Blog Assignment #3: Selection 29 (Summary)

Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems

David Pimentel et al.

 

Image from: Global Warming

The majority of US agriculture uses synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides which causes a serious impact on public and environment health.  Pesticides can be commonly found in streams and groundwater which puts an effect on public community that are getting these water.  

David talks a bit about the three experimental design of cropping systems from the "Rodale Institute Farming System Trail" which were conventional cropping, organic animal-based cropping and organic legume-based cropping.  These were then compared with impacts of droughts on the three crops, as well as energy requirement, costs and benefits, soil carbon changes over time, and nitrogen accumulation/nitrate leaching.  As the result they found that organic systems had a greater biodiversity than conventional systems.

David also talks about the challenges of organic agriculture.  The two primary problems are nitrogen deficiency and weed competition.  These are a problem because researchers have found difficulties in maintaining good quality soil without the use of fertilizers, while weed control is limited to mechanical and biological weed control; opting out chemical weed control.  

He lists some benefits of organic technologies as a conclusion.  Some of the benefits of organic technologies are the costs of organic products helps bring the net economic to an equal or higher profit than conventional products; energy input is also lowered by 30% compared to conventional crops; and of course it also helps make the environment more sustainable and ecologically sound.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 28 (Summary)

Food Scarcity: An Environmental Wakeup Call

Lester Brown

 

Image from: Live Citizens

This Selection talks about the environmental deterioration and how it will lead to an economic decline.

Brown lists some possible economic effects of environmental damage such as overfishing, deforestation, and soil erosion.  The first global economic indicator we should look out for is the rise of grain prices.  It will indicate a environmentally unsustainable economic and demographic path.  This is because higher grain prices for those who are living on a dollar a day would be life threatening.  Brown then goes onto telling us how much water is being used to cultivate the land and the statistics of overfishing by looking back from the 1950s. 

The main reason for food scarcity is the growing population.  As the world population increase, the demand for food increase as well.  He gives us two components that will lead to secure future food and sustainable economy and they are: stabilizing population and climate.  If the demand for grain decreases, the price would also decrease; therefore the future of food security depends on creating an environmentally sustainable economy.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 4 (Summary)

A Sand Country Almanac

Aldo Leopold

Image from: Mountains

Leopold talks about land ethics in this selection.  He describes ethics as a "limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for existence" this is a definition in "ecological" terms.  In fact Leopold goes on to say that ethics philosophically is diferent than ethics ecologically.  He says that there are no ethics in dealing with land, it is dealt like a property and strictly economic.  He calls the evolutionary land ethic an intellectual and emotional process. He adds that our educational and economic system is headed away from the consciousness of land; mankind are more into synthetic materials, rather than "originals" and Leopold refers to that as having "outgrown" land.  Leopold also states that we only see land as just a space for crops to grow, an area between cities or just another scenic area so in other words, boring.  He believes that if our ethics for land advances from an individual to the community than the intellectual content of land ethics will increase.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 3 (Summary)

Principles of Conservation

Gifford Pinchot

Image from: Sustainable St Louis

In Principles of Conservation, Pinchot tells us that conservation was first only used to apply forests, but now is used for even beyond natural resources.  He explains that conservation means "provision for the future.." and "..recognition of the right of the present generation to the fullest necessary use of all the resources..".  He also mentions that it stands for development, which is the first principles (out of three) in what he thinks are the principles of conservation.

The first principle is development and goes on to talk about the development of human use on the natural resource, coal. 

The second principle is prevention of waste.  Here he says that we as humans have the power to control how much waste and destruction of natural resources can be made and we also have the power to stop it.

The third principle is "the natural resources must be developed and preserved" which he links with common good.  He gives conservation a new meaning, he says: "conservation demands the application of common sense to the common problems for the common good."  

He believes that the application of common sense for the nation's good will lead to efficiency within the nation.  

