ENVI Test 3

Pesticide Use Has Not Reduced U.S. Crop Losses to Pests

- 1942-1997 - Crop losses from insects have increased from 7% to 13%, even with 10x increase in pesticide use. How can this be? - Three U.S. federal agencies (EPA, USDA, FDA) regulate the use of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide act (FIFRA; 1947) - Intended to assess health risks but less than 10% of active pesticide ingredients have been tested - The food Quality Protection Act was passed in 1996, which required pesticide residue concentrations to be lower if effects on children were poorly documented. - The United States still exports pesticides banned for use domestically. 28 million pounds of pesticides were exported from the US between 2001-2003 that were illegal to use in the US.

Laws and Treaties

- 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - 1979 Global Treaty on Migratory Species - U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 - U.S. Whale Conservation and Protection Act of 1976 - 1995 International Convention on Biological Diversity

Freshwater Ecosystems Are in Jeopardy

- 40% of the world's rivers are dammed - Many freshwater wetlands have been destroyed - Invasive species - Overfishing - Human population pressures

Population Growth and Pollution Can Reduce Aquatic Biodiversity

- 80% of all humans living along coasts - 80% of ocean pollution from land near coastal areas -- Nitrates and phosphates, mainly from fertilizers, enter water - leads to eutrophication - Toxic pollutants from industrial and urban areas - Plastics -- Ocean plastic pollution kills about 1 million seabirds and 100,000 mammals and sea turtles every year

Populations Can Decline due to a Rising Death Rate: The AIDS Tragedy

- AIDS has killed more than 30 million people - Unlike hunger / malnutrition, AIDS kills young adults - loss of most productive workers - Worldwide, AIDS is the leading cause of death worldwide for people between the ages of 15-49

Advantages and Disadvantages of Aquaculture

- Advantages - High efficiency, high yield, reduced overharvesting of fisheries, jobs and profits. - Disadvantages - Large inputs of land, feed and water. Large waste output. Loss of mangrove forests and estuaries. Dense populations vulnerable to disease.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Animal Feedlots

- Advantages - Increased meat production, higher profits, less land use, reduced overgrazing because cows are not eating all the natural land, reduced soil erosion, protection of biodiversity. - Disadvantages - Large inputs of grain, fish meal, water, and fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas (CO2 and CH4) emissions). Concentrations of animal wastes that can pollute water. Use of antibiotics. Can increase genetic resistance to microbes in humans. Animal feedlots are also extremely immoral.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Conventional Chemical Pesticides

- Advantages - Pesticides expand food supplies, raise profits, they work fast, and are safe is used properly. - Disadvantages - Pesticides can promote genetic resistance, can kill pests' natural enemies and harm wildlife and people, and can pollute air, water, and land. Pesticides are also expensive for farmers.

Industrialized food production in the United States

- Agribusiness: Average farmer now feeds 129 people (compared to 19 people in the 1940s) - Food production: very efficent - Americans spend 9% of income on food, compared to 70% by world's poorest. - Americans would spend more if hidden costs were considered (taxes for government subsidies, environmental degradation, health insurance, etc)

Freshwater Invasive Species - Asian Carp

- Asian carp were introduced originally to help control algae growth, but have become invasive in the United States. - Common Carp - So many in Pennsylvania that they are literally on top of each other at some points

Social Consequences of the American Baby Boom

- Because of their large numbers (79 million added between 1946 and 1964), baby boomers make up approximately 40% of all American adults - Because of their abundance, they have a disproportionate effect on the economy, as well as in the passing of laws and election of government officials - Social Security taxes on workers in the current generation are used to pay current beneficiaries - As the number of workers supporting each beneficiary declines it will be necessary to: -- Dramatically increase the Social Security taxes on workers -- Decrease retirement benefits -- Extend the official retirement age -- Make up the shortfall from other government funds (which could greatly increase income taxes) - Much of the economic burden of helping support a large number of retired baby boomers will fall on the baby bust generation (also called generation X): the 44 million people born between 1965 and 1976 (when TFRs fell sharply and have remained below 2.1 since 1970) - Retired baby boomers are likely to use their political clout to force the smaller number of people in the baby bust generation to pay higher income, health-care and Social Security taxes. - This could cause resentment and conflicts between the two generations. - Population age structure booms and busts create social and economic changes that ripple through a society for decades

Agriculture and Losses of Biodiversity

- Biodiversity threatened when: Forests and grasslands are replaced with croplands. - Agrobiodiversity - the genetic variety of animal and animal plant species used on farms to produce food. Since 1900, we have lost 75% of the genetic diversity of crops. Why is this a potential problem? What are some possible solutions?

Extinction of Aquatic Species is a Growing Threat

- Biological extinction -- Overfishing, water pollution, wetlands destruction, excessive removal of water from lakes and rivers -- 34% of marine species are threatened -- 71% of freshwater species are threatened

Industrialized Meat Production Has Harmful Environmental Consequences

- Burning of fossil fuels for machinery, processing, and producing artificial fertilizers and pesticides. -- If all Americans picked 1 day per week to have no meat, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to taking 30 to 40 million cars off the road for a year. - Overuse of antibiotics - 80% of all antibiotics sold are added to animal feed. - Production of animal waste - our meat industry contributes 130 times more waste than the human population

Case Study: Germany - Using Economics to Spur a Shift to Renewable Energy

- By 2050, the goal is to phase out dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy and to depend more on renewable energy -- 80% of electricity from renewable sources - Government legislation that encourages residential use of solar power, by using incentives, many times in the form of financial assistance to use renewable energy, such as solar energy - This guarantees people who are spending money to use renewable resources are not losing money - Offshore wind farms

Some Problems with Rapid Population Decline

- Can threaten economic growth - Labor shortages - Less government revenues with fewer workers - Less entrepreneurship and new business formation - Less likelihood for new technology development - Increasing public deficits to fund higher pension and health-care costs - Pensions may be cut and retirement age increased

Agriculture Contributes to Air Pollution and Climate Change

- Clearing and burning of forests for croplands - One fourth of all human generated emissions of Co2 comes from burning and clearing forests. - Livestock contributes 18% of world's greenhouse gases: More than all of the world's automobiles combined. Comes from methane in cow belches and feedlot waste lagoons.

Repeated Invasions by Alien Species in the Great Lakes

- Collectively, the Great Lakes are the world's largest body of freshwater (about 21% of the world's liquid surface fresh water) - Invaded by at least 162 nonnative species -- Sea lamprey -- Zebra mussel -- Quagga mussel -- Asian carp

Managing River Basins Is Complex and Controversial

- Columbia River - U.S. and Canada -- 119 dams - Dams -- Provide hydroelectric power -- Provide irrigation water - divert water for agriculture uses -- Can prevent flooding to some degree -- BUT, can damage ecosystems -- Since dams were constructed on the Columbia River, salmon populations have dropped 94% and 9 species have been listed as threatened or endangered

Cost-Benefit Analysis

- Cost-benefit analysis: a comparison of estimated costs and benefits of actions such as implementing a pollution control regulation, building a dam on a river, or preserving an area of forest - While direct costs are obvious, indirect costs (e.g., effects on air and water quality of project) are not considered in the marketplace, and thus are difficult to estimate -- Estimates of indirect costs depend on subjective values

Ecosystem Services of Rivers

- Deliver nutrients to sea to help sustain coastal fisheries - Deposit silt that maintains deltas - Purify water - Renew and renourish wetlands - Provide habitats for wildlife

Drought and Human Activities are Degrading Drylands

- Desertification - Productive potential of topsoil falls by 10% or more due to prolonged drought and human activities. - Human agriculture accelerates desertification.

