Agriculture: Class 9

Tuesday, February 07, 2012 11:04 AM

Things to know o Read Chapter 9 o Note: How much we consume, land devoted to ag, major crops consumed Amount of erosion and where does it go Sustainable ag Contour plowing No till ag Far pests: weeds Nature and advances of slash and burn agriculture Very widespread in the tropics where there is tons of bio diversity DDT: When banned. Do we still get it in our food? Biological control and integrated pest management Pros and cons of genetic modification What is the "terminator gene" all about? Organic farming pros and cons Film
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WWI 5500 m/week with new tech Great Depression and the Dust Bowl WW2 Retire draft and farm workers and replaced with machines Increased agricultural research New chemical formulations to improve plant life New plant hybrids No need of knowledge to farm, all recommendations given by Federal Gov or UC New products, more efficient, more jobs Paid for by increase in use of fossil fuels 15% of all US Crop land is irrigated More than 40% of fruits and veggies come from CA alone Exodus to the cities. Today's farms are a third of what they used to be 3/4 of farm income is produced by 3-4 of US largest farms Harris Ranch in San Joaquin Valley CA Employ ~150 people 180000 cattle on feed Beef processing facility Shipping increases energy cost National Shipping is becoming international Wider availability of processed food Makes up 75% of our diet

Increased cost of energy to make Isolates us from the land Consumers are unaware of the value of their food o Cost of food is determined by all the subsidies Wheaties: contains about a penny of weat however costs 1.50 o Increased production of cash crops Exported to foreign countries o US Farmers are in debt by over $2 million o National AG policy is based on the interests of the processors, shippers, and inspectors. Government has promoted through taxes ect, not by the farmers. o Heath Issues Being a farmer is not healthy Dumping hundreds of pounds of pesticides on crops Losses due to insects increased from 11-13% 25% of all Iowans are drinking contaminated water Pesticides kill the soil Erosion related cost above 5 billion a year o Average depth of soil across US was 9 and now is 6" To replace 1" of soil takes 500 years o Lack of crop diversity increases need for pesticides and chemical fertilizer o Farmers in the Nebraska Farm Program reduce amt of energy to create same amt of crops Experimenting with composting Still problems with pests and "wevils" Using biological/artificial predators to protect plants to avoid pesticides Lowers electrical and water cost o Farmers Markets are beneficial since farmers make more of a profit, crops are more labor intensive creating jobs, and have lower energy costs o Some super markets are beginning to partner with local farms keeping costs down and improving health and satisfaction among the community o Old ideas and new approaches

Lecture: The Imperial Valley and Water

Thursday, February 23, 2012 11:48 AM

Lecture 2/23/12

Imperial Valley Rainfall o Low total 79" annually o Low rainfall high variability o Seasonally least during hottest months o Acre feet of water delivered to famers in Imperial Valley

Cost of water to famers and others o Farmers: 12-15 per acre ft, no limit to how many acres they can buy o Metropolitan Water District (wholesaler): 250-300 per acre ft o Urban consumer: 300-350 per acre ft The Salt Problem o Salt accumulation o Regadors on the Black Dog Farm near Holtville Imperial Valley Broccoli is irrigated daily for first week, then every 12-15 days until harvested. o Calexico California 3AM Field hands from Mexicali get on these buses and head to local fields and north to Brawley and east o Appx 40% of the imperial balley is planted to Alfalfa Imperial Valley Crops o Graph 1991 ~225 acres to alfalfa, ~55 to Sudangrass Under ~50 acres each to consumable foods o Imperial valley crops 1991 and acre feet of water ~1400 acre feet of water to alfalfa, ~250 to Sudangrass Water Consumption in CA o In acre/feet City of LA: 750000 San Diego: 250000 San Fransisco: 100000 o Alfalfa: 4 million acre/feet Livestock o Holstein Cows 450000 a year fattened in 1970's, now 225000 a year bought at age 4 months and weigh 275, 300 days later they weigh 1100 to 1200 lbs Cattle are fed five different kinds of mixes, depending on age; they consist principally of sudan grass, alfalfa, corn, and wheat Cattle feed from midwest-wheat not quite good enough for bread and pastries. Comes in shipments of 100 railway cars at a time; and 20 tons a day from LA Water Demands of Select Crops (how much it costs in water ft per acre for an acre of the crop) o Asparagus 8.5 o Alfalfa (8 c.) 6.5 o Onions 5.5 o Sugar beets 4.0 o Tomatoes 3.5 o Cauliflower 3.5 o Wheat 3.3 o Carrots 3.2 o Watermelon 3 Imperial Valley Water Needed for One Pound of Carrots o Carrot yield: 705, 50lb Bags per acre, or 35,250 lbs (705 x 50 = 50 35250) o 3.2 acre feet/acre or 1055686 gallons an acre (325828 x 3.24 = 3.24 1055683)

