Essay #1 – Cause/Effect Draft – Polar Bears Melting Away

Polar Bears are one the few animals that can survive in the one of world’s harshest environments.  This significant animal is a vital source to understanding what is occurring in the arctic.  The intensive research of polar bears offered awareness to earth’s major problems that we are concerned about today.  These problems are putting polar bears at risk and their population is slowly decreasing.  Although they are not at high risk, environmental problems and humans put polar bears on the endangered species list because of the effects of global warming, pollution, and hunting.

Global warming is the leading problem to polar bears’ extinction.  It is defined as trapped heat that increases temperatures in the earth’s atmosphere.  The increasing temperatures are caused by the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane.  These gases are emitted from things that we see and use in our environment such as cars and power plants.  Although they are a necessity in our daily lives, we are unaware of the problems they cause, especially to polar bears.  Because of global warming, polar bears are considered an endangered species.  According to U.S. Government studies, “two-thirds of the world’s polar bears could disappear by 2050 as global warming continues to melt the arctic’s sea ice” (Roach, 2007).
Polar bears are love the ice and cannot live without it.  The ice is their home and hunting ground, but because of the increasing temperatures caused by global warming, polar bears’ preferred habitat is being eliminated.  Their primary prey and diet is the ringed seal and they also reside near ice caps.  When temperature increases and ice caps melt away, seals migrate to find a colder location, which leaves less food for polar bears to hunt.
The declining of food decreases reproduction of polar bear cubs. Mother polar bears rely on food in order to keep her cubs alive.  When ice breaks up before summer, seals disappear into the waters.  The mother leaves her cubs at their den, and she desperately races to seals’ habitat before they leave so that she can feed on them.  In doing this, she is trying to store enough fat and nutrition that will last throughout summer and fall.  But if she is incapable of storing up enough fat in her body and returns back to her cubs too lean, her milk production will stop and her cubs will die from starvation (Morrison, 2004).
Polar bears use ice caps as a mode of transportation.  In 2004, researchers from the U.S. Minerals Management Service discovered dead polar bears in the Beaufort Sea.  The cause of death was drowning.  Polars bears are known to be great swimmers and can amazingly swim long distances at a time.  Researchers found that the drowning cases were due to the fact that the polar ice cap had floated 160 miles North of the Alaskan coast.  Since ice caps are melting faster than previous years, polar bears have little chance of stumbling upon another ice cap.  This causes the bears to swim tremendously long distances to find solid ice (Glick, 2006).  In 2003, Josefino Comiso, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, reported that the sea ice is melting faster than they thought because of increasing temperatures and connections between ice, ocean and the atmosphere that speed up the melting process (Morrison, 2004).

Pollution also poses a threat to polar bears.  It affects polar bears’ health and their habitat in many ways.  Being at the top of the food chain, Polar Bears are exposed to various types of pollutants. Persistent Organic Pollutants, POPs, is detected in many dangerous substances such as heat resistant chemicals, industrial by-products, and pesticides.  Even though these substances are hardly used nowadays, they still remain in our environment.  Polar Bears with high levels of POPs have low levels of vitamin A, thyroid hormones, and a few antibodies (“Threats,” n.d.).  Polar bears are polluted through their food chain.  Chemicals are transported from the South, to the arctic by either wind or water, which affects the Polar bears’ food chain.  Their food chain begins with water, then through algae, shrimp, cod, and ringed seals.  Each time chemicals pass from one species to another, it increases five to tenfold.  Pollution harms polar bears’ reproductive and immune systems. When their hormones are affected by pollution, it may possibly obstruct their reproduction and growth.  It may also weaken their immune systems, making polar bears vulnerable to diseases or parasites (Bralovich, 2008).  Oil spills is another type of pollutant that affects Polar Bears.  If a polar bear has a certain amount of oil on their fur, it can possibly poison and kill them through grooming.  When a polar bears’ fur comes in contact with oil, it also reduces the insulation that keeps them warm.  Their loss of insulation causes them to use more energy to keep them warm.  To gain sufficient energy, they must increase their caloric intake.  But because of other environmental problems such as global warming, polar bears have limited resources for hunting food, leading them to starvation  (“Oil,” n.d.).  Since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, environmentalist are still facing the consequences of the spill.  Eleven million gallons of crude oil was spilled into the waters of Prince William Sound.  It stained 1,500 miles of the Alaskan coastline, and killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds, otters, seals and whales, and local communities.  Although the spill stopped just a few days after, there is no end date to when it will fully recover (Yardley, 2010).  Polar bears are still experiencing the effects of the oil spill that happened 28 years ago by eating the animals in their food chain that were affected by the spill.  If a species in their food is affected by an oil spill, it may cause many health problems to the polar bears. Currently there is no proven effective method for cleaning or maintaining an oil spill in arctic waters (“Oil,” n.d.).