Marine Biodiversity

- Despite our planet being mostly covered by water, we have only explored 5% of all the oceans - Greatest marine biodiversity is in coral reefs, estuaries and deep-ocean floor - Biodiversity is higher near the coast than the ocean sea - Biodiversity is greater in the bottom region of the ocean than the surface region

Estimating the Future Value of a Resource is Controversial

- Discount rate: an estimate of a resource's future economic value compared to its present value - Proponents of a high discount rate -- Inflation - value of the dollar may go down over time so it is important to cash in now. - Critics of a high discount rate -- Encourages rapid exploitation of resources - might encourage people to quickly harvest resources now in order to cash in now since the resources may be more valuable now than in the future.

Populations Made Up of Mostly Older People Can Decline Rapidly

- Due to declining birthrates, 40% of Japan's citizens will be seniors in 2060

Ecological Economists

- Ecological Economists view human economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere - View natural capital as indispensable - Believe that conventional economic growth will become unsustainable

How are Economic Systems Related to the Biosphere?

- Ecological economists and most sustainability experts regard human economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere

Economists Disagree Over the Importance of Natural Capital

- Economic growth - an increase in the capacity of a nation, state, city or company to provide goods and services to people -- Economic growth requires increased production and consumption - Modern industrialized countries depend on a high-throughput economy - more goods and services are produced by increasing the flow of matter and energy resources through the economic system - Economic development - any set of efforts focused on creating economies that can serve to improve human well-being - Environmentally sustainable economic development: use political and economic systems to encourage environmentally beneficial and more sustainable forms of economic improvement

Environmental Economic Indicators Could Help Reduce Our Environmental Impact

- Economic growth is usually measured by the gross domestic product (GDP): the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country. - Per capita GDP: the GDP divided by a country's total population at midyear - Newer methods of comparison -- Genuine progress indicator (GPI): the GDP plus the estimated value of beneficial transactions that meet basic needs, minus the estimated harmful environmental, health, and social costs of all transactions

Economic Systems Vary, but All Depend on Natural Capital

- Economics - a social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services to satisfy people's needs and wants. - Economic system - a social institution through which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed to satisfy people's needs and wants. - Free-market system - economic decisions are governed solely by supply, demand, and price - Natural capital - resources and services provided by the earth's natural processes: support all economies! - Human capital - people's physical and mental talents that provide labor, skills and innovation. - Manufactured capital - tools and materials made from natural resources with the help of human capital

Economic Incentives for Protecting Marine Biodiversity

- Ecotourism and government sponsored conservation programs can create jobs and stimulate local economies, shifting away from harvesting of species to conservation. - Debt-for-nature swaps: Based on debt forgiveness. If less developed countries have debt to pay to larger, more developed countries, these more developed countries can say - use the debt money to help the environment instead of paying us.

There Are Various Ways to Value Natural Capital

- Estimate nonuse values -- Existence value - it is what it is. Something is valuable based solely that it exists -- Aesthetic value - monetary value based on the beauty of something -- Bequest value - monetary value based on use by future generations

How Can We Estimate Natural Capital, Pollution Control, and Resource Use?

- Estimating the values of the earth's natural capital -- Monetary worth

Family Planning

- Family planning in less developed countries: -- Allows couples to determine the number and spacing of their children -- Responsible for a 55% drop in TFRs -- Financial benefits - money spent on family planning saves far more in health, education costs - Two problems -- 42% pregnancies unplanned, 26% end with abortion (contraception access needed) -- Many couples do not have access to family planning - How can family planning programs be expanded?

Overfishing

- Fishery - concentration of a particular wild aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a specific area - Over 4 million fishing vessels worldwide, using advanced technology to harvest aquatic species - Commercial fishing is a key factor in the depletion of up to 80% of populations of some wild fish species in only 10-15 years - Ways we are harvesting fish: - Trawling -- Destroy benthic habitats - Pure-seine fishing - wrapping around and making a circle and then cinching off an area of water. Enclosing fish in nets. -- Can kill dolphins - Long-lining - using hook and line dragging behind a boat to catch fish. Inhumane way of catching fish. -- Kills large number of sea turtles, dolphins and seabirds - Drift net fishing - Setting nets out which fish will swim into and get stuck. -- Large bycatch/bykill - Fishprint - area of ocean needed to sustain the fish consumption of an average person, nation or the world - 87% of oceanic fisheries are being fished at or above their sustainable yield. - Overfishing leads to commercial extinction (no longer profitable to fish for). -- Commercially valuable fish become scarce -- Tuna ranching - Some marine mammals are also threatened due to overfishing -- 8 of 11 major whale species were hunted to commercial extinction before 1985 moratorium -- Nearly 3 million whales were hunted in the last century

Solutions to Better Manage Fisheries

- Fishery Regulations -- Set low catch limits -- Improve monitoring and enforcement - Economic Approaches -- Reduce of eliminate fishing -- Certify sustainable fisheries - Protect Areas -- Establish no-fishing areas -- Establish more marine protected areas - Consumer Information -- Label sustainably harvested fish -- Publicize overfished and threatened fish species - Bycatch -- Use nets that allow the escape of smaller fish -- Use net escape devices for seabirds and sea turtles - Aquaculture -- Restrict coastal locations of fish arms - Improve pollution control - Nonnative Invasions -- Kill or filter organisms from ship ballast water -- Clean aquatic recreation gear

Freshwater Biodiversity

- Freshwater covers about 2% of the Earth's surface, but supports almost 6% of the Earth's species - HIPPCO - Habitat Degradation, Invasive species, Population growth, Pollution, Climate change, Overexploitation

How Should We Protect and Sustain Freshwater Lakes, Rivers, and Fisheries?

- Freshwater ecosystems are strongly affected by human activities on adjacent lands, and protection of these ecosystems mush include protection of their watersheds

We Can Protect Freshwater Ecosystems by Protecting Watersheds

- Freshwater ecosystems can be protected through: -- Laws -- Economic incentives -- Restoration efforts - Wild rivers and scenic rivers -- 1968 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This only protects less than 1% of U.S. river length

Government Subsidies Can Encourage Overfishing

- Governments spend over 30 billion dollars per year to subsidize fishing -- This often leads to overfishing -- Discourages long-term sustainability of fish populations, which hurts both natural ecosystems and the economy - How would your life be different if all government fisheries subsidies were ended? -- The costs of fish would go up -- As a result, most people would most likely eat less fish

Tax Pollution and Wastes Instead of Wages and Profits

- Green taxes - based on amount of pollution / hazardous waste produced -- So that harmful products and services are at true cost - Steps for successful implementation of green taxes -- Phased in slowly, other taxes (e.g., income tax) reduced, safety-net for the poor - Costa Rica - puts a fairly heavy tax on fossil fuels -- 3.5% tax on market prices of fossil fuels, with revenues going towards forest conservation

What can you do to help?

- Grow some of your food using organic methods - Buy certified organic food - Wash and scrub all fresh fruits and vegetables - Eat less meat, no meat, or certified organically produced meat - Before cooking, trim the fat from meat

The First Step Is to Promote Economic Development

- In poorer countries, people tend to have more children, thus TFR and population growth rates tend to be high - Demographic transition: as countries become industrialized and economically developed, their populations tend to grow more slowly -- First death rates decline -- Then birth rates decline - Takes place in four stages: -- Preindustrial -- Transitional -- Industrial -- Postindustrial

Invasive Species are Degrading Aquatic Biodiversity

- Invasive species -- Threaten native species -- Disrupt and degrade whole ecosystems -- Blamed for about two-thirds of all fish extinctions since 1900 - Example -- Lionfish in the Atlantic

Despite Value and Effectiveness of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Most Large Farms Still Use Synthetic Pesticides. Why?

