1.Most of the livestock in North America is grown in concentrated animal feeding
ID: 116032 • Letter: 1
Question
1.Most of the livestock in North America is grown in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). CAFOs were developed in order to be able to produce meat for a rapidly growing population. However, CAFOs have caused many environmental challenges. List two environmental challenges/effects caused by our society’s use of CAFOs:
2.In developed countries, the most recent increases in agricultural productivity have come from an increase in irrigation, increased fertilization, and new crop varieties. List two of the challenges we already face in parts of the United States due to our unsustainable use of water for irrigation:
3.Based on what you have learned about conventional/industrial agriculture discuss three environmental challenges we know face due to our excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers. Discuss three challenges that have not been mentioned in the previous questions:
Explanation / Answer
1)
The increased clustering and growth of CAFOs has led to growing environmental problems in many communities. The excess production of manure and problems with storage or manure management can affect ground and surface water quality. Emissions from degrading manure and livestock digestive processes produce air pollutants that often affect ambient air quality in communities surrounding CAFOs. CAFOs can also be the source of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change.
All of the environmental problems with CAFOs have direct impact on human health and welfare for communities that contain large industrial farms. Human health can suffer because of contaminated air and degraded water quality, or from diseases spread from farms. Quality of life can suffer because of odours or insect vectors surrounding farms, and property values can drop, affecting the financial stability of a community. 82.8% of those living near and 89.5% of those living far from CAFOs believed that their property values decreased, and 92.2% of those living near and 78.9% of those living far from CAFOs believed the odor from manure was a problem
2)
Colorado river basin includes some of the driest lands in the U.S. and Mexico for its size, the river has only a modest flow of water. legal pacts signed in 1922 and 1944 between the United States and Mexico allocated more water for human use than the river can supply.since 1960, the river has rarely flowed all the way to the Gulf of California because of its reduced water flow (there are many dams), increased water withdrawals, and a prolonged drought in much of the American Southwest.river receives enormous amounts of pollutants from urban areas, farms, animal feedlots, and industries, as it makes its way toward the sea
3)
other challenges faced by the world are : Loss of biodiversity & deforestation , ozone layer depletion , ocean and rain acidification , genetic engineering
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