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Agriculture and Water

Agriculture and Water. With news reports, rampant pollution and who can forget the Gulf oil spill, we must beg the question “What’s in the water?”. First: How much water is there to go around?.

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Agriculture and Water

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  1. Agriculture and Water With news reports, rampant pollution and who can forget the Gulf oil spill, we must beg the question “What’s in the water?”

  2. First: How much water is there to go around? • “About 70% of the earth's surface is covered in water. But water also exists in the air as vapour and in aquifers in the soil, as groundwater.”Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/water-quantity-faq.htm#ixzz0ptm1VA27

  3. How much water is consumable for living creatures? • Freshwater accounts for only 2.5% of the Earth’s water, and most of it is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is mainly found as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air. • (GreenFacts, 2008)

  4. How much of 2.5% is not polluted? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R_vpNQ0fJc&feature=player_embedded • This may be the case in some underdeveloped countries and sectors of the world. . . • But what about the United States? • Why do we have a clean water supply?

  5. Clean Water and the U.S. • “The summer of '69 was a turning point in American attitudes about water pollution, thanks largely to a fire that broke out on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio.” • “President Richard Nixon founded the EPA a few months later, and the first Earth Day was held the next April. Within five years, the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act were both signed into law.“ • (Mother Nature Network, 2010)

  6. Earth Day • Annual celebration honouring the achievements of the environmental movement and raising awareness of the importance of long-term ecological sustainability. Earth Day is celebrated in the United States on April 22; throughout the rest of the world it is celebrated on either April 22 or the day the vernal equinox occurs.

  7. We know we strive for clean water, but do we actually drink clean water? • What about pollution? • Does industry pollute the earth’s freshwater? • Does agriculture pollute the freshwater supply? • Thoughts. . . • Discuss. . .

  8. Groundwater Contamination • Is the use of agricultural pesticides contaminating our groundwater? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZrQPFxdViI&NR=1 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwCqWrGVT20&NR=1 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtzMXsttX84&feature=related

  9. Atrazine The Facts: Atrazine is a product utilized in the production of corn, grain sorghum and sugar cane. The herbicide is produced by the Agricultural company- Syngenta.

  10. Benefits to Farmers • Farmers utilize atrazine due to it’s ability to control weeds and it’s residual effect. • Residual means that the chemical should last for the duration of crops’ growing season. • Spray once- last for the Summer.

  11. Let’s Hear What Syngenta has to Say: • Benefits: • “A study evaluating the impact of atrazine on corn yields showed that during the 20-year period from 1986 to 2005, the average corn yield was 5.1 percent higher with atrazine than without.” • (Atrazine, 2010)

  12. Economical, Effective Weed Control • The U.S. EPA estimates that farming without atrazine could cost corn growers $28 per acre due to yield loss and the use of more expensive herbicides. • (Atrazine, 2010)

  13. Do The Math: • $28.00 More for a farmer who has planted 1000 acres will cost him: • 1000 Acres • X $28.00 • $28,000 Input Costs to prevent Weed Invasion • That’s the cost of a decent vehicle • Family Expenses, etc.

  14. For a Larger Farmer: • $28.00 More for a farmer who has planted 5000 acres will cost him: • 5000 Acres • X $28.00 $140,000 *** That is the cost of a nice farm house.

  15. A Point to Consider: • While farmers are striving to provide the food, clothing and shelter needs of people, worldwide, is it possible that they and their families could get the short end of the stick from a monetary perspective? • For what cause: Stricter Regulations. • The real question is, are the regulations warranted? • What do you think? Discuss. . .

  16. Less Soil Erosion • Conservation Tillage- (No till or Minimum Tillage farming) • “Atrazine is a very popular tool for use in conservation tillage or no-till systems — farming methods that eliminate plowing and/or reduce tillage. Conservation tillage makes cropland much less vulnerable to soil erosion, which is reduced by as much as 90 percent when compared to intensive tillage.” (Atrazine, 2010)

  17. Thus: • We have an issue. . . • We can see that Atrazine is very beneficial for corn production. • However, • We do see too, that it may be hazardous to hormonal functions in nature and in people. • What do you think? • Discuss. . .

  18. Works Cited • http://www.greenfacts.org/en/water-resources/ • http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/how-polluted-is-us-drinking-water 4/23/2010 • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/903504/Earth-Day

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