- It is much cheaper for large farms to use throw pesticides all over their crops, at least in the short term. It is also easier, and takes less effort. - In the long term, however, it can be argued that using IPM (Integrated Pest Management) can actually be beneficial for these companies due to ecological costs.

Restoration of Marine Environments Helps, but Prevention is Better

- Japan's attempt to seed reef with new corals - many coral reefs in Japan have started to degrade. Japan has made an attempt to save the reefs by drilling in metal spikes into the bottom of the ocean to help these coral reefs grow. -- This can help, but it is not enough. It is critical to focus on the root of the problem. - BUT, problems that cause degradation need to be addressed for issues to be resolved (slow climate change, reduce pollution, reduce coastal development, stop overfishing, etc.) - Integrated coastal management -- Community-based sustainability movement - Small communities taking action to help in their area. Community based sustainability movements are very important for the restoration of marine environments.

We Can Preserve and Restore Wetlands

- Laws for protecting wetlands -- Zoning laws steer development away from wetlands -- In the U.S., a federal permit is required to fill wetlands greater than three acres - Mitigation banking -- Mitigation banking can destroy a wetland if one is created of equal area -- Ecologists argue mitigation baking should only be used as a last resort

What can we do to promote pollinator diversity and abundance?

- Limit the use of neonicotinoids and other harmful pesticides. - Better management of floral resources across the landscape (agricultural, urban and rural). -- Studies repeatedly show increased floral diversity, and spread throughout the year, increases diversity and abundance of native bees. -- When you have a managed field, which is not a good place for bees to live, it is important to also have some wild forest area surrounding these agricultural fields, with wild flowers and space for bees to live. -- Some farmers will plant strips of land with wild flowers to promote pollinator diversity, but it is a trade off since they will not have as much land to farm on with these strips of wildflowers taking up space in their fields. - Focus on native pollinator conservation and management, rather than strictly on honey bees. -- Wild bees can many times be more productive pollinators than honey bees. Wild bees made the quality of the plants higher than honeybees. -- Wild bees can also use buzz pollination - pollination which occurs by vibrating their wings at a particular frequency, causing pollen to easily come out of the plants they are pollinating.

Demographic Trap?

- Many developing countries are currently in Stage 2, which is often referred to as the 'demographic trap' because it is a dangerous stage from the perspective of population growth (high birth rates with lowering death rates) - Why are so many nations stuck in this trap? -- Easier to lower death rates than birth rates, because lowering birth rates requires a change in values (e.g., religious beliefs) and behavior (it's easy to value life and prevent death) -- Inadequate natural resources - What can be done to move nations into Stage 3? -- Economic development: having many children in an agriculturally based society is valuable, whereas it is detrimental in industrial society -- Elevate the status of women

We Can Estimate Optimum Levels of Pollution Control and Resource Use

- Marginal cost of resource production -- Cost of removal goes up with each additional unit taken - Optimum level of resource use -- Intersection of supply and demand curves - Optimum level for pollution cleanup -- Equilibrium point

Marine Hotspots

- Marine Hotspots support high levels of biodiversity, and many endemic species (species which only live in these areas) - Many scientists argue we need to focus efforts on these Marine Hotspot areas, in order to save the most number of marine species at the lowest cost and with the least resources.

Human Activities are Destroying and Degrading Aquatic Habitat

- Marine coastal habitats are particularly threatened by development, and climate change. -- Coral reefs (1/4 lost, ¾ threatened by ocean acidification, rising temperatures) -- Mangrove forests (nearly ¼ lost) -- Seagrass beds (more than ½ lost) - Marine sea-bottom habitats are also threatened -- Dredging - clearing out bottom sediment in an aquatic zone; this can harm the bottom dwelling organism. Generally this is done to maintain consistent depth to allow boats to move safely. -- Trawling - Weighted nets dragging along the bottom collecting everything in their path. Removing everything form the surface of the bottom of the ocean. - Freshwater systems are also threatened -- Dams -- Diverting river water for irrigation

Establishing a Global Network of Marine Reserves: An Ecosystem Approach

- Marine reserves -- Commercial fishing, dredging, mining, and waste disposal are not allowed in these marine reserves - Core zone -- Inside of a core zone, no human activity is allowed - Less harmful activities are allowed (ex. recreational boating and shipping) - Benefits of establishing a global network of marine reserves: -- Fish populations would grow -- Fish size grows -- Reproduction of marine life would increase -- Species diversity would increase - Right now, Marine Reserves only cover less than 1% of the world's oceans. Marine scientists are aiming to grow this to 30-50% - Another issue is the misuse of Marine Reserves. Many of the Marine Reserves today actually still allow for the harvesting of natural resources, which can ultimately harm that area

The Principle of Full-Cost Pricing

- Market price - what we actually pay for a good or service. -- Does not include indirect, external, or hidden costs (costs that might relate to environmental degradation) - What are the direct and indirect costs of a car? -- Direct - What you actually pay, costs of materials to build the car -- Indirect - Pollution of the atmosphere, from fossil fuels emitted by cars, degradation of land to build factories to make cars, pollution from factories which make cars - Full-cost pricing: includes estimated costs of harmful environmental and health effects of production

Estimating and Monitoring Fishery Populations is the First Step

- Maximum Sustained Yield (MSY) -- Traditional approach -- Projects the maximum number of individuals in a species we can harvest without causing a drop in the overall population - Overall Sustained Yield (OSY) -- This attempts to account for more interactions among species, which provides more room for error - Multispecies management -- This takes predator-prey relationships into account - Precautionary principle -- It is important to sharply reduce fish harvests and closing overfished areas -- Precautionary principle advises to take precaution beforehand, rather than trying to fix issues after

Migration Affects an Area's Population Size

- Migration -- The movement of people into (immigration) and out of (emigration) specific geographic areas - Causes: -- Economic improvement -- Religious and political freedom -- Wars - Environmental refugees -- People who had to leave their homes due to environmental degradation -- 40 million in 2008

Consumer Choices Can Help to Sustain Fisheries and Aquatic Biodiversity

- Need labels to inform consumers how and where the fish they are purchasing was actually caught - 1999 - Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) -- This certifies sustainably produced seafood -- One problem with this, is that fish companies have to actually purchase this label, in order to display it on the packaging -- Not everything is transparent - some companies advertise the MSC label even though they use bad fishing methods such as long lining. They justify this by saying they only catch fish from areas which are not overfished -- Cannot always trust the MSC label - important to be an informed consumer - What is the proper use of sustainable aquaculture? -- Improper use of aquaculture - feeding fish soy, buying farmed fish which are carnivores (ex. farmed tuna, farmed salmon - fish farms are very unsustainable in general. Instead buy a fish like farmed tilapia, which is not a carnivore. This is still not great, but better than farmed carnivorous fish)

GMOs

- Need more research to determine if GMOs are toxic. - GMOs can be resistant to diseases and viruses. Can also be resistant to pesticides: ex - Roundup Ready Crops. This allows Monsanto pesticides to be sprayed and will kill everything except the desired crops being grown.

Neoclassical Economists

- Neoclassical Economists view the earth's natural capital as a part of the human economic system. - Potential for economic growth is unlimited - Natural capital is not indispensable - we can find substitutes for any resource

What would a world be like without pollinators?

- No coffee, tequila, honey, cotton and many other fruits and vegetables.