Hunting is another reason why polar bears are heading to extinction.  Hunting polar bears are illegal to non-natives in most countries.  Sixty percent of the world’s polar bear population reside in Canada, is the only one of the five “range states” which allows non-natives to hunt them as a sport. Native arctic populations in America, Greenland, and Russia are the only ones allowed to kill a quota of polar bears each year.  Norway has completely banned polar hunting for natives and non-natives. The ultimate treasure about hunting polar bears as a sport is earning $35,000.  That is why there is a growing amount of illegal poachers.  Poachers kill polar bears to sell their parts for profit.  Although many countries banned importing of polar bear parts, poachers are still getting them into countries.  Sadly, there is no choice but to kill a polar bear.  Although polar bears are magnificent creatures, they are known to be aggressive.  Killing a polar bear is not considered illegal if they are aggressive (Taylor, 2009).

Present environmental crisis and human related causes such as global warming, oil spills, and hunting, are the major causes of why polar bears are on the endangered species list.  Addressing these issues and educating concerns for polar bears is one of the many ways we can start saving them.  Although it will be a long time before polar bears are wiped off the face of the earth, there is a need to take current corrective action to save them from being extinct.

References

Bralovich, S.  (2008, January 10).  Polar Bears and Pollution [Web log post].  Retrieved from http://polarbearcentral.blogspot.com/2008/01/polar-bears-and-pollution.html

Carlson, M.  (n.d.).  Why Polar Bears are Endangered. Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/1512528-why-polar-bears-are-endangered

Glick, D.  (2006, December 1).  On Thin Ice. Retreived from http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2007/On-Thin-Ice.aspx

Morrison, J.  (2004, February 1).  The Incredible Shrinking Polar Bears. Retrieved from http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2004/The-Incredible-Shrinking-Polar-Bears.aspx

Roach, J.  (2007, September).  Most Polar Bears Gone By 2050, Studies Say.  National Geographic News. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/

Taylor, J.  (2009, March).  Bag a polar bear for $35,000: The New threat to the Species.  The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/

World Wildlife Fund.  (n.d.).  Oil Activity in the North. Retreived from http://www.ngo.grida.no/wwfap/polarbears/risk/oil.html

World Wildlife Fund.  (n.d.).  Threats to Polar Bears. Retrieved from http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/threats.html

Yardley, W.  (2010, May).  Recovery Still Incomplete After Valdez Spill.  The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

Cause/Effect: Conventional Farming: a Lead contributor to Global Warming Emissions

With the increasing popularity of the negative topic of global warming and its emissions that are taking its toll on our environment today, many are becoming strongly concerned with the causes of these emissions and the procedures that can be taken to decrease them. According to Freston (2007), the United Nations published a report regarding the environment and found that almost one fifth of global warming emissions is due to livestock. Livestock is included in the practice of conventional farming which together are leading contributors in the epidemic our environment is currently battling. Walsh (2009) states that “less than 1% of American cropland is farmed organically.” Although organic food is more expensive than conventional food, conventional farming causes most of today’s global warming emissions because of the livestock being used to produce the food, their digestive processes and manure, and the vast quantities of land being used for its process. Examining all of these subjects that underlie conventional farming is critical, as understanding these subjects will give rise to opportunity to correct these methods that are having extremely detrimental effects on our environment.

All subjects underlying conventional farming tie into one main topic that ultimately influence the rest, this topic being livestock. Today’s demand of meat has grown over the past decades and continues to grow at an increasingly high rate. With the increase in demand, there must be an increase in the livestock to meet and fulfill these demands. Along with the increase in the livestock comes an increase in many other factors that ultimately have an effect on our environment. Growing livestock for food purposes ultimately feeds our population; however, what feeds the food that is feeding us? The answer is quite simple, crops. The more numerous our livestock becomes ultimately calls for a higher production of crops. Once the livestock consumes enough crops and reaches a perfect weight to fulfill its purpose, it then requires transportation. First the animals are transported to slaughterhouses where they are killed and then are transported across the country. According to Freston (2007), this whole process burns a large amount of fossil fuels and produces a vast amount of the “heat-trapping carbon dioxide,” which all contribute to the high rising global warming emissions.

