Writing my research paper helped me to discover even further how important plants are to the environment and to each individual ecosystem. I never really gave much thought on how plants function differently when they are in their natural habitat versus when they are not. When plants are put into ecosystems that they are not from, they will either fail… Read more »
Western institutes employ thousands of people, allocating financial and agricultural resources in attempts to contain the problem of hunger in developing nations, but these efforts aren’t enough. An obvious solution to hunger is… send hungry people food! But the cost of transportation, in dollars as well as environmental pollutants, creates more problems than it solves (Robbins). Instead of providing consistent aid… Read more »
The industrial revolution brought with it numerous benefits for the modern age. Perhaps most significant is the technology that has made it possible to feed 7 billion people worldwide. The improvements in industrialized farming equipment made farming more efficient, producing higher yields while expending less energy for the farmers. However, less energy spent by people, cattle and horses to operate… Read more »
Phosphate mine in Utah | Source: https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/mineral-resource-month-phosphate-rock While most people might be familiar with nitrogen’s role in crop production, there is another essential nutrient our food system relies on that is in short supply: phosphorus. Phosphorus is vital to all life on the planet because it helps plants and other organisms transfer energy (Carolan). Like nitrogen, it is used in fertilizer… Read more »
While some may think of the poppy flower as a nice addition to a bouquet or just a pretty flower, it is not only that. The poppy is a flower, a crop, a drug, and a socio environmental factor that connects climate change and conflict in Afghanistan. The rise of opium and the associated epidemic is all too familiar in… Read more »
Water is the new oil…meaning that moving forward conflicts over resources will concern water. The finite amount of water, growing world population and continued climate change will force us to make some tough decisions in the near future. One of these tough decisions involves poppy farmers in Afghanistan. It is easy and not necessarily wrong to conclude that growing poppy… Read more »
Fossil fuels are at the epicenter of the political ecology of the world food system. The direct correlation that fossil fuels have on various feedback loops are a fundamental concept to understand. The economical aspects of utilizing fossil fuels are enormous and were the reason for rapid growth coming into the 21st century. The results of such growth have led… Read more »
The enormous ecological footprint of large scale food production, particularly as a direct result of petroleum energy inputs stands out as the biggest deterrent to a sustainable food system. In order to generate the highest yields, factory farms are intrinsically dependent on oil, from the equipment required to cultivate and harvest, to the necessity for soil amendments that promote the… Read more »
During the past few weeks, we have learned a lot of important concepts about where our food comes from and what we sacrifice in order to keep food on our tables. I found it very interesting and a bit daunting to learn about the amount of petroleum that it takes to make our mass production of food possible. Petroleum is… Read more »
“Euphrates River Map.” Euphrates River Map, The Bible Study Site, www.biblestudy.org/maps/euphrates-river-valley-map.html. For me, the most interesting themes of this week revolved around water. I was surprised to find how much the political ecology of water can affect different groups. I think the common thought is that water is so plentiful that there is no reason for conflict or differing access to… Read more »