1 / 12

Sustainability

Sustainability. Winter 2009 Class 16 Jeff Fletcher. Logistics. 1 on 1 meetings today If not signed up or missed last time, be sure to reschedule Office Hours tomorrow—not available until 12:30 Water Footprint Reports Due Today Reading: Chapters 3-7 (skim for Monday)

alaula
Download Presentation

Sustainability

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sustainability Winter 2009 Class 16 Jeff Fletcher

  2. Logistics • 1 on 1 meetings today • If not signed up or missed last time, be sure to reschedule • Office Hours tomorrow—not available until 12:30 • Water Footprint Reports Due Today • Reading: Chapters 3-7 (skim for Monday) • Reading for next Wed. Chapters 8 & 9 (for Wed. March 4) • Homework 5: Reading Questions on Ch. 8 & 9 (Due Wed. March 4) • King Corn Movie • Look for important themes from Omnivore's Dilemma • Think about making your own (short) video on a sustainability issue (next term)

  3. Important Themes • National Eating Disorder • Natures way vs. Industrial/Corporate way • Omnivore's Dilemma • What should I eat? • What am I eating? • Where did it come from? • Missing a narrow culture around food • Domestication by Humans; or Domestication of Humans

  4. Important Themes • We are corn • Dramatic Increase in Corn Yields • Hybrid vigor • Plant close together • Genetically identical—don’t compete • GMO advances—herbicide ready • Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer • Sun foods vs. petroleum foods • Corn anatomy and sex • Others

  5. Domestication • Ability to be domesticated is a rare quality in plants and animals (e.g. not zebras) • Takes genetic predisposition • Takes time and patience: stability of relationship between humans and plant or animal • Not as restricted with GMO technology (e.g. Flavor savor tomato)

  6. Corn • C3 vs. C4 Grasses • Different photosynthesis biochemical pathways • C4 generally evolved later and have advantages: • more efficient use of CO2 and water • More drought tolerant • Corn is a C4 Grass, more efficient that C3 • Back to last term: carbohydrates • Carbon 12 vs Carbon 13 • Periodic Table of Element

  7. Major Grass Grain Crops • Wheat (C3) • Corn (Maize) (C4) • Rice (C3) • Barley (C3) • Sorghum (C4) • Oats (C3) • Millet (C3 & C4; different species) • Rye (C3) • Triticale (wheat & rye hybrid; C3)

  8. Industrial Fertilizer • Modern miracle or modern scurge? • Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer • Leftovers from munitions WWI • Fritz Haber (Haber-Bosch process) • Nobel prize 1920 • More than half of all fertilizer goes to corn • N2 in air (80%) is inert • The explanation for 2/3 of human population—implications of changes?

  9. Typical Market for Farm Goods • In demand, prices good, grow more, surplus, prices drop, so plant even more, even more surplus, even lower prices • What type of process is this? • TOC when individuals are not coordinated • Also example of a positive feedback • Changing role of farm subsidies and regulation • To help farmers keep prices high enough to plant next year • 1973 Change: To help keep prices low by paying farmers directly • 1920 25% lived on farms • Each could feed itself + 12 • Now each farmer feeds 127

  10. Movie • King Corn, 2007 • Inspired by Omnivore’s Dilemma • Covers ideas from 1st section of book

More Related