why the region has been stable, has helped the economy, and are the “guardians of the land,” as noted by Phillips. (Phillips, 2008, p. 385) That being noted, farming has helped so many individuals, such as in jobs as well as food products such as wheat in our everyday lives. Technological innovations have helped in the development of the land of the Palouse. Chemicals have helped evolve the land with the growth of crop yields, such as “herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and hybrid wheat varieties.” (Phillips, 2008, pg. 387) This has caused long term environmental problems such as soil erosion. This has brought me to the interest of how the land that overcame the main problem. That is soil erosion stripped off the land due to farmers using chemicals to implement growth in their
The microbes found in soil go hand in hand with the microbes found in our bodies, especially the gut microbiome. Soil is used to grow various plants and crops which we then ingest. As stated in Healthy Soil Microbes, Healthy People, we have completely destroyed soil microbes by overusing fertilizers and pesticides just like how we have destroyed our gut microbes by ingesting processed foods and large amounts of antibiotics. Soil microbes, including bacteria and fungi, form symbiotic relationships with plant roots to help provide the plant with many nutrients needed to survive. In order to restore and improve the soil once again, we need to reintroduce bacteria and fungi that are capable of repairing the damage. Through recent technological advances, the soil microbiome was genetically sequenced. This allows farmers and other scientists to understand which microorganisms are
In 2013, the Obama Administration issued the Climate Action Plan to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 % reduction below 2005 levels by 2020. This plan’s three objectives were carbon reduction, strengthening capacity for climate change response, and leading international cooperation for climate change crisis (White House, 2013). To reduce the
The Women's Suffrage Movement historical analysis essay would be of an interest to the academic and unfamiliar audience. The writer, instructor and, classmates have a formal relationship together. They would review the writer's arguments, opinion, and position on the topic. The audience might know about the subject or at the same level as the writer.
“ Without soil, land plants as we know them could not grow, and without plants no animals could survive”(53). This quote shows the great importance of one of our most important resources soil. “Perhaps the most important organisms in the soil, are the smallest-the invisible hosts of bacteria and threadlike fungi”(54). And, this quote shows how important the small organisms are. These include bacteria, fungi, and insects, which play such are large roll in life and are commonly being overlooked. One way they are being overlooked is by having chemicals sprayed on them and no one wonders what will happen. Well, if you are spraying chemicals to kill insects, it is most definite that the insects, such as earthworms, are going to be killed as well. These organisms are what make our soil so fertile, and without them we won’t be able to grow as much food. That being said, if we continue to plague the organisms of the soil with chemicals eventually, we will have less soil. We will no longer be able to grow as much crop due to this and we will not sustain the same lifestyle that we had
Urbanization brings about a new set of problems to the environment. These problems include air pollution and land pollution. As new builds and roads are built the ability of soil to absorb
“Scientists have been warning about global warming for decades. It's too late to stop it now, but we can lessen its severity and impacts” - David Suzuki. Global warming, a primary topic of debate in various conversations throughout all levels of government, has been an issue for countless years. In fact, of the 134 years recorded, the 10 warmest years have all occurred “since 2000, with the exception of 1998 “(NASA). Solving a global issue such as this is not as easy as it may seem; however ,The Paris Agreement vows to do just that by setting a plan to limit global warming to well below 2°C in “the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal” (Europa). Before signing off on such an agreement one must analyze the many negatives
“On the global basis, the soil degradation is caused by over grazing (35%), agriculture activities (28%), deforestation (30%), over exploitation of land to produce fuel wood (4%), and industrialization (4%).” 100% of what causes soil degradation is caused by humans and animals. 35% of the blame goes to the animals for over grazing, but the other 65% of the blame goes to the humans for agriculture activities and chopping down trees. Another example is, David Pimentel also states, “The bottom line on soil production is that it takes (on average) about 100 years to generate a millimeter of soil. This is about a human lifetime.” Although it is stated that animals contribute to land degradation, it’s only a small portion (35%). The main reason for loss of arable land is human development. Forests are cut down for farming space, fuel wood, or space to build some kind of industry. When land is being used and used, and no one manages it, it can become deplete; which means, the land is dried out and unable to grow vegetation. Soil production takes a long time, on average, it takes 100 years. 100 years is too long to wait for new soil to plant food.
The environment is getting worse due to many reasons, one of being ‘off-farm input’, which is effecting and damaging the environment. ‘Off-farm input’ consists of fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides, which is used on agriculture to grow faster and larger. These ‘off-farm input’ is effecting and damaging the environment, through the chemicals in the pesticides and fertilizers, creating groundwater contamination. The ‘Environmental Protection Agency’ has stated that herbicides
Today, even though the issue at hand might not be large scale pesticide use in most areas of the country, modifications to the ecosystem through genetic engineering of crops or advanced fertilizer technology continues to alter global ecosystems. Even while the human race tries to make the world more comfortable, it should not forget that nature is delicate and requires respect.
The management of agricultural land is considered one of the most significant human activities capable of changing the soil characteristics. Intensive agricultural practices are an important factor contributing to the degradation of soil properties (García-Orenes et al., 2009; Maitima et al., 2009) leading to lower levels of organic matter (Fliessbach et al., 2007; Schjønning et al., 2007) and changes in soil microbial diversity and activity (Nicol et al., 2003; Govaerts et al., 2007). Many studies have shown that land use determines the composition of soil bacterial communities (Wallenius et al., 2011; Osborne et al., 2011) and the bacterial communities are more sensitive to land use changes than the soil chemical and physical properties (Romaniuk et al., 2011). On the other hand, the use of land affected indirectly the bacterial community structure but it does not deplete bacterial diversity under the imposed environmental conditions (Jesus et al., 2009; Suleiman et al.,
In making a case for the medical use of marijuana, I am not saying that all drugs should be legal and that advances in the medical use of marijuana is the first step towards everything being legal. But my argument will do more than prove that one particular industrial chemical has certain toxic properties. In this article, I will also talk about the positives of medical marijuana use, and why its medical uses separates it from other, more harmful drugs. My point about the national obsessions with sports reinforces the belief held by many scholars that students should learn how to think and communicate in an intellectual manner about topics that interest them like sports before thinking intellectually about topics that do not interest them,
According to an article focused on environmental awareness, “the world’s average surface temperature rose by approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit, the fastest rate in any period over the last 1000 years” (Source A). Damage has already been done to the environment but it is not the time to throw our hands up, it is the time for leaders in all sectors to tackle this issue head on. We know that carbon dioxide is the culprit, so now it is imperative to implement the solution and take a hard look at who is producing the most greenhouse gases. Big changes need to take place but they can only be done in steps and not all at once to be effective. In an excerpt from a book about global warming, Mark Maslin brings up the point that many feel the Kyoto Protocol does not go far enough; scientists believe that a 60% cut of greenhouse gas emissions is necessary in order to “prevent major climate change” (Source E). A sixty percent cut of emissions should be what countries work up to achieving but first and foremost, every country needs to agree to the Kyoto Protocol guidelines. The Kyoto Protocol itself should not be viewed as the end in the discussion of greenhouse gas restrictions, but rather the first stepping stone to a much broader and effective
One of the largest, and unspoken issues being dealt with in the United States today is the use of pesticides and their rate of decay on soil rejuvenation. American culture currently accepts the adaptation of genetically modified foods without regard to its various effects. In fact according to the Organic Consumers Association,” It 's estimated that 75 percent of processed foods contain GMOs and 80 percent of all food consumed in the U.S. is processed.”(5) Our country has developed a system in which the agricultural norm is to use genetic modifications in order to keep up with the demand for fast, good looking produce. As long as America is choosing the cheaper option of mass produced GMO infested product, we will see a continual decline in soil quality and American health problems. In an economic sense, due to the oversupply of genetically modified foods farms with GM foods are having to deal with the over-exposure of pesticides, which slows down the rejuvenation rate of the soil.(5) In fact, the government purposefully pays farmers to use pesticides in order to keep the cost of living down for people who are currently living in poverty. The soil in the America needs to be organically restored in order to have this finite resource withstand the lifespan of the human race.