Farms and Fertilizers
Why fertilizers and farms today are harmful to the Earth
Farms and fertlizers
A farm
Natural fertilizer - Compost bin
Chemical Fertilizer - Nutrigrow
What do farms have to do with weather and climate?
So how do chemical fertilizers and farms affect climate?
As cows eat and chew cud, gas builds up in their bodies and has to be expelled. When they emit gas, it produces methane and releases it into the atmosphere. Keep in mind that there are about 1.5 billion cows on Earth right now. A danish study showed that cows actually produce more greenhouse gases than transport. Solutions are still being found for this problem but we need to try to limit the methane that cows are producing.
Environmental issues with farms and solutions to fix them
Cows producing methane
Chemical Fertilizers
Desertification
Works Cited:
Blitz, M. (2014, April 11). Do cow Farts really significantly contribute to global warming? Retrieved May 10, 2016, from Animals, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/04/cow-farts-really-significantly-contribute-global-warming/
McLellan, R. (2000). Farming: Habitat conversion & loss. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/impacts/habitat_loss/
Mercola. (2013, July 2). How chemical fertilizers are destroying our soil and water. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/how-chemical-fertilizers-are-destroying-our-soil-and-water
United Nations. Background information on desertification and land degradation for world day to combat desertification - 17 June. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://www.un.org/en/events/desertificationday/background.shtml
Phys. Cow backpacks trap methane gas. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://phys.org/news/2008-07-cow-backpacks-methane-gas.html
Sanders, R. (2015, July 9). Fertilizer use responsible for increase in nitrous oxide in atmosphere. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://news.berkeley.edu/2012/04/02/fertilizer-use-responsible-for-increase-in-nitrous-oxide-in-atmosphere/
Scientific American. (2016). How fertilizers harm earth more than help your lawn. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-fertilizers-harm-earth/
Staff, R. (2015, April 13). Everything you need to know about organic fertilizer. Retrieved May 9, 2016, from http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/everything-you-need-know-about-organic-fertilizer
Vinje, E. (2012, December 8). Dangers of lawn chemicals. Retrieved May 6, 2016, from Dig Deeper, http://www.planetnatural.com/lawn-chemicals/
Yepes, C., Moment, Images, G., Wild, D., & Makortoff, K. (2015, August 6). Cleaner cow burps: A climate change solution? Retrieved May 10, 2016, from Sustainable Energy, http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/05/cleaner-cow-burps-a-climate-change-solution.html