Along with the requirements and demands of the livestock and some of its processes effects, there is another detrimental effect of livestock that commonly goes unnoticed. As a result of feeding the livestock enough crop to fulfill its purpose, there is a large amount of manure that must be handled on each farm. Freston (2007) states that five million tons of manure a day is produced from the livestock, which is far more than our land can naturally absorb. Extremely strong greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitric oxide, result from the manure and are released into the air where they become lead contributors to the global warming emissions. So not only are harmful gases like carbon dioxide resulting from conventional farming and its procedures, but there are also many other gases that are also being released and contributing to the epidemic.

As these are some of the underlying issues of conventional farming, it is critical to acknowledge that all of these require a vast use of land. The crops being grown to feed the livestock and the animals having adequate space to live is demanding most of our earth’s land. In fact, most of the land that is being used was not readily available and had to be prepared prior to conventional farms inhabiting it. Farming is a main cause of deforestation. Since forests absorb carbon dioxide from the air, when deforestation occurs and these forests are burned, all the absorbed carbon dioxide is then released and contribute to global warming emissions. Freston (2007) acknowledges that animal agriculture takes up 70% of all agricultural land. In regards to the entire planet, it acquires 30% of the total land. With such a large percent of the land being used for farming, and keeping in mind that less than 1% of our land is being used for organic farming, it is clear that most of the land being used is practicing conventional farming.

Conventional farming is literally bankrupting the earth and contributing to a vast amount of the global warming emissions. After examining the process required in raising and killing livestock for food, the results of the livestock’s natural daily life and the excessive amount of land being used to raise the livestock on; it is clear that conventional farming is extremely detrimental to our environment. With the increasing concern for the safety of our environment, examining conventional farming and its practice is critical to begin the process of rebuilding our planet. Organic farming is a far more safe practice for our environment, and since conventional farming is clearly adding to the breakdown of our environment, should be highly considered in order to reduce the outrageous amount of global warming emissions being produced from conventional farming and its practice.

Works Cited

Freston, Kathy. (2007, January 18). Vegetarian is the New Prius. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegetarian-is-the-new-pri_b_39014.html

Walsh, Brian. (2009, August 21). Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food. Time Inc. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html

 

 

 

Cause/Effect – “Rising atmospheric CO2: Human activity and its effects on the planet”

Human activities, industries, and the pursuit of greater comfort are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than ever. Many of the natural processes that normally slow its build up in the atmosphere appear to be weakening or coming to a halt. As economies and populations boom and increase, the earth and its climate and weather are not responding in a positive way. Between the year 2000 and 2006, human activities such as burning fossil fuels, manufacturing cement, and tropical deforestation contributed an average of 4.1 billion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year. Although industry is important worldwide, the resulting rise in atmospheric CO2 will cause a loss in biodiversity because of a rise in average temperature, melting icecaps, and ecological changes to landscapes.

The rise in average temperature which is being accelerated by climate change will be more damaging to biodiversity than gradual climatic change. Species can only survive in specific areas under specific conditions such as normal range of temperature and precipitation. Once the average temperature is above a certain threshold, the species will no longer thrive and will begin to decline. This can be seen here in interior Alaska with the decline of birch trees. New species could take their place in the future. The increased in temperature will allow warmer adapted species to have greater range in area. This will negatively affect the overall biodiversity. The rise in average temperatures will create an overall loss in biodiversity and begin to cause other problems such as heat spells, flooding, and drought specifically in the Polar Regions.

Average temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. Arctic ice is getting thinner, melting faster and for the first time rupturing. The melting of once-permanent ice is already affecting native people, wildlife and plants in the Arctic regions. When the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf splintered, the rare freshwater lake it enclosed, along with its unique ecosystem, drained into the ocean. Polar bears, whales, walrus and seals are changing their feeding and migration patterns, making it harder for native people to hunt them. There is also a decline in the overall population numbers of these wildlife species. Rising temperatures are already affecting Alaska, where the spruce bark beetle is breeding faster in the warmer weather. These pathogens have altered their life cycle to include an extra generation each year. From 1993 to 2003, they chewed up 3.4 million acres of Alaskan forest primarily in South Central Alaska. This is a native species and outbreaks every 100 years is normal, but the most recent outbreaks were massive and beyond the scope of previous outbreaks. The affect could be a major ecological change that happened very rapidly.

Ecological change is constantly taking place world wide. For millions and millions of years, ecosystems have slowly adapted to moderate changes in climate and weather. The increase in atmospheric CO2 that has occurred in the last 100 years is causing rapid changes in climate and weather. Ecosystems are not able to adapt as quickly as the changes that are occurring. The result is a loss in biodiversity. Plants and animals are no longer able to survive in the way they are adapted to surviving. Some examples of ecologic change are increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, increased or decreased precipitation, invasive species outbreaks, decline in wildlife populations and more fresh water in oceans. All of these changes dramatically affect landscapes and their biodiversity.

The human activity on this planet is beginning to majorly affect all life forms. Our industries and the pursuit for greater comfort are increasing the levels of atmospheric CO2 exponentially. This is causing an increase in average temperature, loss of polar ice caps, ecological change on many landscapes, and many other changes in a relatively short period of time. Although human life is important, we should make an effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle in order to keep this planet healthy for future generations. Technologies exist today to make cars that run cleaner and burn less gas, generate electricity from wind and sun, modernize power plants, and build refrigerators, air conditioners and whole buildings that use less power. Planting trees is another great idea. Trees take up carbon and reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. These are great ideas to help reduce the earth’s atmospheric CO2 levels in an effort to save biodiversity and slow down ecological changes. Educating people worldwide on this issue is a great way to begin the process of changing our actions to promote a healthier planet.

Sources:

Allen, C. et al. (2010). A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 259, 660–684.

Anderson, J., Milliken, K., Wallace, D. Rodriguez, A. & Simms, A. (2010). Coastal impact underestimated from rapid sea Level rise, EOS, 91 (23), pp. 205–212.

Cook, J. (2010, July). 10 indicators of a human fingerprint on climate change. Retrieved February 17, 2010, from Skeptical Science Web site: http://www.skepticalscience.com/10-Indicators-of-a-Human-Fingerprint-on-Climate-Change.html

Dai, A. (2010). Drought under global warming: A review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, n/a. doi: 10.1002/wcc.81

Dyer, G. (2008). Climate Wars, Canada: Random House. Kaufmann, et al. (2009). Recent warming reverses long-term arctic cooling. Science, 325 (5945), 1236 – 1239.

Rothrock, D.A., Yu, Y., and Maykut, G.A. (1999). Thinning of the arctic sea-ice cover. Geophysical Research Letters, 26(23): 3469-3472.

Royer, D.L., (2006). CO2-forced climate thresholds during the phanerozoic. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70(23), 5665-5675.

Ruddiman, William F. (2008). Earth’s climate: past and future, 2nd. ed.. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman & Co.

Cause/Effect Rough Draft: Meat Production is spoiling the World

Cause/Effect Essay:  Meat Production is spoiling the world

David Apperson

English 213, Spring 2011

Although global demand for meat continues to rise, animal agriculture is the greatest cause of world pollution because it increases greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, inefficiently utilizes land resources, and consumes more fresh water than other farming practices.  The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issues a regular report on the status of world climate change.  The latest report is Climate Change 2007 and is the Panel’s Fourth Assessment Report.  Although many of the figures presented in the report are impressive, the authors include that the uncertainty of the data is relatively high.  Regardless, the figures given in the report are the ones used throughout this essay and are recognized as accurate.

Greenhouse Gases:  According to Climate Change 2007 issued by the IPCC, annual greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture are expected to increase in coming decades.  (Citation from IPCC) According to the report, anthropogenic (human caused) sources  represent 12% of CO2, 47% of Methane and 58% of Nitrous Oxide emissions around the world.  The factors that control Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are complex and varied, however the report was clear that agriculture, specifically livestock agriculture is the greatest contributor to total anthropogenic sources of GHG.  Carbon Dioxide (CO_2­) is known to be the primary gas responsible for global warming, however Methane (CH₄) and Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) also contribute to trapping heat in the atmosphere and are respectively 23 and 296 times better at trapping heat than Carbon Dioxide.  (Citation from IPCC)  How these numbers are associated with livestock agriculture are extremely important.  Burning fossil fuels releases Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere.  Due to farming practices and processing requirements, to produce one Calorie of animal protein necessitates burning eleven times more fossil fuel than to produce one Calorie of plant protein, perhaps from soy.  (Citation IPCC)  All animals exhale Carbon Dioxide and produce Methane in their digestive tract, but what is exceptional about livestock agriculture is the scale of production.  The amount of methane produced by a cow raised for beef is greater than that produced by a human in a similar time interval.  Nitrous Oxide is formed by the microbial transformation of nitrogen in manure and soils especially in moist conditions.  The production of rice is wet since the plants grow in sodden patties and requires fertilizer, so the process produces large amounts of Nitrous Oxide.  Livestock manure produces large amounts of Methane but the projected growth of methane emissions due to rice production is not expected to increase substantially while livestock produced methane is projected to increase 60% by 2030. (Citation IPCC)  Intensive production of meat will lead to more manure and more GHG emissions.

