AP Environmental Science

Food and Water Resources - chapter 13 and 14

Earth trends - look up data and country-by-country comparisons on agriculture, food, and water

UN Agriculture and Food program

Mapping food and water use trends

I. Food production (fig. 13-4)

A. Industrialized agriculture

B. Plantation agriculture

C. Traditional subsistence agriculture

D. Traditional labor-intensive agriculture

E. Agricultural types vary in their fuel, land, and labor requirements

F. Animal farming requires large fuel costs (fig. 14-6)

II. Food production improvements in the past 100 years – the “green revolutions”

A. monocultures of high-yield varieties and high pesticide/fertilizer use raised crop yields starting in the 50s

B. a second revolution involved higher-yield rice and wheat in tropical climates

C. in the US and other industrialized countries, farming has changed from a family operation to a large business. Farming requires large energy inputs (fig. 13-7)

D. grain production has flattened in recent years, especially when calculated per capita (fig. 13-17)

E. genetic engineering (fig. 13-19) could provide the next revolutionary boost

III. Challenges to agricultural production

A. malnutrition and under-nutrition are linked to poverty (fig. 13-2 and 13-3)

B. over-nutrition plagues the developed world

C. environmental challenges include pollution (esp. pesticides), loss of biodiversity, desertification, salinization, erosion, and human health (fig. 13-18)

    1. Soil erosion is caused by water, wind, and people

    2. some areas are dealing with serious erosion issues (fig. 13-10)

    3. The Dust Bowl provides an example of what can happen

    4. Desertification - fig. 13-11 and 13-12

    5. Salinization - fig. 13-13 and 13-14

    6. Excess fertilizers ("nutrients") | see what an agricultural trade group has to say about fertilzers

D. the warming climate will have some positive and some negative impacts on agriculture

IV. Potential solutions

    A. advantages and possible disadvantages of genetically-engineered foods (fig. 13-19 and discussion p. 287-288)

B. expanding to new food sources (p. 288)

C. increased irrigation could help; improved efficiency is more promising (14-18)

D. increased land cultivation is unlikely to be a wise choice

E. increased meat production faces significant challenges

1. much of the BLM-managed resources lands and also National Forest lands in the West are now dedicated to grazing

2. over-grazing is a serious problem

3. intensive livestock raising creates pollution issues (fig. 13-21) and requires large grain inputs (fig. 13-22)

4. Some research is being done on "in-vitro meat" - protein-rich food grown in culture, in a lab

        F. improved management of fisheries is needed

    1. many fisheries are severely depleted (fig 13-23)

    2. aquaculture could help but has drawbacks (fig. 13-24)

        G. components of a sustainable agricultural system are listed on p. 293 and 301-303; also fig. 13-33, 34, 35

V. Pesticides

A. Overview of pesticide types and uses
 

1. natural pest control in ecosystems

2. 1st-generation pesticides

3. 2nd-generation pesticides, starting with DDT

4. examples of the major types

B. Benefits of pesticides – p. fig. 13-28

C. Negatives of pesticide use – fig. 13-28 and p. 297-298

D. Regulation of pesticides in the US - FIFRA | more

E. Other methods of pest regulation

1. biological control

2. other methods listed p. 300-301

3. Integrated pest management (IPM)

Chapter 14 – Water resources

I. Water availability, use, and shortages

A. How much of the world’s water is available? See p. 306

B. Water sources

1. surface water - watersheds

2. groundwater/aquifers – fig. 14-3

C. How do we use water? | more at this link

D. shortages

1. US areas with shortage – fig. 14-4 and 14-5

2. worldwide shortages and pollution stress on water – fig. 14-6

II. Obtaining water – problems and solutions

A. purifying freshwater sources

B. dams and reservoirs

1. advantages and disadvantages – fig. 14-13 (more in chap 12)

2. case studies of dams – Colorado River | another link | and another (fig. 14-14 and case study p. 318-19); Three Gorges Dam  | more info | satellite photos (p. 319); Aswan Dam (case study)

C. water transfers – between watersheds

1. examples - California (fig. 15-13) and Quebec (fig. 15-14)

2. a major disaster – Aral Sea in central Asia – case study p. 321-322; fig. 14-17 | July 2007 WaPo article on partial recovery

D. tapping groundwater

1. water table can become lower with over-use (fig. 14-10)

2. saltwater intrusion can result from overdrawn aquifers in coastal areas – fig. 14-11

E. towing water (icebergs) and cloud seeding (p. 323)

F. desalinization

1. methods – p. 323

2. drawbacks – expense and waste

G. water conservation

1. improved irrigation (fig. 14-18 and 14-19)

2. solutions for businesses and homes (fig. 14-21)

3. xeriscaping – appropriate landscaping for the surrounding environment

4. summary of a solutions and what you can do – fig. 14-25

H. Too much water can be an issue as well

1. building on floodplains and wetlands – fig. 14-23

2. cleared hillsides – fig. 14-23; also deforestation in general

3. hurricanes and flooding - Hurricane Katrina