Marine Sanctuaries Protect Ecosystems and Species

- Offshore fishing -- Exclusive economic zones - for countries -- 200 nautical miles - High seas - governed by treaties that are hard to monitor and enforce - Law of the Sea Treaty (1984) - nations wanted control of more of their coastal waters for resource protection and pollution controls - This treaty was misused - overfishing occurred in some countries - Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) -- These areas are only partially protected from human activities -- Many bad practices such as trawling and mineral mining are still actually allowed in these areas -- 5,880 MPAs worldwide, 355 MPAs in the U.S., covering 1.6% of the ocean surface. -- Most MPAs allow for dredging, trawling, resource extraction -- Many Marine Protected Areas are too small to protected species which require larger ranges (animals which need more space to move around)

Subsidies Can Be Environmentally Harmful or Beneficial

- Perverse subsidies - subsidies that lead to environmental degradation (e.g., for industrialized monoculture, over-sized fishing fleets, etc.) -- $2 trillion per year, compared to $20 billion spent on protecting natural areas -- Should be phased out - Lobbyists - try to persuade governments on behalf of interest groups, generally in order to continue receiving subsidies or affect lawmaking - Subsidies can also be used for environmental benefits

How can we protect crops from pests more sustainably?

- Pest - any species that interferes with human welfare by competing with us for food, destroying property, spreading disease, damaging ecosystems, or being a nuisance. - Natural predators control pest populations in natural ecosystems, while humans use chemicals called pesticides to regulate pests. Pesticides can have negative consequences on natural ecosystems. - Two problems with pesticide use: Pests may become genetically resistant to the pesticides humans are using, and pesticides may also kill natural predators of pests. - Pesticides - Chemicals used to kill or control populations of pests - Biopesticides - Produced by plants to ward off insects and herbivores (ex. nicotine, caffeine, morphine, cocaine, etc.) - First generation pesticides - Borrowed from plants - Second-generation pesticides - Lab produced (ex. DDT and others) - Broad-spectrum and narrow-spectrum agents. Broad spectrum pesticides are designed to wipe out everything, while narrow-spectrum agents are designed to only target a narrow class of pesticides.

What can YOU do to promote pollinator diversity and abundance?

- Plant a garden of native plants. -- Make sure to use a variety of colors and shapes to attract a diverse group of pollinators. -- Use plants that flower throughout the growing season, from early spring through late summer. -- Grow plants in clumps, rather than individually, to provide ample resources for pollinators. - Provide bees with nesting areas / materials. -- Nests for Solitary Bees: Approximately 1/3 of native bees nest in preexisting holes (ex. in wood). Nests can be built by drilling holes in wood blocks, bamboo, or paper straws. -- Approximately 2/3 of native bees nest in the ground. -- Nesting habitat can be provided by simply clearing bare ground.

Plastics in Oceans

- Plastics in oceans kill hundreds of thousands of animals each year - Plastics take a long time to degrade - most take around 500 years - Plastics are made from crude oil

Pros and Cons of Government Farm Subsidies

- Pros - It lessens the need to source food from outside the country. It gives farmers access to consistent income. It helps manage food supply. - Cons - It damages the environment. It involves government intervention. It hurts farmers growing produce not covered by subsidies.

Factors that Affect Death Rates

- Rapid growth of human population in recent years is mainly due to declining death rates, due to: -- Increased food availability, medical advances, improved sanitation, etc. - Life expectancy - the average lifespan, in yeas, of a person -- Between 1955 and 2012, global average lifespan rose from 48 to 70 years -- Between 1900 and 2012, the average U.S. life expectancy raised from 47 to 79 years -- U.S. ranks 32nd among nations in life expectancy due to poor health, despite leading the world in health care costs per person - Infant mortality rate -- Number of babies per 1000 born that die in first year - High infant mortality rate indicates -- Insufficient food (undernutrition) -- Poor nutrition (malnutrition) -- High incidence of infectious disease

Climate Change Is a Growing Threat

- Rising sea levels due to glacial melting will threaten aquatic biodiversity -- Coral reefs (need sunlight for photosynthesis) -- Swamp some low-lying islands -- Drown many highly productive coastal wetlands -- Warmer ocean water stresses phytoplankton

How Might Climate Change Produce Environmental Refuges?

- Sea level rise: between 1990 and 2100, sea levels will rise between 0.6 meters -- Half of the population of Bangladesh lives less than 5 meters above sea level -- Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, rises only 2.4 meters above sea level at its highest point. - Drought -- The Gobi Desert in China expands more than 1,390 square miles every year, pushing farmers into crowded urban areas -- Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya each lose more than 386 square miles every year to desertification

Why Should We Protect Sharks

- Sharks are keystone species -- If they become extinct, their ecosystems will suffer - For every shark that injures a person, people kill about 1.2 million sharks. -- 32% of open-ocean shark species are threatened with extinction

Pesticide Use Has Increased Over Time

- Since 1950, pesticide use has increased 50-fold, and are 10-100 times more toxic - ¼ of pesticides used in the U.S. are applied to private residences and public parks - the average lawn has 10 times the amount of pesticides as cropland. - As we use more and more GMOs, we are using more pesticides as well.

The Downside of Irrigation

- Soil salinization - gradual accumulation of salts in the soil from irrigation water. Lowers crop yields and can even kill plants. Affects 10% of world cropland, but projected to affect 30% by 2020. - Waterlogging - Irrigation water gradually raises water table. This can prevent roots from getting oxygen. Affects 10% of world croplands.

Freshwater Fisheries Need Better Protection

- Sustainable management -- Support populations of commercial and sport fish species -- Prevent overfishing -- Reduce or eliminate invasive species

How Should We Manage and Sustain Marine Fisheries?

- Sustaining marine fisheries will require: -- Improved monitoring of fish and shellfish populations -- Cooperative fisheries management among communities and nations -- Reduction of fishing subsidies -- Careful consumer choices in buying seafood

What Should Our Priorities Be for Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity

- Sustaining the world's aquatic biodiversity requires: -- Mapping it -- Protecting aquatic hotspots -- Creating large and fully protected marine reserves -- Protecting freshwater ecosystems -- Restoring degraded coastal and inland wetlands -- Make conservation financially rewarding for people

Case Study: Can We Restore the Florida Everglades?

- The Everglades have been damaged in the 20th century -- Drained -- Diverted - diverted water for human use. -- Paved over - used the Everglades for general development -- Nutrient pollution from agriculture -- Invasive plant species - 1947 - Everglades National Park was an unsuccessful protection project. This is because the Everglades has been changed so much due to the above reasons, that protecting this area did not help since it was already so damaged. (Protecting an area which has already been damaged - did not really help) - 1990 - Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) -- Restore curving flow of ½ of Kissimmee River -- Remove canals/levees in strategic locations -- Flood farmland to create artificial marshes -- Create 18 reservoirs to create water supply for lower Everglades and humans -- Recapture Everglades water flowing to sea and return it to the Everglades - The CERP plan has already been weakened by Florida legislature - These efforts have not been too successful this far. Land developers in general have pushed against this CERP plan. Private lobbyist groups trying to stop the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

Government Mainly Influences Food Production in Two Ways

- The government controls prices to make food affordable - This is good for the consumer, not always good for the farmer. - Provide subsidies to farmers - Give farmers price supports, tax breaks, and other financial support to keep them in business and to encourage them to increase food production.

Why is it Difficult to Protect Marine Biodiversity?

- The human ecological footprint and fishprint are expanding - Much of the damage in the ocean is not visible - The oceans are incorrectly viewed as an inexhaustible resource - Most of the ocean lies outside the legal jurisdiction of any country (open-access resource => tragedy of the commons: I am only one person in the world and my individual actions will not have a sizeable impact on the environment - false assumption made by many people)

Important Concepts - Population

- The human population is increasing rapidly and may soon bump against environmental limits - Increasing use of resources per person -- Expanding the overall human ecological footprint and putting a strain of the earth's resources - We can slow population growth by reducing poverty through economic development, elevating the status of women, and encouraging family planning

Population Age Structure

- The numbers or percentages of males and females in young (prereproductive), middle (reproductive), and older (postreproductive) age groups in a population -- Age structure categories: - Prereproductive ages (0-14) - Reproductive ages (15-44) - Postreproductive ages (45 and older) - Baby boom - expected rapid population growth in the future due to younger age groups reaching reproductive years -- For example, 44% of Nigeria's population is under the age of 15, and its TFR is 5.8 children per woman. -- As a result, Nigeria's current population of about 130 million is projected to reach about 305 million by 2050.

