Agriculture and Water

1
Agriculture and Water

• With news reports, rampant pollution and who can
  forget the Gulf oil spill, we must beg the
  question Whats in the water?

2
First How much water is there to go around?

• About 70 of the earth's surface is covered in
  water. But water also exists in the air as vapour
  and in aquifers in the soil, as
  groundwater.Read more http//www.lenntech.com
  /water-quantity-faq.htmixzz0ptm1VA27

3
How much water is consumable for living creatures?

• Freshwater accounts for only 2.5 of the Earths
  water, and most of it is frozen in glaciers and
  ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is
  mainly found as groundwater, with only a small
  fraction present above ground or in the air.
• (GreenFacts, 2008)

4
How much of 2.5 is not polluted?

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v_R_vpNQ0fJcfeature
  player_embedded
• This may be the case in some underdeveloped
  countries and sectors of the world. . .
• But what about the United States?
• Why do we have a clean water supply?

5
Clean Water and the U.S.

• The summer of '69 was a turning point in
  American attitudes about water pollution, thanks
  largely to a fire that broke out on the Cuyahoga
  River in Cleveland, Ohio.
• President Richard Nixon founded the EPA a few
  months later, and the first Earth Day was held
  the next April. Within five years, the Clean
  Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act were both
  signed into law.
• (Mother Nature Network, 2010)

6
Earth Day

• Annual celebration honouring the achievements of
  the environmental movement and raising awareness
  of the importance of long-term ecological
  sustainability. Earth Day is celebrated in the
  United States on April 22 throughout the rest of
  the world it is celebrated on either April 22 or
  the day the vernal equinox occurs.

7
We know we strive for clean water, but do we
actually drink clean water?

• What about pollution?
• Does industry pollute the earths freshwater?
• Does agriculture pollute the freshwater supply?
• Thoughts. . .
• Discuss. . .

8
Groundwater Contamination

• Is the use of agricultural pesticides
  contaminating our groundwater?
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vOZrQPFxdViINR1
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vgwCqWrGVT20NR1
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vKtzMXsttX84feature
  related

9
Atrazine

• The Facts
• Atrazine is a product utilized in the production
  of corn, grain sorghum and sugar cane.
• The herbicide is produced by the Agricultural
  company- Syngenta.

10
Benefits to Farmers

• Farmers utilize atrazine due to its ability to
  control weeds and its residual effect.
• Residual means that the chemical should last for
  the duration of crops growing season.
• Spray once- last for the Summer.

11
Lets Hear What Syngenta has to Say

• Benefits
• A study evaluating the impact of atrazine on
  corn yields showed that during the 20-year period
  from 1986 to 2005, the average corn yield was 5.1
  percent higher with atrazine than without.
• (Atrazine, 2010)

12
Economical, Effective Weed Control

• The U.S. EPA estimates that farming without
  atrazine could cost corn growers 28 per acre due
  to yield loss and the use of more expensive
  herbicides.
• (Atrazine, 2010)

13
Do The Math

• 28.00 More for a farmer who has planted 1000
  acres will cost him
• 1000 Acres
• X 28.00
• 28,000 Input Costs to prevent Weed Invasion
• Thats the cost of a decent vehicle
• Family Expenses, etc.

14
For a Larger Farmer

• 28.00 More for a farmer who has planted 5000
  acres will cost him
• 5000 Acres
• X 28.00
• 140,000
• That is the cost of a nice farm house.

15
A Point to Consider

• While farmers are striving to provide the food,
  clothing and shelter needs of people, worldwide,
  is it possible that they and their families could
  get the short end of the stick from a monetary
  perspective?
• For what cause Stricter Regulations.
• The real question is, are the regulations
  warranted?
• What do you think? Discuss. . .

16
Less Soil Erosion

• Conservation Tillage- (No till or Minimum Tillage
  farming)
• Atrazine is a very popular tool for use in
  conservation tillage or no-till systems farming
  methods that eliminate plowing and/or reduce
  tillage. Conservation tillage makes cropland much
  less vulnerable to soil erosion, which is reduced
  by as much as 90 percent when compared to
  intensive tillage.
• (Atrazine, 2010)

17
Thus

• We have an issue. . .
• We can see that Atrazine is very beneficial for
  corn production.
• However,
• We do see too, that it may be hazardous to
  hormonal functions in nature and in people.
• What do you think?
• Discuss. . .

18
Works Cited

• http//www.greenfacts.org/en/water-resources/
• http//www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle
  -sam/stories/how-polluted-is-us-drinking-water
  4/23/2010
• http//www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/903504/E
  arth-Day