o Therefore it takes 29.9 gallons to produce 1 lb of carrots Imperial Valley Water Needed for one lb of Alfalfa o Alfalfa yield: 9.7 tons per acre, or 19400 lbs per acre o 6.44 acre feet per acre, or 2098332 gallons an acre o Therefore takes 108.2 gallons to produce only 1 lb of alfalfa 2098332/19400 = 108.1614 108.2 Reducing Acerage in Alfalfa o The alfalfa issue Assume reduction in water needs, 6.5 to 4.0 acre feet Assume 200000 acres in alfalfa in cultivation Therefore if we take 2.5 x 200000 = 500000 500000 acre feet of water saved o Preference Based on Water/Calorie Ratio "eating water" How much water each product consumes o Absentee Ownership High degree of absentee ownership Multiple ownership of farms Sources of income, like stocks and bonds Interrest in the Valley and its problems, wildlife? Some questions Then Are: o How much do particular crops consume (water)/ o How much acreage do we have in crops that consume a lot of water? o Are you making 'good use' of water by growing these crops? Water for "typical" Daily Diet o Breakfast: ~550 calories, "drank" 200 gal o Lunch ~828 calories, 1424 gallons of water o Dinner ~1150 calories, ~ 3000 gallons of water The Salton Sea o Source of Water New, Alamo and Whitewater rivers (dirtiest/ most toxic rivers) Run off from farming Salt content: 25%, saltier than the ocean Without runoff water would be even saltier The Wildlife Issue o Major flyway in the west Migrant waterfoul, shorebirds, song birds Gulls, herons, egrets, doves, quail, hawks o Why So Many and So Diverse? o The Predicament Everything is interrelated Major players, investments, residents

Nature Swaps: 3/13/2012

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 11:43 AM

Debt for Nature Swaps Many countries heavily in debt Reverse flow of money Mechanics of Exchange First world donors: give money to conservation organizations Conservation Organizations: buy debt of foreign country as discount Third World Country: uses debt reduction to buy/ build/ improve Dept for Nature Swap. Example 1: Costa Rica Costa Rican foreign debt: 1.5 billion Debt for nature swap: 10 million Swedish Govt buys debt: 2 million CR Government issues bonds in own currency for 10 Million NGO uses interest and bonds to: Consolidate parks, draw boundaries, create buffer zones, hire guards Support National Biodiversity Institute Maintain various environmental organizations Example 2: Bolivia Bolivian Foreign Debt: 500 Million Owed Citicorp Bank 650 thousand Payoffs of debt for nature swap Citicorp gets cash today Citicorp gets enhancement of image Citicorp gets "charitable contribution": 550thousand (650-100,000) Cost of enhanced image: 275000 (1/2 of 550000) More on payoffs: Conservation International gets 250 thousand return for 100 thousand Bolivia gets released from 650 thousand debt Bolivia uses own currency Positive Aspects of D for N Swaps 1. Third world country reduces foreign debt 2. Third world saves biodiversity 3. Third world country enhances image 4. Third world country does not use hard cash 5. Third world countries build tourist infrastructure (positive feedback) 6. Good return to conservation organization 7. Bank gets rid of bad debt 8. Bank gets paid now rather than in the future Negative Aspects of D for N Swaps 1. Make no significant dent in foreign debt 2. Deals complex and take years to do 3. Conservation organizations seen as interfering 4. Deals give legitimacy to loans to Third World countries 5. Native peoples not well represented in deals 6. Amounts insignificant for needs 7. Because done with NGO usually little effect on government environmental policy