Pollinator Syndromes

- The shape / color of flowers provides information on what types of animals will visit these plants and pollinate them. -- Bee flowers tend to be blue or yellow, with nectar and pollen, fragrant, and are shallow / easily accessible. -- Hummingbird flowers tend to be red, with lots of nectar, odorless, and long corolla tubes. -- Butterfly flowers tend to be red or purple, with lots of nectar, and very long and narrow corolla tubes.

Three Big Ideas of Sustaining Aquatic Biodiversity

- The world's aquatic systems provide important economic and ecosystem services -- Scientific investigation of these poorly understood ecosystems could lead to immense ecological and economic benefits -- Aquatic ecosystems and fisheries are being severely degraded by human activities that lead to aquatic disruption and loss of biodiversity - We can sustain aquatic biodiversity by establishing protected sanctuaries, manage coastal development, reduce water pollution and prevent overfishing

Alternatives to Pesticides

- Use crop rotation and change planting times - polyculture - Implant genetic resistance - genetic engineering - Biological control - Insect pheromones / hormones - Reduce synthetic pesticide use for weed control

How Can We Protect and Sustain Marine Biodiversity?

- We can help to sustain marine biodiversity by: -- Using laws and economic incentives to protect species -- Setting aside marine reserves to protect ecosystems and ecosystem services -- Using community-based integrated coastal management

How Should We Protect and Sustain Wetlands?

- We can maintain the ecosystem and economic services of wetlands by protecting remaining wetlands and restoring wetlands.

How Can We Slow Human Population Growth?

- We can slow human population growth by: -- Reducing poverty -- Elevating the status of women -- Encouraging family planning

How Can We Use Economic Tools to Deal With Environmental Problems?

- We can use resources more sustainably by: -- Including the harmful environmental and health costs of producing goods and services in their market prices (full-cost pricing) -- Subsidizing environmentally beneficial goods and services -- Taxing pollution and waste instead of wages and profits - green / eco taxes

Coastal and Inland Wetlands Are Disappearing Around the World

- Wetlands have been disturbed by humans for centuries -- The U.S. has lost more than half of all wetlands since 1900 - Effects of climate change? -- Will inundate coastal wetlands

Governments Intervene to Help Correct Market Failures

- While markets work well for private goods, they cannot be relied upon to provide public services (eg., environmental protection) - E.g., markets cannot prevent the degradation of open-access resources, thus government intervention is necessary -- This deficiency is termed market failure - Why is this the case? - There is no financial cost associated with the degradation of open access resources, as far as businesses are concerned. One example of this is a plastic water bottle company. The cost on the environment that the bottling company puts on the environment is not assumed in the actual cost of the item. Overall: No monetary value assigned to natural capital

Empowering Women Can Slow Population Growth

- Women: -- Do most of the domestic work and child care -- 2/3 of all work for 10% of world's income, own 2% of world's land -- 70% of the world's poor, 66% of illiterate adults - Women who cannot read have 5-7 children, compared to 2 for women who can -- Discriminated against legally and culturally - in some societies (e.g., China India) sons are favored over daughters - Factors that decrease total fertility rates: -- Education -- Paying jobs - Giving women societal roles other than 'child bearer' can significantly reduce birth rates -- Ability to control fertility - Increase access to contraceptives, and right to personal freedom

Reducing Food Waste

-- 1/3 of all food produced worldwide gets lost or wasted (about 1 trillion dollars worth of food) -- In the U.S. 20lbs of food is wasted per person per month on average -- 1 in 4 calories intended for consumption is never eaten.

Ecological Importance of Pollinators

-- About 80% of wild plant species depend on insects for pollination. -- Pollination allows for plant reproduction, and also provides a critical food source for animals that feed on seeds/fruits. -- Plant pollinator interactions are absolutely necessary for life on earth. -- Most species of bees to not sting, and in the species which do, only females can sting.

Artificial Selection / Genetic Engineering

-- Artificial Selection - First gene revolution - Artificial selection is a slow process, but is effective over time and yields good results. -- Genetic Engineering - second gene revolution. This involves altering organisms' DNA by adding, changing, or deleting segments. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - transgenic organisms.

Bees are diverse

-- Bees consist of many species - Not just honeybees. -- There are over 20,000 species of bees, and the vast majority are solitary. -- One way to distinguish different types of bees are based on where they carry pollen. -- Bees carry pollen in their 'pollen basket' = Corbicula. -- Bees have specialized hairs which are good at collecting pollen = Scopa.

Natural Capital Degradation

-- Biodiversity loss - Conservation of grasslands, forests and wetlands to crops or rangeland. Fish die from pesticide runoff. Killing wild predators to protect livestock. Loss of genetic agrobiodiversity replaced by monoculture strains. -- Soil - Erosion. Loss of fertility in soil. Salinization. Waterlogging. Desertification. -- Water - Aquifer depletion, Increased runoff, sediment pollution, and flooding from cleared land. Pollution from pesticides and fertilizers. Algal blooms and fish kills caused by runoff or fertilizers and farm wastes. -- Air Pollution - Emissions of greenhouse gas CO2 from fossil fuel use N2O from inorganic fertilizer use and methane (CH4) from cattle. Other air pollutants from fossil fuel use and pesticide sprays. -- Human Health - Nitrates in drinking water (blue baby). Pesticide residues in drinking water, food and air. Livestock wastes in drinking and swimming water. Bacterial contamination of meat.

Factors that Affect Birth Rates and Fertility Rates

-- Children as part of the labor force -- Cost of raising and educating children -- Availability of private and public pension (ex. retirement plans) -- Urbanization -- Infant mortality -- Educational and employment opportunities for women -- Average age of a woman at marriage -- Availability of legal abortions / birth control -- Religion / culture

The 'Great Green Wall' of China

-- China was once heavily forested, but land is slowly now being converted to land for grazing. -- The Chinese government is trying to prevent the expansion of the Gobi desert into cities and urban environment. -- The great green wall of China is a massive undertaking by the Chinese government to attempt to reduce the spread of desertification.

Food Insecurity

-- Chronic hunger and poor nutrition. Causes: political upheaval, war, corruption, and bad weather. -- Poverty is the root cause of food insecurity. Half of the world's people are trying to survive on the equivalent of $2.25 a day and one out of six people struggle to get by on $1.25 a day.

Organic Agriculture

-- Crops grown with ecologically sound and sustainable methods without using synthetic pesticides / fertilizers or GMOs -- Organic farming avoids the use of antibiotics and growth hormones for meat production -- Pros of organic farming: healthier, better for environment. Cons: generally more expensive.

Cultural Carrying Capacity

-- Cultural Carrying Capacity - The maximum number of people who could live in reasonable freedom and comfort indefinitely, without decreasing the ability of the earth to sustain future generations. -- What is the cultural carrying capacity of Earth for humans? Have we already passed the cultural carrying capacity for Earth for humans?

Human Population Growth Impacts Natural Capital

-- Currently humans are living unsustainably. What will happen as the population grows? -- Negative affects which we are seeing on our environment today will be magnified. -- How will we meet the needs of the additional 2.6 billion people projected to be alive in 2050? -- As a country, we should be eating less meat, since meat production produces a lot of greenhouse gases -- Environmentally sustainable technological advancements

Reducing Desertification

-- Desertification refers to the point where the land is not fertile to grow crops any more. -- Reduce - population growth, overgrazing, deforestation, unsustainable agriculture and contributions to climate change. -- In places such as China and Africa, there are government initiatives to reduce desertification. In China and Africa, they are planting many more plants to reduce erosion, making the soil more fertile, and laying down nets to keep soil in place.

