1. Ag Production and the Environment
Text extracted from
The World Food Problem
Leathers & Foster, 2004

2. Erosion Soil removed by Agricultural cause: Wind water Plowing
bare fields
Absence of roots

3. Wind Erosion

4. Water Erosion

5. Chemical Degradation of Soil
Nutrient depletion
Especially if same crop grown every year
Salinization
Irrigation with low levels of salt
Salt build up when dries
Acidification
Too much fertilizer
Drainage problems
Pollutants
Oil
Pesticides
Salinization

6. Physical degradation of soil
Less porous
Compaction by
Heavy machines
Animals
Water logging
Roots die
Due to
Over irrigation
Poor drainage
Soil compaction

7. Extent of Land Degradation
38% total cropland degraded worldwide
2 billion hectares
83% by erosion
12% chemical
5% physical
5-10 million new hectares
degraded each year
New land must be put into production to compensate
Generally poor quality
Overgrazed degraded soil

9. Irrigation Problems Irrigation in Uzbekistan Water Quality degradation
Salt-water intrusion in coastal areas due to lower water table
Leeches salt into groundwater: unusable
Runoff carries fertilizer, pesticide residues
Land degradation:
SoilErosion
Waterlogging
Salinization
acidification
Irrigation in Uzbekistan

10. Ag Chemicals Can lead to Chemical manufacture can be dangerous
Land degradation
Water pollution
Health problems
Chemical manufacture can be dangerous
Explosion at fertilizer plant in Bhopal India in 1984
Killed thousands
Union Carbide Chemical Plant, Bhopal India

11. Fertilizer Runoff: Hypoxia
Dead zone in rivers, lakes, oceans
N and P fertilizer runoff cause algae growth
Algal bloom removes dissolved oxygen
Result: nothing grows

12. Carrying Capacity How many people can earth support? Limitations on
Agricultural land
Fresh water
Waste assimilation

13. David Pimentel Believes carrying capacity has already been exceeded
Earth can support 2 billion
at high standard of living
Current yields not sustainable

14. Julian Simon Optimistic about future ag production
Technology will solve problems
Drip Irrigation
Fish Farming
GMOs for
Pest resistance
Drought resistance
Salt resistance

15. Fish: the Blue Revolution
World fish stocks fully exploited
No future increases in wild capture
Aquaculture increasing
Developing nations
China
Developing nations by 2020
79% World population
77% World fish consumption

16. Fish: the Blue Revolution

17. Global Warming Agriculture contributes to global warming:
CO2 released from plant decomposition
CO2 = 80% greenhouse gases
No-till Ag releases less CO2
Methane released from rice paddies
Methane: 23 x warming impact of CO2
Nitrous Oxide (NO) released from fertilizer use
NO: 296 x warming impact of CO2
                              

18. Global Warming Livestock contribute to GW
Produce 18% of total greenhouse gasses
(Cars, Airplanes, Trains, Boats total 13%)
1.3 billion cattle in world
Occupy 1/3 earth’s landmass
20 lb CO2 produced per pound of beef
Cattle Belching produces methane
200L/d/cow methane
5% of planet’s greenhouse gasses
Manure produces Nitrous Oxide (NO)
Deforestation to support livestock
Grazing land
Crop land to grow feed
70% of former forest in Latin America is grazing land
                              

20. Global Cattle Distribution
<1
 20-50
 1-5
 50-100
 5-10  
 10-20
 250+
All densities are in heads per square Kilometer.

21. Global Cattle Distribution
Global livestock production is projected to double by 2050

24. Ice melt in Greenland

25. Global Warming Impact on Agriculture: Flooding of coastal land
½ of world population lives within 120 miles of the coast
Affect crop yields
Increase CO2
Boosts crop growth
Increase water-use efficiency
Increase extreme weather
Increase insects, disease
Shift climate zones
Northern regions better
Tropical regions worse
Developing countries

26. Impact on Agriculture

27. Impact on Agriculture

28. USA biggest CO2 emitter

29. Ethical Issue Global warming is caused primarily by CO2
from industrial development in the first world
Is it morally acceptable that the developing world will suffer more negative effects from global warming
Without having benefited from the fossil fuels that caused the problem.

30. Solving Global Warming

31. Bioenergy Potential: Reduce CO2 emissions Sustainable
Plants fix CO2
Sustainable
If use perrennial switchgrass
Profits for farmers
Worldwide
Energy for poor

32. Bioenergy Problems Oil Palm Plantation, Indonesia
Competes with food production
Agricultural land diverted
Food prices rise worldwide
Hurts poor hardest
Undernutrition
Ethanol from maize increases CO2 production
Farming uses fossil fuel
Less soybeans planted in U.S.
Tropical forests destroyed to plant soybeans in Brazil.
Net loss of ability to fix CO2
Biodiesel from oil palm and soybeans destroys rainforests
Oil palm plantations in S.E. Asia
Soybean planting in Brazil
Oil Palm Plantation, Indonesia

33. http://media. townhall. com/Townhall/Car/b/20080421RZ1AP-BiofuelGauge

35. Bioenergy benefits and challenges

36. Bioenergy plusses and minuses