Land Resources:  Animal agriculture currently inhabits 30% of total land area on the planet and uses over 70% of agricultural land worldwide.  (Freston)  The presence of livestock reduces the available farmed acreage for direct consumption in two related ways.  The acreage to accommodate any livestock is drastically greater than the necessary acreage to produce equal Calories from plants.  Livestock agriculture also requires acreage to grow the grains fed to farmed animals.  Researchers at the University of Chicago estimated that livestock agriculture requires approximately ten times the land area than to only grow the same amount of plant Calories.  (Freston)  The greatest factor responsible for clear cutting and burning forests is to create pasture land for farm animals.  Trees and all plants are natural carbon fixers, storing carbon within their trunks and cell structure; burning forests on a large scale only serves to increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Not only does livestock agriculture require more land area but it pollutes that land faster than a human population living within that space.  In the United States alone, 5 million tons of manure is produced each day, more than one hundred times the human population. (Freston) The massive cesspool fields generated by large scale factory farming would not exist if livestock agriculture operated within reasonable limits.

Water:  Livestock agriculture affects the world’s freshwater supply in two ways:  requiring more than what the human population needs and polluting the remaining supply with manure and fertilizer run-off.  According to the National Geographic Society’s special investigation of water, 70% of the freshwater available to humans goes towards plant and livestock agriculture.  Only 1% of freshwater on the planet is even available for human use.  Of the portion set aside for agriculture, the greatest use of freshwater is livestock agriculture.  The average U.S. diet requires 1,320 gallons of water daily to produce and cutting meat consumption in half would reduce that figure by 37% to 832 gallons per day.  Estimates of the volume requirement of water to produce one pound of food stuffs is given in Table 1:  Water Usage Estimates.

Table 1:  Water Usage Estimates

Unit	Food	Water required (gallons)
1 lb	Beef	1799
1lb	Pork	576
1lb	Chicken	468
1lb	Goat	127
1 lb	Cheese	600
1lb	Rice	449
1lb	Soybean	216
1lb	wheat	132
1lb	Potatoe	119
1lb	Corn	108
one	Egg	53
one	Apple	18
one	Orange	13
1 gal.	Coffee	880
1 gal.	Tea	128
1 gal.	Beer	689
1 gal.	Wine	1008
1 gal.	Milk	880

 

Cause/Effect-Global Warming;Slowly But Surely Taking Over the World.

     Global warming, although a slowly progressing process, still poses a threat to the environment in the form of temperature changes.  Even a single degree temperature change can lead to worldly destruction.  It is extremely important that people across the globe learn the real toll global warming takes on our planet, and how the devastating effects will last for many decades to pass until finally Earth becomes unable to provide for the needs of it’s inhabitors.  Something as serious as global warming has been proven over and over again to potentially cause numerous devastating events. Simply put, global warming can no longer be ignored; the human race depends on it.  Although global warming is not an immediate threat, extreme temperature changes cause the environment to become less able to sustain certain species of life because of the spread of climate-sensitive diseases, a decrease in natural habitat,  and an increasing number of weather-related catastrophes.

       Increasing temperatures pose an immense problem when it comes to the topic of climate-sensitive diseases. To begin with, climate-sensitive diseases are diseases in which the temperature affects different variables of the disease such as the spread of the disease, whether or not it is reoccurring, and how long the disease will last.  A typical example of the effect of global warming on a climate-sensitive disease can be demonstrated with influenza.  The flu is generally a winter-existing disease in North America however, in a tropical climate influenza is present all year round.  With minor temperature increases, many areas in North America will have environmental changes quite similar to those of the tropics and thus, influenza all year round!  For the unfortunate souls living in flooded areas, evacuation methods force families into over crowded and unsanitary conditions prone to mold disease carrying insects (Manning 2007).  The more flooding that occurs, the more risk of malaria carried by mosquitos.  In the other corner of the court, drought brings with it many respitory diseases such as asthma due to increasing winds formed over warm bodies of water transporting sand particles caused by the drought as well as large amounts of pollen collected from the augmented plant life (NWF 2011).

