Geography 5 Week 7 Lecture 11 Energy The Science Politics of Global Warming Environmental Impacts of Agriculture 1 Soil Erosion Wind Water Air Quality Plowing soil erosion Slash Burning soil erosion Overgrazing 2 Declining Soil Fertility Caused by soil erosion Leeching Crop Removal Leeching in wet areas tropical areas Some Strategies to Combat Declining Soil Fertility o Fallowing The practice of leaving a field idle for a period Builds up nutrients and moisture for the next crop o Crop Rotation Nitrogen fixers 3 Habitat Change Reduced Biodiversity Mono cropping single crops are grown in one area ex cornfields for miles big issue in agriculture Simplified Morphological Structure o Planting in Rows o Complex Layered Hydrological Changes o Irrigation Dams Ground Water etc o Where are they taking the water from and how will that impact the environment 4 Fertilizers Eutrophication Related to fertilizer use Eutrophication Heavy use of Fertilizers Livestock Manure Nutrients enter Water Bodies Increased Algae Growth Algae Die Decompose DeOxygenation of Water Dead Zones Fish and other types of aquatic life need oxygen e g The Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay e g The Growing Dead Zone in Gulf of Mexico China has serious problems with Eutrophication 5 Pollution from Pesticides Herbicides Kills many beneficial insects too Alternatives to Pesticides and Herbicides Pesticides are best for pests o Biological Control Uses biological predators to control pests e g Ladybugs e g Wasps help to control pests in the environment Integrated Pest Management IPM o Developed and under developed worlds o Use Biological Controls Pesticides as well as Altered Management Techniques etc o Goal is Management of Pests not Eradication o Spreading fast Globally leading to production increases Organic Agriculture o Produced without Pesticides Herbicides or Hormones o Usually Expensive 6 Air Pollution Green House Gases Fossil Fuel Use Livestock Agriculture produces 9 of CO2 37 of CH4 emissions o methane is a potent green house gas Energy and the Environment Rapid increase in Global Energy Use Coal is our savor in solving our energy crisis o huge reserves of coal worldwide World Energy Consumption by Country Major Sources Of Energy Petroleum Coal Oil Petroleum Location of World Proven Oil Reserves in Billions of Barrels o 1 Middle East 686 Saudi Arabia Iran Iraq Kuwait o 2 South and Central America 99 Venezuela Mexico Brazil Mexico is running out of oil o 3 Europe and Eurasia 98 Siberia North Sea o 4 Africa 77 Nigeria o 5 North America 50 Alaska Canada o 6 Asia Pacific 39 Indonesia o Found most at Geologically Young Plate Margins o Oil Production US 2002 Out of Mexico 27 Texas 20 Alaska 17 California 12 Most of oil in the US is from Venezuela and Canada some from Nigeria A crisis of Supply on the Horizon o Proven reserves 1 trillion barrels 3 miles with new tech o World Consumption is about 27 billion barrels a year 74 million a day o Some experts say o Global Production to Peak between 2020 and 2050 others say it already has o USA will run about by about 2090 o World Pesticides Crude Oil Prices Fuel Efficiency Environmental Impacts of Oil Recovery stage o Physical infrastructure o Leakage o Air Pollution o land subsidence o toxic heavy metals o Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 1989 Alaska s Prince William Sound o Use Stage Air Pollution Burning of Gasoline accounts for 60 of US air pollution Gasoline accounts for 25 Coal World Coal supplies in billion of tons o Europe and Eurasia 355 o Asia Pacific 293 China o North America 258 o Africa 55 o South and Central America 22 o Middle East 2 Younger type of process Found in different places than oil Formed from peat bogs that are subsequently by water and sediment Cyclothems o Organic matter accumulate in a coastal swamp o Transgression of sea over coastal Carboniferous Period 360 million yrs Ago Classified by its energy and sulfur content o USA coal is low sulfur coal Coal accounts for nearly 90 of the fossil fuel reserves in the USA Most of the US s electricity Coal is mostly used where it s found China relies heavily on Coal for energy o 70 of China s energy comes from coal Environmental Impacts o Extraction Strip Minding Habitat Underground Fires o e g Centralia Pennsylvania o Been Burring since 1916 U Surge o Accounts for all Acid Rain byproduct of coal Natural gas methane pipelines will be continued in Thursday s lecture