Land & Water Use
Agriculture, forestry, mining, fishing and global economics
Article 1: Oklahoma Sets Water Conservation Goal
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/8/12582310/7399465.jpeg?263)
Summary: The Oklahoma state Legislature and other politicians are not concerned as much about global warming (like California) as they are about conserving water while they develop communities, electricity, and energy. An Oklahoma law suggests that their state as a whole consume no more water in 2060 than it does now. A drought in 2011 highlighted the urgency of this concern. The western half of the state is water-poor and that is where problems are likely to occur. Oklahoma is concerned about future generations. In order to cut back on water use, it is necessary to
cut back on agriculture and municipal and industrial water use. Water agencies will have to ask their customers to buy less water to ration it out. Oklahoma, known to have anti-environmental credentials, is now showing environmental concern about water use which sets them ahead of California, although they are known to have green credentials.
Reflection: The importance of water conservation was a fairly new issue to me. It's interesting that water is such a huge part of global sustainability. and that drought and water usage in general can have a huge effect on communities and the environment. I was impressed with how responsible and proactive the Oklahoma legislature has been in setting specific water conservation goals. It would be great if more states were similarly concerned. It was not clear to me from the article, however, why Oklahoma would be considered to be overtaking California with its environmental record as a result of taking water conservation measures.
Source: New York Times
cut back on agriculture and municipal and industrial water use. Water agencies will have to ask their customers to buy less water to ration it out. Oklahoma, known to have anti-environmental credentials, is now showing environmental concern about water use which sets them ahead of California, although they are known to have green credentials.
Reflection: The importance of water conservation was a fairly new issue to me. It's interesting that water is such a huge part of global sustainability. and that drought and water usage in general can have a huge effect on communities and the environment. I was impressed with how responsible and proactive the Oklahoma legislature has been in setting specific water conservation goals. It would be great if more states were similarly concerned. It was not clear to me from the article, however, why Oklahoma would be considered to be overtaking California with its environmental record as a result of taking water conservation measures.
Source: New York Times
Article 2: Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
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Summary: Agriculture and land use is a big environmental issue: with population and global wealth continuing to grow, more food needs to be produced without damaging the environment. How to resolve this problem of feeding the world and sustaining the planet is the subject of major debate. Even today many people remain hungry. Due to population growth and global diets we may need to produce twice as much food as we do now, but doing so would result in major environmental consequences. Arable land is available in forest areas such as the great rain forests of South America and Asia but adds too much carbon to the atmosphere, so we need to learn how to better use the land we already have, in under-performing regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe. The American Midwest is an example of where the Green Revolution is used to supercharge farming but must be balanced because it also comes at the expense of the environment. Going organic has been known to not be a successful way to go as well. However, "terraculture" might be the most helpful way to go (farming done with the planet in mind) - taking the best of both conventional and organic agriculture.
Reflection: One thing that I learned from reading the article is that the deforestation and degradation of the environment that tend to go hand in hand with farming help make agriculture the single biggest source of manmade greenhouse gases, more than industry or transportation or electricity generation. It was also surprising to read that most of the grain grown in developed nations goes to feed domesticated animals rather than human beings. I learned that the West is unhealthily overfed and that it's good for the planet to eat less meat. I thought was interesting that 40% of the dry land on the planet is used for farming; we use 60 times more land to grow and raise food than we do to live on.
Source: Time Magazine
Reflection: One thing that I learned from reading the article is that the deforestation and degradation of the environment that tend to go hand in hand with farming help make agriculture the single biggest source of manmade greenhouse gases, more than industry or transportation or electricity generation. It was also surprising to read that most of the grain grown in developed nations goes to feed domesticated animals rather than human beings. I learned that the West is unhealthily overfed and that it's good for the planet to eat less meat. I thought was interesting that 40% of the dry land on the planet is used for farming; we use 60 times more land to grow and raise food than we do to live on.
Source: Time Magazine
Vocabulary
Irrigation: to supply water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels
Green Revolution: a large increase in crop production in developing countries achieved by the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crop varieties
GM crops: organisms whose genetic characteristics have been altered by the insertion of a modified gene or a gene from another organism using the techniques of genetic engineering
"Terraculture": farming done with the planet in mind
(Aquatic) dead zones: low-oxygen areas in the world's oceans and large lakes, caused by "excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water (NOAA)
Source: Dictionary.com
Irrigation: to supply water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels
Green Revolution: a large increase in crop production in developing countries achieved by the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crop varieties
GM crops: organisms whose genetic characteristics have been altered by the insertion of a modified gene or a gene from another organism using the techniques of genetic engineering
"Terraculture": farming done with the planet in mind
(Aquatic) dead zones: low-oxygen areas in the world's oceans and large lakes, caused by "excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water (NOAA)
Source: Dictionary.com
Article 3: Overfished and under-protected: Oceans on the brink of catastrophic collapse
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/8/12582310/1100717.jpg)
Summary: This article describes the ocean as a "forgotten world." Many people are not aware of these environmental issues because they occur below the ocean surface where humans rarely venture. Overfishing is considered to be one of the greatest threats to oceans and the aquatic ecosystems that live in them. The Census of Marine Life revealed that 90% of big fish that disappeared from the world's oceans were victims of overfishing. Humans unsustainably catch fish which is dangerous because it decreases biodiversity and wipes out populations of fish. In some cases, the collapse has effected entire fisheries. Marine biologist Callum Roberts says, "...we need one [a marine environment] with a variety of species, that is going to be more resistant to the conditions we can expect from climate change." Bottom-trawling, in particular, has been shown to cause some of the worst and most unnecessary damage. This type of fishing causes irreversible damage to coral reefs and slow-growing fish species. This is dangerous because these fish take decades to reach maturity and therefore cannot replenish their populations quickly.
Reflection: As Alex Rogers, professor of conservation biology at Oxford University, says, "There's a real lack of public and political awareness of these issues." I think that environmental issues that occur below the ocean surface need to be advertised more so that humans are more aware of what is going on. Because oceans make up 90% of the living volume of the planet and provide homes for over a million species, it is important for humans to be aware of the problems that are occurring in oceans across the globe. Also, some fishermen may not realize that they are depleting fish unsustainably. Since this is considered to be such a big threat, fishermen need to be aware of and monitor the amount of fish they are taking out of the ocean.
Source: CNN
Reflection: As Alex Rogers, professor of conservation biology at Oxford University, says, "There's a real lack of public and political awareness of these issues." I think that environmental issues that occur below the ocean surface need to be advertised more so that humans are more aware of what is going on. Because oceans make up 90% of the living volume of the planet and provide homes for over a million species, it is important for humans to be aware of the problems that are occurring in oceans across the globe. Also, some fishermen may not realize that they are depleting fish unsustainably. Since this is considered to be such a big threat, fishermen need to be aware of and monitor the amount of fish they are taking out of the ocean.
Source: CNN