     As if health problems wasn’t a big enough problem, global warming is also placing an attack on the environment!  Warming temperatures are melting ice caps and the natural habitat that many species of life thrive in.  Polar bears and penguins are feeling the extreme effects of the melting habitat first hand, but the second hand reprocussions are just as serious.  Melting ice caps are causing the sea level to rise which is putting large amounts of land habitat literally under water (Climate Institute 2010).  Global warming is taking the Earth from one extreme to the other. Drought is causing animal species to migrate to water while flooding is causing many species to migrate to dry land.  Warmer waters are the cause for coral bleaching, which kills the corals.  Coral reefs are a huge part of marine biology, and a habitat to numerous species of fish and other marine life.  Droughts cause byy global warming may dry upwards of ninety percent of the Earth’s wetlands which serve as breeding grounds for migrating animals (NWF 2011).

     Drought in Russia sheds a small amount of light on how serious major natural disasters can truely be.  The heat wave that is currently taking over the Russian climate has cost their citizens at least fifteen-thousand lives and fifteen billion dollars due to the lack of water and the extensive fire damage(Foxx 2010).  The small country of Pakistan has also dealt with serious consequences caused by flooding in the region.  With fifteen hundred lives lost and 3.5 million children facing disease caused by the unsanitary environmental conditions that exist after a flood, people in Pakistan have also paid the ultimate price.  China has spent billions recovering from the flood conditions as well as successfully evacuating their people to safety.  In Guatemala a sinkhole caused by increased precipitation sank a whole entire building (Romm 2011).

     The world is succumbing to the ever changing negative affects that global warming is responsible for.  Until actions are taken to resolve the cause of global warming, the temperature will continue to rise.  A single degree in temperature has the ability to destroy billions of lives.  Global warming may be a slow process, but evolution is an even slower process.  With the Earth unable to sustain life, climate-sensitive diseases, the lack of natural habitat, and the increase in weather-related catastrophes will ultimately lead to the desecration of life as we know it.

     Works Cited

Climate Institute. Human Health. 2007-2010. 11 02 2011 <http://www.climate.org/topics/health.html&gt;.

Foxx, Michael. Weather Catastrophes Linked to Global Warming. 30 09 2010. 11 02 2011 <http://www.guilfordian.com/world-nation/weather-catastrophes-linked-to-global-warming-1.1658838&gt;.

Manning, Anita. USA Today. 23 05 2007. 13 02 2011 <http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-05-22-climate-change_N.htm&gt;.

National Wildlife Federation. Effects on Wildlife and Habitat. 1996-2011. 10 02 2011 <http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Effects-on-Wildlife-and-Habitat.aspx&gt;.

Romm, Joe. Climate Progress. 4 01 2011. 13 02 2011 <http://climateprogress.org/2011/01/04/munich-re-pielke-extreme-weather-damages-climate-change/&gt;.

Cause/Effect- Rough Draft- Conventional Farming: a Lead Contributor to Global Warming Emissions.

With the increasing popularity of the negative topic of global warming and its emissions that are taking its toll on our environment today, many are becoming strongly concerned with the causes of these emissions and the procedures that can be taken to decrease them. According to Freston (2007), the United Nations published a report regarding the environment and found that almost one fifth of global warming emissions is due to livestock. Livestock is included in the practice of conventional farming which together are leading contributors in the epidemic our environment is currently battling. Walsh (2009) states that “less than 1% of American cropland is farmed organically.” Although organic food is more expensive than conventional food, conventional farming causes most of today’s global warming emissions because of the livestock being used to produce the food, their digestive processes and manure, and the vast quantities of land being used for its process. Examining all of these subjects that underlie conventional farming is critical, as understanding these subjects will give rise to opportunity to correct these methods that are causing the detrimental effects on our environment.

All subjects underlying conventional farming tie into one main topic that ultimately influence the rest, this topic being livestock. Today’s demand of meat has grown over the past decades and continues to grow at an increasingly high rate. With the increase in demand, there must be an increase in the livestock to meet and fulfill these demands. Along with the increase in the livestock comes an increase in many other factors that ultimately have an effect on our environment. Growing livestock for food purposes ultimately feeds our population; however, what feeds the food that is feeding us? The answer is quite simple, crops. The more numerous our livestock becomes ultimately calls for a higher production of crops. Once the livestock consumes enough crops and reaches a perfect weight to fulfill its purpose, it then requires transportation. First the animals are transported to slaughterhouses where they are killed and then are transported across the country. According to Freston (2007), this whole process burns a large amount of fossil fuels and produces a vast amount of the “heat-trapping carbon dioxide,” which all contribute to the high rising global warming emissions.

Along with the requirements and demands of the livestock and some of its processes effects, there is another detrimental effect of livestock that commonly goes unnoticed. As a result of feeding the livestock enough crop to fulfill its purpose, there is a large amount of manure that must be handled on each farm. Freston (2007) states that five million tons of manure a day is produced from the livestock, which is far more than our land can naturally absorb. Extremely strong greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitric oxide, result from the manure and are released into the air and become lead contributors in global warming emissions. So not only are harmful gases like carbon dioxide resulting from conventional farming and its tactics, but there are also many other gases that are also being released and contributing to the epidemic.