Blog Assignment #2: Blog Activity #2

Hans Rosling on global population growth

  http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html 

 

Rosling compares the population growth from 1960 to 2010,  and the economical wealth of the developing countries compared to the industrialized countries.  Compared to the population of the developing countries and industrialized countries, there was a big gap between the two( developing countries having the higher population).  The difference between the two were the size of the family, and their wealth.  The bigger the family, the harder it is to survive.  Rosling predicts that the developing countries will soon start to follow in the footsteps of the west, while leaving the poorest of the developing countries growing, and reproducing incontrolably.  

 

Blog Assignment #2: Blog Reflection #3

Q; What future would you like to see for the Alberta Tar Sands project?

Image from: google images

I think it would be good if the Tar sands project were to stop completely.  Since oils from tar sands helps with cheap gas cost, I think this is one of the reasons why we are able to exploit and overuse gas so much; because it's there and available, it's cheap, so we depend on it.  If the tar sands project were to terminate then the oil prices will go increase again, but perhaps it is the increase in price that will help us realize that we should preserve our use of oil.  Increasing the value of oil might help us appreciate and value gas.

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 26, Summary

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Sciece Basis

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Image from: Antemedius

This report shows the history of carbon dioxide use and shows graphical data of how changes in greenhouse gases have increased over the years.  The three natural greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.  The report mentions that increase of carbon dioxide is due to fossil fuel use and land use change, while increase of methane and nitrous oxide is due to agricultural use.  This aspect is then put into comparison with the changes in temperature, sea level and snow cover in the north pole.  It is believed that global warming and sea level rising will continue due to the human use of carbon dioxide. 

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 16, Summary

Reinventing the Energy System

Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn

Image from: Aum Energy

Flavin and Dunn talks about the transitional use of coal/oil/natural gases to renewable energy of solar/wind/water energy.  They think that this transition would be similar to the return of our roots to our ancestors, the Homo sapiens as they were the ones whom solely relied on renewable energy sources.  They think that the societies should look at energy as something valuable rather than something that we can buy and use without thinking of about the consiquences of the earth's well-being.  This is their idea of "investing in a livable planet."

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 15, Summary

More Profit with Less Carbon

Anory B. Lovins

Image from: For Smart Blog

Lovins believes that climate protection would reduce the costs of fossil fuel.  He gives examples of five major firms that are currently energy efficient and have saved $2 billion since the 1990s just on reducing carbon emission by more than 60 percent. Not only corporate companies are starting to reduce their carbon emission, but common house hold items such as flourescent lamps are now made to last longer and use less enegry then it did 20 years ago.  Vehicles are made lighter so they do not use as much gas.


Lovins also mentions renewable energy as an alternative to coal powered plants.  Wind and solar power are already used in Europe.  Lovins believes that global nuclear generating capacity is expected to decline and that if carbon use is reduced, money can be saved, and profit can be made.

Blog Assignment #2: Selection12, Summary

Ecosystems and Human Well-being

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005

 
Image from: CUESA & Battelle

This selection talks about the parallels between humans and ecosystems.  Humans exploits ecosystems for their own gains such as food, water, limber, etc.  While this is happening we are not only harming our ecosystems but other human populations as well.  MEA says that in order to come to a sustainability we must end our exploitation from the ecosystems.   

Examples of human exploitation of ecosystems are agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, water and forestry.  These are the factors that we should reduce in order to obtain sustainability; but the lack of knowledge and awareness amongst decision makers are unintentionally degrading our ecosystems.  

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 11, Summary

Will Hurricane Katrina Impact Shoreline Management?

Orrin H. Pilkey and Robert S. Young

Image from: EdenvaleYoung

In this selection Pilkey and Young talks about how the federal government should not spend federal disaster relief funds on rebuilding the coasts.  This is because hurricanes are known to show up quite frequently in these areas.  An example that they gave was Dauphin Island, Alabama; an island located on the southeast US coast which have already experienced 5 hurricanes and yet they continue to rebuilt.