What Can You Do to Promote More Sustainable Food Production?

-- Eat less meat, no meat, or organically certified meat -- Choose sustainably produced herbivorous fish -- Use organic farming to grow some of your food -- Buy certified organic food -- Eat locally grown food -- Compost food wastes -- Cut food waste

Organic Agriculture

-- Emphasizes prevention of soil erosion and the use of organic fertilizers such as animal manure and compost, but no sewage sludge to help replace lot plant nutrients -- Employs crop rotation and biological pest control -- Uses no genetically modified seeds -- Reduces fossil fuel use and increases use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power for generating electricity -- Produces less air and water pollution and greenhouse gases -- Is regionally and locally oriented -- Uses no antibiotics or growth hormones to produce meat and meat products

Fish and Shellfish Production Have Increased Dramatically

-- Fishery: -- Concentration of a particular species suitable for commercial housing -- 30% are overfished -- 57% harvested at full capacity Aquaculture (blue revolution) -- World's fastest growing type of food production -- farms for growing fish. -- Dominated by operations that raise herbivorous species (ex. carp, catfish tilapia)

The Great Famine (Ireland; 1845 - 1852)

-- For a number of reasons, the Irish people became heavily dependent on potatoes. (mostly a single variety, the Irish Lumper) -- A disease outbreak (Phytophtlora infestans; blight) destroyed potato crops throughout the country. -- About 1 million people died of starvation and the population was reduced by about 25%.

Maximizing food production with industrialized agriculture

-- Green revolution - monoculture of high-yield key crops: Rice, wheat and corn -- Large amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, water -- Multiple cropping -- Artificial selection to produce fast-growing grain varieties -- World grain production has tripled between 1961 and 2011 (46% consumed by people, 34% consumed by livestock, 20% used for biofuel production.

Hydroponics

-- Growing plants in flowing water. All nutrients for the plants are in the flowing water. -- Benefits - Helps to eliminate soil erosion issues since we are not using soil to grow these plants. One benefit of hydroponics is that you can grow plants in any area, since it is not dependent on the area it is in. Helps to eliminate pests, and no weeds. Hydroponics is very controllable in general since it is a closed system. Another benefit of hydroponics is that there is much less water runoff. -- Disadvantages - Startup costs for creating hydroponic farm are higher than a traditional farm. Losing land space due to large spaces these operations can take up.

Threats to Pollinators

-- Honey bees: - Introduced mites (Specific to honeybees) (Varroa destructor). They are basically like bee ticks, by latching onto bees and riding back to the hive. They consume the bee's bodily fluids, and leave holes in the bees which makes them more prone to infection and disease. - Pesticides - Especially systemic pesticides, which are absorbed deep into the plant, including the pollen. Bees will eat the pesticides when they pollinate plants which have pesticides in them. Neonicotinoids - a particularly bad type of pesticide, widely used despite the negative effects on the environment and living organisms. These chemicals effect the neurology of these insects. It prevents the neurons in bees from firing properly, and causes paralysis. It negatively effects almost every animal which comes in contact with it. - Pesticides are a problem because they are persistent. Once they are applied, they can be in an environment for a long time since many pesticides have long half lives. - Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), hives are abandoned by bees which once lived there due to their sensory abilities being messed up by systemic pesticides. - Wild bees: - Climate change - as climate warms, species of bees generally move north. When these bees move north, the plants which need the bees to pollinate them will eventually die since they are not being pollinated anymore. - Human land use / habitat fragmentation - If you dominate a landscape with a crop for agriculture, there are not many plants to pollinate. This causes a lower diversity in insect pollinators due to the lower diversity of plants the bees can pollinate. - Environmental contaminants (ex. pesticides and heavy metals.)

Industrialized crop production relies on high-input monocultures

-- Industrialized Agriculture -- Heavy equiptment -- Large amounts of financial capital, fossil fuels, water, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides -- Single crop (monocultures) -- Practiced on 25% of all cropland -- Produces about 80% of the world's food -- Goal is to increase yield: the amount of food produced per unit land -- Soy and beef are the two biggest exports from South America

Economic Importance of Pollinators

-- Insect pollination required for 75% of human food crops. -- 1/3 of every bite of food we eat results from insect pollination, either directly or indirectly. (Indirectly - beef is obtained from cows which eat pollinated plants, Directly - literally eating a pollinated plant) -- Global economic value of insect population - approximately $209 billion per year!

Soil Salinization Solutions

-- Leaving the land without crops for a few years would be the best way to reduce soil salinization. -- Prevention - Reduce irrigation, use more efficient irrigation methods, Switch to salt-tolerant crops. -- Cleanup - Flush soil (expensive and inefficient), stop growing crops for 2-5 years, and install underground drainage systems.

Solutions to Create More Sustainable Agriculture

-- MORE: - High-yield polyculture, organic fertilizers, biological pest control, integrated pest management, efficient irrigation, perennial crops, crop rotation, water-efficient crops, soil conservation, subsidies for sustainable farming. -- LESS: - Soil erosion, soil salinization, water pollution, aquifer depletion, overgrazing, over-fishing, loss of biodiversity and agrobiodiversity, fossil fuel use, greenhouse gas emissions, subsidies for unsustainable farming.

Many people do not get enough vitamins and minerals

-- Many people, particularly in less-developed countries, suffer from vitamin/mineral deficiency. -- Iron deficiency - causes Anemia -- Iodine deficiency -- Iodine is essential for proper thyroid function

Produce Meat and Dairy Products More Efficiently

-- Meat production is highly inefficient - 38% of the world's grain harvest and 37% of the global fish catch are used to produce animal protein, which is globally unsustainable. -- Producing beef is the least efficient. One thing we can do to reduce energy loss from producing meat is to eat less beef. -- We can - shift to more grain-efficient forms of protein. Eat less meat.

Why Do People Move to Urban Areas?

-- Megacities - Cities with more 10 million people in the year 2015. The largest city in the world is Tokyo. -- Push vs Pull factors -- Push factors - things that encourage people to leave rural areas - all are bad things about rural areas. -- Lack of services in rural areas (ex. health care, education) -- Agricultural change (ex. growth of commercial agriculture) -- War / poverty -- Natural disasters -- Land degradation -- Pull factors - things that attract people to cities -- Better services (ex. health care, education) -- Employment opportunities -- More accessible food / water -- Quality of life

Industrialized Food Production Requires Huge Inputs of Energy

-- Mostly nonrenewable energy -- oil and natural gas -- used to power machinery -- Agriculture uses 20% of all energy use in the US - on average, food travels 1300 miles from farm to plate. -- Burning of fossil fuels to produce food results in a net energy loss (10 units of fossil fuel energy to produce 1 unit of food energy)

Some Producers Practice More Sustainable Aquaculture

-- Open ocean aquaculture is one solution to create more sustainable aquaculture. This is good because the volume of water in the ocean is so great, there is a dilution effect in the waste from the fish. -- Choosing herbivorous fish is also good because they reduce the stress we place on natural fish populations. -- Recirculating aquaculture - much less waste products are leaving this closed facility, and better for environment. Similar to hydroponics for fish, and also have a high startup cost. -- Polyaquaculture - growing both fish and aquatic plants (ex. rice), in the same environment. One advantage of Polyaquaculture is that waste from fish goes into the plants in that environment which reduces waste. These areas tend to be fairly productive.