As these are some of the underlying issues of conventional farming, it is critical to acknowledge that all of these require a vast use of land. The crops being grown to feed the livestock and the animals having adequate space to live is demanding most of our earth’s land. In fact, most of the land that is being used was not readily available and had to be prepared prior to conventional farms inhibiting it. Farming is a main cause of deforestation. Since forests absorb carbon dioxide from the air, when deforestation occurs and these forests are burned, all the absorbed carbon dioxide is then released and contribute to global warming emissions. Freston (2007) acknowledges that animal agriculture takes up 70% of all agricultural land. In regards to the entire planet, it acquires 30% of the total land. With such a large percent of the land being used for farming, and keeping in mind that less than 1% of our land is being used for organic farming, it is clear that most of the land being used is practicing conventional farming.

Conventional farming is literally bankrupting the earth and contributing to a vast amount of the global warming emissions. After examining the process required in raising and killing livestock for food, the results of the livestock’s natural daily life and the excessive amount of land being used to raise the livestock on; it is clear that conventional farming is extremely detrimental to our environment. With the increasing concern for the safety of our environment, examining conventional farming and its practice is critical to begin the process of rebuilding our planet. Organic farming is a far more safe practice for our environment, and since conventional farming is clearly adding to the breakdown of our environment, should be highly considered in order to reduce the outrageous amount of global warming emissions being produced from conventional farming and its practice.

Works Cited

Freston, Kathy. (2007, January 18). Vegetarian is the New Prius. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegetarian-is-the-new-pri_b_39014.html

Walsh, Brian. (2009, August 21). Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food. Time Inc. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html

 

Book Review – Rough Draft – Wealth and Liquidity

The very air that the reader is breathing is saturated with moisture that may eventually fall to earth as rain, leading to the reinvigoration of the earth.  The Blue Covenant reaches out to every human on this earth with the hope that humans will be able to let this process forever occur.  The destruction of forests, wetlands, and the overconsumption of liquid resources has sadly led to the very opposite of this goal.  Every year the earth grows drier because the water cycle process continues to be hampered by the damage to the very mechanisms that allow it to work.  People are drilling the deepest aquifers, moving massive amounts of water, examining the most advanced and robust water filtering technology as a way to delay the inevitable.  Although many politicians say that there is no fear for lack of water, Maude Barlow, author of Blue Covenant, makes the claim that time and water are running out and I agree because the government, private corporations, and public ignorance allow it to occur.

The water of this earth is a precious resource and one that needs to be carefully preserved and protected.  The United States government does not do this; instead, it denies the reality that potable water is very scarce.  What many countries in Africa and in South America have said for decades, the United States still denies.  In Africa the average person will use around seventy times less water a day than the American counterpart (Blue Covenant ).  This difference in wealth is a major cause of concern and of division, as the more wealthy citizens of the world grow ever further from those that are less fortunate.  The problem will not be solved anytime in the foreseeable future; the United States has cut much of the budget to the investigation of water practices and is continuing to expand the industrialization of national parklands (Blue Covenant).  Although America is a catalyst to the problem, it is not alone; Australia also denies that it has a problem yet the droughts in Australia continue to worsen as they have done for over a decade.  This damage to the earth is also increased due to governments that are willing to work hand in hand with private corporations that often make the regional water conditions worse while at the same time coercing the less fortunate to accept the less than ideal privatization.

The private corporations are poised to take control of the wealthy nation’s water resources whilst they openly drain a weaker nation’s health.  The countries that have taken the private contracts are almost always less well off than with the original public water system that was initially in place.  Many of these countries do not wish for the privatization of their water, but cannot receive a loan from the World Bank for the country owned public water.  Why, one may wonder, is this?  It is because the World Bank has judged that the profits and repayment of the original loan are better and higher in likelihood with privatization than with public control, thus undermining the very choice of the country (Water Resources Management).  Maude Barlow directly cites the sources of her information into her book so that the reader can find out how badly the decision making process is usurped by the World Bank.  The country is then forced to subvert its choice and can only take the remaining option that exists for its people, which is to make the water and the system that controls it private.  Worse yet, these corporations that make massive profits are limited in liability and can and have left the country struggling with little or no repercussions.  The dangers that the small countries face are the same issues that America faces, except America has a mindset that water is infinite and no idea the takeover by corporations.