Yasuni National Park: Ecuador UNESCO Biological Reserve 1989 Largely undisturbed rainforest 100 thousand insects per hectare Most biologically diverse area on earth: amphibians, birds, mammals, and vascular plant speacies reach maximum diversity Threaten by oil extraction The deal: Oil worth billions in a poor country In an area so remote, canoes are the only way in and out Presidents message: give us 3.6 billion over 13 years and we will forego developmetn Half the expected market value of oil at present

The Deal Lecture 3/15/2012

Thursday, March 15, 2012 11:41 AM

The Deal Yes oil: worth billions in a poor country In an area where now canoes are the only way in and out President's message: give us 3.6 billion over 13 years and we will forgo development Half the expected market value of oil at present A FIRST for global environmental policy: help developing nature preserve nature More on the Deal Oil development leads to roads, pipelines, oil spills, colonization, deforestation, fragmentation, hunting and fishing Money for social and economic development Is this Environmental Blackmail? Still More on the Deal 1. Guarantee: if they drilled, donors would get money back 2. International community so far unconvinced 3. Could Ecuador be trusted? 4. Seven presidents and two constitutions in ten years 5. And who will cough up the money? 6. So: Will oil with the day? The Tragedy of the Commons The tragedy of the commons develops in this manner. Picture a pasture open to all. It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons. Such an arrangement may work reasonably, satisfactorily for centuries . Finally however comes the day for reckoning, the day when the long desired goal of social stability becomes reality The rational herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue its to add another animal to his herd But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons. Therin is the tragedy. Each man is locked not a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit in a world that is limited. Ruin is the

destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all. Assumptions of scenario noted 1. No controls on behavior 2. Behavior is selfish (self-serving) 3. There is an unlimited number of animals 4. There is limited land 5. There is no sense of "doom unfolding" Common-use Resources The Tragedy of the Commons Oceans, rainforests, ect. Main Characteristics of: Excludability Subtractability Excludability and Subtracability Excludability: It is difficult to control access to the resource Subractability: Each user is capable of subtracting from the welfare of other users Significance fo Subractablity: every one is looking out for themselves and their best interests Solutions Private (individual ownership) Communal Control State Control, Government regulation; socialism Problems with Privatization May be no long term outlook Long regenerative time of a resource Uncertain tenure/ control of resources Conflict of interrest Owner vs manager Problems with Communal Control Presence of a 'cheater' Unequal value placed on resource by members Population at or above carrying capacity Problems with State Control In general same as those in communal control Key Points Learned in Class 1. There is a Global Ecological Crisis, with multiple dimensions 2. Problems are as much political, economic an social as they are biological 3. The central issue is population 4. Population is not fundamentally about numbers but about resource use 5. Most of the worlds population is in the Third World, and this population will grow at the expense of the rest of the world 6. This population will want the standard of living and resources enjoyed by those in the First World 7. Key concepts in understanding change include: negative and positive feedback, and carrying capacity 8. Models and concepts worth knowing include i. Exponential growth ii. The demographic transition

Population pyramids The first principle of ecology: everything is interrelated The precautionary principle Eco-wars Depreciation of natural resources The agricultural revolution The industrial revolution 1. Using fossil fuels, base for political war and problems x. Ecological tragedy xi. The significance of the tropics- location of third world populations and biodiversity xii. The idea of 'priority' with regard to 'aliens'- lake davis 1. If it was there first it has priority xiii. The ecological and economic cost of keeping marijuana illegal xiv. The complexity of ecological problems-the spotted owl issue, the salmon issue xv. What is meant by a water shortage in California, and the role for agriculture in consuming water xvi. The water cost of being a carnibore xvii. The meaning of the west an dpublic lands and how they are misused

iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix.