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Tragedy of the Commons is the title of an article written by Garrett Hardin. In summary, it discusses the population problem. One of the key points suggested from the article is that individuals will share common resources for their own benefit and not consider the common good for all people who use the resource. Such a resource may be a common area of land or the ocean. The oceans are often seen as the world's largest commons.  It is hard to regulate fishing practices conducted in international waters.  This often leads to some individuals or groups of individuals taking more than their share. In the case of fishing, this translates to taking as much as possible as fast as possible and is the result of almost all fishers being in decline or crashing.

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The Green Revolution started in the late 1960’s focusing on increasing agriculture production.  One of the leaders was Norman Borlaug, often called the “Father of the Green Revolution,” who is credited for saving over a billion people from starvation.  He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for using new technologies to create high-yielding varieties of wheat and other grain plants. This shift in agricultural practices has had positive impacts, but the strategies and practices have raised new concerns. The use of GMO (genetically modified organisms) plants, new fertilizers, pesticides, and advances in irrigation are some of the new strategies being implemented today that created new challenges. These challenges include pesticides killing good insects for agriculture and harming other wildlife.

Increased farming modernization includes more reliance on petroleum-based fuels, but it has led to increased profits and efficiency. Also, the modernization of farming is a concern because the traditional “family farms” are vanishing.

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Spray Irrigation: Water is distributed and sprayed over the field from a central location. This method is more efficient than flood irrigation because it requires less water and a lot less water is lost to evaporation or runoff.   Flood Irrigation: Is a type of surface irrigation. Water is dumped onto the land and distributed all over the field.  Furrow: This Is a type of surface irrigation that uses trenches that are dug between rows of crops. Furrow irrigation is inexpensive and there is some water loss. Drip: A localized irrigation system that conserves water and distributes water close to the plant roots. Drip irrigation uses a hose with holes in it and is by far the most efficient way to irrigate but it is the most costly as well. Salinization: A process by which salt remains in the soil after the water evaporates.  This salt buildup overtime is toxic to plants. Monitoring your soil, maintaining proper vegetation and the utilization of proper irrigation techniques for the soil conditions help reduce the chances of salinization occurring.

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One method of meat production uses the concept of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). This method of industrial farming is a very intensive and concentrated animal feeding operation. The animals are all very close together. CAFOs are classified by the type and how many animals are in the area and by the ways waste or pollution enters the water supply. Free-range is another method of meat production.  The animals have access to pasture areas all the time. The animals are able to move and roam around without being confined 24/7 like CAFO farming. These animals are not fenced in and are able to roam and graze freely. Overgrazing: this occurs when animals consume plants faster than they can regrow, this can lead to vegetation loss and increased soil erosion. Overgrazing can lead to desertification. Desertification occurs in dry areas with low precipitation and depleted water supplies. Overfishing is a major problem today. It is estimated by some that at least ⅓ of the world’s fisheries are in trouble.  Simply put, overfishing is catching way too many fish at one time. This depletes the populations so much that the breeding population left cannot reproduce enough fish to maintain the fish population.

Also, overfishing tends to be wasteful.  Unwanted fish are often just thrown away and not returned to the water, and this decreases these unwanted fish populations too.

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Mining is the extraction or removal of minerals or material that is considered to be valuable and useful. Mining materials are used to obtain construction materials for roads, to generate electricity, and many other items. Mining is extremely important to the economy for many states and countries. Surface mining is the process of removing the soil and rocks to remove the mineral or ore.  Surface mining is often used when there is very little ore in the rock and a lot of rock needs to be processed to obtain the ore.  The rock and soil removed over the ore is called overburden. There are three types of surface mining: open pit mining, strip mining and mountaintop removal. Mining waste is produced during the extraction of minerals or ore.  These waste products are called slag or more commonly tailings. Mining is an industry that is important for the economy for many states and has helped provide low cost fossil fuels for energy.

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Introduction to sustainable practices including crop rotation and aquaculture

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Introduction to sustainable practices including crop rotation and aquaculture

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One way includes contour plowing. Contour plowing, follows the natural contours of the land when plowing to reduce environmental impact. No-till agriculture is a type of farming that is used in soils that are dryer and have more sand.  Using this strategy, very little soil preparation or tilling is done and reduces the erosion from this type of farming. Windbreaks or shelterbelts is another strategy used for improving sustainable agriculture. Using this technique, farmers would plant several rows of trees or shrubs intermixed with the crops to reduce erosion from the wind.  Sometimes these rows of trees or bushes are planted on the outside of the farmland and are called hedgerows. Terracing is a farming practice used to cut out flat sections within hilly areas.  If you see this type of farming from the air, it will look like a series of steps. This practice helps reduce soil loss and erosion in hilly areas. Strip farming is done when a series of long rows that are alternated with areas that are not planted. This is a technique used in crop rotation. A way to improve the health of the soil and fertility is to add green manure. In this strategy, farmers allow last year’s crop parts to decompose and help provide nutrients to the soil.  Rotating crops also helps improve the health of the soil, and addinglimestone helps add important minerals like Calcium (Ca) and increases the pH.

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Human beings alter the environment when humans utilize any natural resources.  An ecological footprint measures how much “nature” it takes to support human beings (people) and or an economy (production, trade and exchange of goods and services, etc.). It is a measure of the biological impact humans have on the land and water while producing goods and providing services.

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Pesticides: Any substances used to “control” different types of pests. These “pests” include plants and animals. Four common types of pesticides include herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides and insecticides.

Herbicide: A substance that is toxic to plants often used to kill off unwanted plants or vegetation. Herbicides can be designed to be selective or non-selective. Selective herbicides are designed to kill specific kinds of vegetation and non-selective herbicides kill all plants. One “herbicide” that has been in the news recently you may have heard about is Roundup. Monsanto is a company that makes Roundup and the ingredient glyphosate has been linked to cancer in humans.

Fungicides: Chemicals or biological organisms (biofungicides) that are used to kill parasitic fungi and their spores. A fungicide purpose is to inhibit growth. A fungus (fungi) can cause severe problems due to the loss of viable crops. Free living bacteria or fungi can be biofungicides.

Rodenticides: Pesticides used to kill rodents. Rats, mice, squirrels and porcupines are examples of rodents. Some rodenticides are lethal and others may require more than one exposure.

Insecticides: Substances that kill insects. Different types of insecticides can be used to repel insects and be tracked back to their nest, like an ant. These chemicals often kill organisms indiscriminately and end up killing ‘good’ insects accidentally. Bee populations are in collapse globally due to exposure to insecticides.