The general public does not know about these issues, because big money and big government are obscuring the reality.  The citizens in water dry regions know of the problem, but often the water is very restricted and the citizens outside of that region do not share their concern.  Maude makes her claim that the source of all these issues is from the overuse of water, namely brought on by the government and corporations.  While these do cause the lack of water and damage to the earth, the real reason water will increase in scarcity is that poor preservation, greed, and too many humans exist for water to be safeguarded.  The appeal that Maude makes is for the future of the earth and the future of the reader.  Water is essential to life on earth and the practices of the world are leaving a tremendous devastation on the planet, especially the water cycle.  The water cycle depends on the perspiration of plants in order for water to be quickly evaporated.  If the average person in America does not realize that the local environment directly effects their local humidity and rain, it is unlikely that positive reform will occur.

The destruction of earths water continues today as it has for the last few decades, the only noticeable difference is that the rate of destruction has increased.  With modern engineering mind boggling amounts of liquid can be rerouted each second of every day, the glaciers ransacked, and large forests driven under in a day.  The damage to the earth is extensive and horrific, but it has not yet reached the point that it cannot be stopped; the choices that are made each day effect how the earth, and humans, will fare.  Maude makes emotional and logical appeals that the reader will modify her habits and inform others of the damage to the earth.  After the book is read, it is impossible to not admit that the water system has failed in certain aspects and that the way Americans look at water issues are naïve and overly optimistic.  The practices of using water for whatever suits our purpose will someday cease to be reality if water and the related practices are not modified for the better of the environment.  The way the government and the people pretend that there is nothing to fear will only worsen the crushing tsunami of depravation when this falsehood is removed.

Research Topic Proposal and Outline: Its Our Fault

Although cars may serve as great transportation, they are bad for the environment because of the air pollution they emit, which turns into green house gases, and adds to global warming which are all reasons why we should find less harmful ways of transportation.

1.    How cars create air pollution:

    a) How engines work,

     b) How the gas goes through the engine,

     c) How it goes from the engine into the atmosphere, becoming air pollution

2) The affect air pollution has on the environment

      a) How it affects the air we breath

      b) How it affects the plants

      c) How it affects the animals

3) The bigger affects of air pollution

       a) Local effects

       b) Regional effects

       c) Global effects

4) What we can do to reduce air pollution

Research proposal and outline: Renewable Energy

People have been aware of alternative energy sources for a very long time.  Even though wind, solar, and hydropower energy sources are infinite, we tend to want to stick with non-renewable pollutants such as coal and oil for our primary sources of energy.  Not only would it be much more affordable if people switched to alternative energy sources, but it would also take away the heavy toll that our environment has had to pay because of our addiction to coal and oil.  Sure, it took us a little bit longer to discover that there are abundant sources of renewable energy, and it took us even longer do discover that we can use them to replace the burning of fuels that cause considerable amounts of pollution, but that doesn’t mean that we have to ignore them completely.  Now is the time for a change of pace.  If we do not start using renewable energy sources for more than we are now, the damage could be irreversible.

Outline:

1. Non-renewable energy

• Coal
• Oil
• Environmental impacts

1. Renewable/infinite energy

• Wind power
• Solar power
• Hydropower
• Environmental impacts

1. Comparing the two, pros and cons

• Are coal and oil better in some cases?
• Why would renewable energy be better?

1. Why we need to replace non-renewable with renewable

• Why it’s better for people
• Why it’s better for the environment

1. Conclusion

 

(No matter what I did it numbered all of my outline points as “1”, there are 5 points but I couldn’t fix it)

 

Research Proposal and Outline: Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods are becoming common in our grocery stores; these foods, although controversial, are made with certain traits that are helpful to people and the environment. What makes this so controversial is whether it is ethical to alter a species genetically.  In fact a large percentage of the food we consume has been genetically modified, especially fruits and vegetables.  These products are not harmful to humans, they are altered to increase size, provide non pesticide insect repellent, or increase growth rate and can be used in animals as well as plants.   These foods tend to be less expensive then organic products and still have the same flavor.  As the technology to produce these foods increases we are sure to see an increase in the number of genetically altered products sold and consumed.

Outline

I. Types of GMFs

a.     Fruit and vegetables

b.     Animals

c.     Other products

 

II. Pros and cons

a.    Cross breading

 

III. Benefits

1. Increase harvest
2. Increased size
3. Insecticides
4. Other benefits

 

IV. Environmental impacts

 

V. Effects on humans

 

VI. Ethical Issues

1. Right or wrong

 

VII. Conclusion