Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Modern Agriculture’s Environmental Footprint From the Editors of Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I’ve been hearing more and more references to the need to clean up our agricultural practices for reasons pertaining to health, food quality, even global warming. What are the major environmental issues today associated with agriculture? — Tony Grayson, Newark, NJ What amazes many envi- ronmental advocates to this day is how the widespread adoption of synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers for use in agriculture was dubbed the “Green Revolution,” when in fact this post-World War II paradigm shift in the way we produce food has wreaked untold havoc on the environment, food quality and human health. Agricultural output has certainly increased as a result of these changes, but with the vast majority of the world’s farms now relying on petroleum- derived synthetic chemicals to grow crops and petroleum- derived fuels to drive the engines of production — modern agriculture has become overwhelmingly toxic to the atmosphere and is hastening global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that agricultural land use contributes 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions; here in the U.S. almost 20 percent of our carbon dioxide emissions come from agricultural sources. Intensive use of chemicals isn’t good for our nutrition intake, either. Roger Smith, courtesy Flickr With the vast majority of the world’s farms now relying on synthetic chemicals to grow crops and petroleum-derived fuels to drive the engines of production, modern agriculture has become overwhelmingly toxic to the atmosphere and is hastening global warming. Overworked, depleted agricultural soils generate fruits and vegetables with fewer nutrients and minerals than those produced by farmers decades ago. And much of the food we eat is laced with chemicals that end up in our bloodstreams. Beyond its effect on the food we put in our bodies, modern agriculture gen- erates large amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and other fertilizers running off into our streams, rivers and oceans, compromising not only the quality of our drinking water and the health of riparian ecosystems, but also causing those huge oxygen-depleted ocean dead zones we hear about in coastal areas such as the Gulf of Mexico. Yet another issue with modern farming is the amount of animal waste gener- ated and concentrated in small areas, which creates unsanitary and potentially dangerous conditions for the animals and humans alike. And the widespread use of antibiotics on farm animals to keep disease in check results in the development of stronger strains of bacteria that resist the antibiotics used by humans to ward off infection and sickness. Also, many worry about the potential impacts of the widespread use of ge- netic engineering, whereby genes in plants, animals and microorganisms are manipulated to select for specific traits. These genetically modified organisms, reports Greenpeace, “can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms,” thus contaminating the natural environment in unforeseeable and uncontrollable ways. The good news is that rapidly increasing consumer demand for healthier food is forcing agribusiness to see the wisdom of moving away from business- as-usual. Organic farming, which eschews chemical fertilizers and pesticides in favor of more natural choices, holds considerable promise for greening up our agricultural systems. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic cropland acreage averaged 15 percent increases between 2002 and 2008, al- though certified organic cropland and pasture accounted for only about 0.6 per- cent of U.S. total farmland in 2008. So we still have along way to go. CONTACTS: IPCC, www.ipcc.ch; USDA, www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Organic. EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine ( www.emagazine. com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. 18 UCW AUGUST 3-9, 2011 CONNECTION Concert CHARLIE MIKE’S PUB 195 Star Point Road • 826-6453 Tuesday Open Jam — Bring your own instrument Saturday Open mic THE DOGHOUSE 3049 Owen Dr. • 910-826-9761 www.thedoghousegroup.com Monday Open Mic Night Tuesday $2 You Call It Wednesday Bike Night Thursday DJ Sting Friday and Saturday Live music Aug. 3 Mike Odonell Aug. 5 5 Speed Aug. 6 Beautiful Day Aug. 7 Johnson Kinlaw Aug. 10 Mike Odonell HUSKE HARDWARE HOUSE 405 Hay Street • 437-9905 www.huskehardware.com Monday Karaoke Tuesday Bryan Shaw Wednesday Huske Unplugged Thursday ‘80s Night Fri. & Sat. Live DJ and Dancing Sunday Sports Sunday IT’Z ENTERTAINMENT CITY 4118 Legend Ave. • 910-826-4635 www.itzentertainmentcity.com Aug. 3 Rookie of the Year Aug. 5 DJ Shawn on the Patio Aug. 5 The D Aug. 6 DJ Shawn on the Patio Aug. 7 DL Token Aug. 10 Pauly Shore LIDOS - THE EUROSPOT 102 Person St. • 222-8237 Thursday Euro Trance Party Fri. TGIF Dance Party Sat. Ladies Night Sun. Euro Element Dance Part POINDEXTER’S SALOON 115 Dunn Rd. • 433-2089 Wed. Bike Night with live music Come Out and Play! • New Tables • New Management • All Liquor Licenses • Ice Cold Beverages Hours: 12p-2a 910-339-7648 3116 Bragg Blvd. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM