The human population is increasing and so is the amount of food we consume; each year food consumption increases 0.5% per person and less than half of the global grain we produce, is directly consumed by humans, this is because the rest goes to feed farm animals. However, factory farms are using more than they can produce, considering the fact that animals are being fed 6 kg of plant protein and in return are only producing 1 kg of animal protein, this also means other people are getting less food. With the human population increasing farmers must grow crops to meet the rising food demand. However, to increase the number of crops produced we need more farmland, which can lead to deforestation and animal habitats being cut down or burnt. So far 38% of the world is covered by farmland, and the area is still expanding. Each year, 12 million hectares of land is lost to deforestation and it is predicted in 2050 more than 120 million hectares of natural habitat in developing countries will be covered in farmland, to meet the food demand. When deforestation is done to create new agricultural land, the crops that replace the trees also act as a carbon sink, but they are not as effective as forests. More Deforestation effect***** Greenhouse effect: The greenhouse effect occurs from various gasses throughout the world, which are called greenhouse gasses. Most of the greenhouse gasses are natural. The greenhouse gasses absorb infrared radiation from the sun and traps the heat
After learning about the statistics of how much agriculture consumes our planet, I was appalled to see how destructive it is. Jonathan Foley put into perspective the increase and rapid demand for food. Agriculture alone consumes 40% of our land surface, 70% of our irrigation system, and
Over the next forty years, global population is expected to reach nine billion people. This increase in population, combined with expected economic growth, will cause an increase in food demanded and inevitably drain the resources we use for food production. So far, agriculture has been able to respond positively to the rising demand for crop and livestock products. However, farmers are already faced with many new challenges associated with feeding an expanding global population. Farmers must now meet strict new emissions requirements and produce more food on fewer acres while minimizing their environmental footprint. The demand for food is expected to grow substantially in the next couple decades. Some of the factors affecting an increase in food demands are population growth, rising incomes of individuals, food supply factors, and biofuels.
According to a Collective Evolution article published on March 4, 2013, “260 million acres...of US forests have been clear-cut to create land for producing feed for livestock” (Ketler 1). In addition to this, National Geographic has released an article about deforestation stating that one of the worst outcomes of deforestation is the destruction of habitats for animals. The article goes on to state that deforestation is also a major cause of climate change and global warming. What is even worse is that this deforestation will likely not stop, as the world population swells and the demand for meats as well. So, this tragedy must be stopped now, or this could materialize extremely negative, complex issues for the environment and the population of the
The greenhouse effect is how the Earth naturally warms up. During the greenhouse effect, the sun radiates it heat into our atmosphere. From there, most of the heat gets trapped in the Earth’s surface, which is later released back into our atmosphere. At the lower atmosphere, water vapor and carbon dioxide are the gases that absorb most
When the atmosphere is warmed it emits IR radiation, with a portion of the energy acting to warm the surface and the Earth?s atmosphere. As a result the average surface temperature of the Earth is higher than it would normally be without the atmospheric absorption and re-radiation of IR energy. This is known as the ?Greenhouse effect?. The predictions of the future of these greenhouse gasses being in our atmosphere is based on how much we put into the atmosphere and how much is consumed. One thing is for certain, there are still large controversies on how much of these gasses that are let into the atmosphere are by natural or man made processes. (2-453-454)
Justin Gillis wrote a fascinating article called “Seas Are Rising at Fastest Rate in Last 28 Centuries”. The main idea in this article was to tell the readers that tidal flooding along the American coastal communities is to a great extent a repercussion of greenhouse gases from human activity, and the problem will likely become more unpleasant in the upcoming decades.
The greenhouse effect on earth results from a higher concentration of carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, absorb energy radiated by the Earth and then send it back into our atmosphere as heat. This is called the greenhouse effect. During the last
Population is expected to reach 9 billion in 2030. At the same time agricultural land is becoming scarcer and poorer in quality. Furthermore, the environmental impact of intensive agriculture and the effects of climate change are threatening food security in many regions of the globe. Further, shortage of fossil fuels will have dramatic effects on the performance of intensive agriculture. There is an urge to develop more ecological agricultural practices both to meet the need to preserve agroecosystems health and to deal with the reduced availability of “cheap” energy from fossil fuels. (Gomiero, T., Paoletti, M., & Pimentel, D. 2008).
greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is very well known and is released while doing everyday things like driving a car. Carbon dioxide also is the main impacting greenhouse gas along with methane and nitrous oxide. After burning fossil fuels the greenhouse gasses trap heat in
Increasing human population and industrial agriculture go hand and hand. Currently, there are 7.4 billion people in the world and it continues to grow rapidly and the demand to meet the needs for our growing population remains to be an overwhelming task. Agriculture is the practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. Deforestation is by-product of agriculture in which we must cut down trees for agriculture. We are losing our natural resources to meet the demands of the population. The pressure to meet the needs is contributing to global warming, animal extinctions and uprooting indigenous people from their homes.
This view is based on two ideas: first, that as more land is used in agricultural production, less land remains for wildlife or other environmental purposes; and second, that less productive agricultural lands are particularly susceptible to environmental damages. The loss of forests and other areas to crop production may be critical in developing countries with expanding cropland
Greenhouse effect – warming that result when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically
The greenhouse effect is what allows life on Earth and the atmosphere contains trace gases which are designed to retain heat. The gases that are present in the atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and nitrous oxide. These gases act as a global insulator and help control the Earth’s atmosphere. It all begins with sunlight which is a form of energy that is mostly absorbed by land, oceans, and a portion of the sunlight is reflected back to the atmosphere. Once the earth warms up, it then gives off energy in a different form which is called infrared radiation or electromagnetic radiation. The planet need some of the greenhouse gases because without them the
Greenhouse gases are compounds in the atmosphere that can trap and hold extra heat, which increases the temperature in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases is the cause of the greenhouse effect that leads up to global warming. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere that is due to the visible radiation from the sun. The solar radiation reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, then the rest of the sun's energy is absorbed by the oceans and lands which result in the heating of the Earth. After that the heat from the Earth goes towards space, some of the heat is trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouses gases which make the Earth warm enough to tolerate living life. The burning of fossil fuels and land clearing start to increase the number of greenhouse gases which travels into the atmosphere. The result of trapping extra heat cause the Earth’s temperature to rise. Scientist's has proven that the constant increase of heat in the atmosphere is caused by humans. The reason humans are proven guilty for the increase of global warming is because of the amount of carbon that is put into the atmosphere. Carbon is released from burning coal, oil, and gas or cutting down and burning forests. Carbon (CO2) is known as the main source of heat-trapping gas which is mainly responsible for the increase of warming over the years. The removal of trees is another cause of global