Many people have health problems from eating too much

-- Overnutrition - Excess body fat from too many calories and not enough exercise. -- More people face health problems worldwide from eating too much (1.6 billion) than eating too little (1 billion). -- Overnutrition can lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

Why is pollination important?

-- Pollination systems offer many opportunities for research. o 400,000 species of flowering plants, 90% are animal pollinated o 300,000 species of flower visiting animals worldwide. -- Interactions between pollinators and plants generate selective pressures, provide adaptive explanations for traits. o Ex: Hawkmoth pollinator, these interactions can shape evolution on both sides. o Ophyrs (Orchidaceae) - These are flowers which look like a female bee, and produce chemicals which are identical to the chemicals produced by wasps. Male bees visit these orchids thinking they have found a mate, when really the flower just gets pollinated from the bee, and the bee gets nothing. This is called - Pseudocopulation. o Carrion flowers - flies visit these flowers because they smell like rotten meat, so they lay their eggs on these flowers. In reality, the flies get nothing from the flowers, and the carrion flowers get pollinated. o Diascia capensis (Scrophylariaceae) - These flowers have long pedal spurs with oils which have antibacterial properties. The bees which pollinate these flowers also benefit from the antibacterial properties of these flowers. -- Pollination may play a role in speciation and/or maintenance of species differences. -- Pollen transfer is important, ecologically and economically.

What Factors Influence the Size of the Human Population?

-- Population change = (B + I) - (D+E) -- (Births + Immigration) - (Deaths + Emigration) -- If birth and death rates are equal, there is no population change. -- Crude birth rate (CBR) -- The number of live births per 1000 people per year -- CBR = ( (# Births per year) / (total population) ) X 1000 -- Example: Last year there were 3,000 births in a city with a population of 250,000. What is the CBR? -- (3000 / 250,000) X 1000 = 12 -- Crude death rate (CDR) - The number of deaths per 1000 people per year -- CDR = ( (# deaths per year) / (total population) ) X 1000 -- Example: Last year there were 4,000 deaths in a city with a population of 750,000. What is the CDR? -- CDR = ( (4000) / (750,000) ) X 1000

Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Crops and Foods

-- Projected advantages: May need less fertilizer, pesticides, and water. Can be resistant to insect, disease, food and drought. Can grow faster. May tolerate higher levels of herbicides. -- Projected disadvantages: Have unpredictable genetic and ecological effects. May put toxins in food. Can promote pesticide resistant insects, herbicide resistant weeds, and plant diseases. Could disrupt seed market and reduce biodiversity.

Solutions to Create More Sustainable Aquaculture

-- Protect mangrove forests and estuaries -- Improve management of wastes -- Reduce escape of aquaculture species into the wild -- Set up self-sustaining polyaquaculture systems that combine aquatic plants, fish and shellfish -- Certify sustainable forms of aquaculture

How Can We Produce Food More Sustainably?

-- Reducing Soil Erosion - Soil Conservation: Methods used to reduce soil erosion, prevent depletion of soil nutrients, and restore nutrients previously lost by erosion, leaching and excessive crop harvesting. -- Terracing - help to retain water, used on steeply sloped land - prevents erosion. Basically creates a flat landscape on a sloped one. -- Contouring - planting crops with the natural contouring of the landscape. Prevents runoff which prevents erosion. -- Alley Cropping - Associated with agroforestry. Between rows of trees, there is often bare ground, which is likely to erode. Planting small crops such legumes or other nitrogen fixing plants, can help to cover up this bare ground which will help to prevent erosion. -- Windbreaks - In between fields we add strips of vegetation generally made up of shrubs or trees, which helps to reduce wind which can kick up dirt from the ground and erode it away. -- Conservation Tillage - Tillage is a major component of agriculture. Tillage is when prior to planting, we mix up the soil and break it up. Tillage is important before planting crops in the land since it mixes the levels of the soil, exposing new nutrient sources. Tilling on a larger scale, can increase drying of the soil which increases erosion. Conservation tillage means not tilling every season, and leaving remaining parts of last year's crops in the soil. Conservation tillage has a disadvantage - we have to use more pesticides to keep weeds away which normally would be destroyed by tilling each year.

Altering Nature to Meet Our Needs - Natural Capital Degradation

-- Reducing biodiversity -- Increasing use of net primary productivity -- Increasing genetic resistance in pest species and disease causing bacteria -- Eliminating many natural predators -- Introducing harmful species into natural communities -- Using some renewable resources faster than they can be replenished -- Disrupting natural chemical cycling and energy flow -- Relying mostly on polluting and climate-changing fossil fuels

Fertility Rates

-- Replacement-level fertility rate - The average number of children a couple must have to replace themselves -- Approximately 2.1 in developed countries -- Up to 2.5 in developing countries. -- Total fertility rate (TFR) - The average number of children born to women in a population -- Between 1955 and 2012, the global TFR dropped from 5 to 2.4 -- However, in order to eventually halt population growth, the global TFR will have to drop to 2.1

Proper Nutrition

-- Requires both Macronutrients and micronutrients. -- Macronutrient - a substance essential in large amounts to the growth and health of an organism. -- Carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids are the three majormacronutrients. -- Carbohydrates - are the main energy source for the human body. Animals (including humans) break down carbohydrates during the process of metabolism to release energy. Some sugars are readily digested by our body, but some are not. A healthy diet involves indigestible carbohydrates (ex. cellulose, and other fibers. Cellulose does not go to making energy, but rather helps to flush the gastro system of a human. -- Proteins - are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids. There are 20 different types of amino acids that can be combined to make a protein. The sequence of amino acids determines each protein's unique 3 dimensional structure and its specific function. Proteins are important for: energy storage, antibodies that fight diseases and hormones. -- Lipids - Hydrophobic molecules involved in energy storage, structure, and cell signaling. -- Micronutrient - A substance, such as a vitamin or mineral, that is essential in minute amounts for the proper growth and metabolism of a living organism. Includes Vitamins (such as A,B,C,D,E - vitamins are ORGANIC compounds) Also includes minerals (such as iron, iodine, and calcium. Minerals are INORGANIC compounds)

Aquaculture Can Harm Ecosystems

-- Several environmental problems: - 1/3 of wild fish caught in the oceans are used for fishmeal to bed fed to farmed fish. - Generates wastes that pollute aquatic ecosystems. - Introduce invasive species - Causes habitat destruction

Traditional Agriculture Often Relies on Low-Input Polycultures

-- Slash and burn agriculture: - Subsistence agriculture in tropical forest - Clear and burn a small plot of land - Grow many crops that mature at different times - Leave land fallow (unplanted) for 10-30 years before replanting - Benefits of polyculture vs monoculture? Benefits of Polyculture: -- Lower prevalence of diseases/pests -- Increased yield per unit area -- Increased local biodiversity -- Year-round ground cover (soil protection) -- Better use of available nutrients and water in soil (roots of various depths) -- Evenly distributed provision of food/products -- Lower production risks

Soil is a Key Component of Our Planet's Natural Capital

-- Soil erosion - Soil erosion is the movement of soil, particularly topsoil by the actions of wind and water. Soil erosion causes two main harmful effects: Loss of soil fertility and water pollution. -- Topsoil is eroding faster than it forms on 38% of the world's agricultural lands.

Invertebrates as a Sustainable Meat Alternative?

-- Some people say it is sustainable to eat invertebrates as an alternative to meat. (Ex. grasshoppers, worms, etc.) -- Growing invertebrates uses less land to generate each calorie of food. Invertebrates can be raised in a smaller amount of space, with a smaller ecological footprint. -- Lower greenhouse gas emissions from growing invertebrates than traditional meat.

We Need to Shift to Sustainable Food Production

-- Sustainable agriculture - Uses fewer inputs, Creates less pollution, Contributes less to global warming. -- Organic farming - Improves soil fertility, reduces soil erosion, retains more water in soil during drought years, uses about 30% less energy per unit of yield, lowers CO2 emissions, reduces water pollution by recycling livestock wastes, eliminates pollution from pesticides, increases biodiversity above and below ground, organic farming benefits wildlife such as birds and bats.

Immigration

-- The U.S. has admitted almost twice as many immigrants and refugees as all other countries combined.

The U.S. Population - Third Largest and Growing

-- The U.S. population is the third largest and is getting bigger. -- Drop in TFR (Total Fertility Rate) in the U.S. (1.9 in the U.S. vs. 2.4 in the rest of the world), -- But - the U.S. population is still growing and not leveling off. There were 76 million people in 1900 vs. about 320 million today. -- This can be attributed to a high level of immigration of people into the U.S. -- The U.S. population is likely to increase about 400 million people by 2050 - an addition of 86 million people over four decades. -- Due to high rates of per capita resource use, some argue that the U.S. is the most overpopulated country in the world.

Planet Earth - Population 7 Billion

-- The evolution of Homo sapiens and a total population of 2 billion took 200,000 years -- It took less than 50 years to reach the second 2 billion -- It took 25 years to add the third 2 billion -- Twelve years later, the population topped 7.1 billion -- Three major factors led to exponential human population growth -- Modern agriculture -- New technologies -- Death rates have dropped sharply - due to advancements in medicine, improved sanitation / waste management

Human Population Growing Exponentially = Growth Rate is Constant

-- The human population is growing exponentially = growth rate is constant -- Agricultural revolution - when humans stopped being hunter gatherers and set up farms to grow food. When there is a more constant source of food, population growth is also more constant. -- The industrial revolution allowed food to be produced in a mechanized way, which allowed the population to grow exponentially.

Current Trends in Human Population Growth

-- The rate of population growth has slowed in recent decades -- Human population growth is unevenly distributed geographically. Less developed countries generally have less education, less access to birth control, etc., which is why they generally have higher population growth rates. -- Growth rate in more developed countries = 0.1% -- Growth rate in less developed countries = 1.4% -- People are moving from rural to urban areas

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

-- This is specific to honeybees. A phenomenon where hives are abandoned by the bees which once lived there. Bees have very good memories, and use this information to find their way back to the hive. Pesticides interfere with their sensory abilities, so the bees cannot get back to their hives. Beekeepers are losing approximately half of their honeybees.

Thomas Malthus (1776-1834), Political Economist

-- Thomas Malthus was concerned with the decline of living conditions in 19th century England. -- Malthus blamed this decline in three elements: -- Overproduction of young (especially in the lower classes) -- Inability of resources to keep up with the rising human population - human population was growing at a rate faster than the rate of food production. -- The irresponsibility of the lower classes -- Malthus believed that populations are held in check by positive checks (raise death rate) and preventative checks (lower birth rate) -- Therefore, if we did not institute preventative checks (ex. later marriages, mandatory birth limits, moral restraint, etc.), then positive checks (hunger, disease, war) would inevitably harm society. -- An Essay on the Principle of Population -- Malthus recognized that plant and animal species often reproduced at unsustainable levels and depleted available resources -- Argued that increases in population would eventually diminish the ability of the world to feed itself -- Because human populations increase exponentially, yet food supply only increases linearly, humans will eventually starve if the population was not somehow kept in check. -- Malthus was wrong in some ways - after Malthus, we had the Industrial Revolution so we were able to produce food at a faster rate, which basically artificially increased the human carrying capacity.

Food Production

-- Three systems produce most of our food using about 40% of the world's land: -- Croplands - provide 77% of the world's food on 11% of the world's land. Mostly rice, wheat, soy and corn are grown on croplands. -- Daily per capita calories consumed by Americans 91 (rice) + 768 (wheat) + 257 (soy) + 554 (corn) = 1670 calories. The Average american diet is about 1670 calories made up of just rice, wheat, soy and corn. OUR DIETS SHOULD BE MORE DIVERSIFIED THAN THIS -- Rangelands, pastured, and feedlots - provide 16% of world's food on 29% of the world's land area. -- Fisheries / Aquaculture - provide 7% of the world's food.

Restoring Soil Fertility

-- Use Organic Fertilizer (derived from plant/animal materials) -- Animal manure, green manure, compost -- Manufactured inorganic fertilizer -- Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) -- But still need organic material..... -- Crop rotation - Involves NOT growing the same crop, on the same part of land, year after year. Growing the same crop in the same place over time will lead to nutrient depletion in the soil. For example, switching between corn and legumes or other nitrogen fixing plants. Switching between corn and a legume for example, can help to replenish the nutrients in the soil.

Industrialized Agriculture (Inorganic Agriculture)

-- Uses synthetic inorganic fertilizers and sewage sludge to supply plant nutrients. -- Makes use of synthetic chemical pesticides -- Uses conventional and genetically modifier seeds -- Depends on nonrenewable fossil fuels (mostly oil and natural gas) -- Produces significant air and water pollution and greenhouse gases. -- Is globally export-oriented -- Uses antibiotics and growth hormones to produce meat and meat products.

Limit to the Expansion of the Green Revolution

-- Usually require large inputs of fertilizer, pesticides, and water (not available to every farmer) -- Can we expand the green revolution?

AquAdvantage Salmon

A type of salmon which can grow throughout the year, rather than just a few months out of the year. This is accomplished using GMOs. This is the closest GMO animal food product to be sold to the public.

Pollen Vectors

Aboitic - Wind, water Biotic - Insects (flies, beetles, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, etc.) and Vertebrates (bats, hummingbirds, etc.)

World Hunger

Affects about 1 out of 7 people on earth (about 1 billion people total)

Food Security

All or most people in a country have daily access to enough nutritious food to lead active and healthy lives.

Anadromous

Anadromous - Applies to fish which are born in freshwater, then in the middle of their life move to saltwater for their adult lives, and then move back to freshwater to breed. Spend most of their lives in salt water. Dams can harm these species since they block their path.

Meat Production has Grown Steadily

Animals for meat raised in: -- Pastures and rangelands --Feedlots Meat production has increased more than sixfold between 1950 and 2010: -- Increased demand for grain as feed -- Demand is expected to go higher as affluence rises and more middle-income people eat meat in developing countries (ex. China consumes 1/4 of meat produced globally)

Many people suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition

Chronic undernutrition - not enough food to meet basic energy needs. Chronic malnutrition - not enough protein or other key nutrients. Famine - Severe shortage of food. Results in mass starvation, many deaths, economic chaos, and social disruption.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Combined use of biological, chemical, and cultivation methods in proper sequence and timing to keep the size of a pest population below the level that causes the economically unacceptable loss of a crop of livestock animal.

Enviropig

Pigs are being developed to process phosphorous more efficiently. This would lead to fewer phosphates in waste.

Industrialized Agriculture

Plantation agriculture - monocultures of cash crops (ex. bananas, coffee, palm oil) Industrialized agriculture is trying to create the most crops (highest yield), as the first priority over everything else.

Pollination

Pollination - The transfer of pollen from the anther (male reproductive structure), to stigma (female reproductive structure)

Traditional Agriculture

Provides 1/5 of the world's crops on 3/4 of the world's cropland. Sustainable traditional agriculture relies on polyculture. Traditional agriculture uses polyculture - using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops.

Grow and Buy More Food Locally

Why buy local food? - Reduce fossil fuel energy costs from heavy machinery, refrigeration and transport. Local food also can help to strengthen the local economy, and minimize environmental damage caused by larger industrial farms. Also helps to support the community, local economy and other small local businesses.