Tampa Prep 2009-2010 Impact Defense File
Alt causes to soil erosion-- A. Deforestation
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- B. Ethanol
- C. Cows
- AT: Soil Erosion 2/2
- 5. GM crops solve
3. Alt causes to soil erosion--A. DeforestationPA in ‘8 (Public Agenda, Selorm Amevor, “NEWMONT GETS GREEN LIGHT TO MINE IN FOREST”, 6-13, L/N)The Minister noted that Africa's enormous forests resources are coming under increasing pressure resulting in deforestation which has led to a significant loss of soil fertility, increased soil erosion, water depletion, soil water pollution and loss of biodiversity. B. EthanolCNNMoney.com in ‘7 (Les Christie, “Ethanol fuels rural renaissance”, 3-8, L/N)There are, however, practical limitations with ethanol production that could eventually put a damper on the party, according to Dave Pimentel, a Cornell University agronomist. "I wish ethanol production was a boon to the nation and the environment; it is not," he says. Even if every grain of corn went into ethanol production, it would still not make the United States oil independent, he notes. "Look at it on a per-gallon basis," says Pimentel. "Our latest study indicates it takes 40 percent more fossil fuel energy to produce ethanol than it creates." Fossil fuels run farm and factory machinery, provide heat for the factories and transport ethanol to distant markets. Pimentel says that corn, the No. 1 ethanol crop in the United States, requires more herbicides and insecticides to grow, needs large amounts of fertilizer and is responsible for more soil erosion than any other U.S. crop. Furthermore, many of the areas benefiting most from ethanol production face water shortages; it takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce a gallon of ethanol, according to Pimentel. C. CowsPost-Standard in ‘7 (“GOING MEATLESS COULD HELP FEED OTHERS IN THE WORLD”, 4-18, L/N)Remember 250 pounds isn't even an entire cow! With an exponentially growing population, the 3.7 billion people that are malnourished in this world would probably appreciate that food. Also, raising cattle causes soil erosion and soil blows away, this causes farmland to degrade and it must be abandoned because it is useless to grow any desired or good crop there. Another tidbit: 10 million hectares of farmland per year are abandoned because of soil erosion; and because cattle is a large cause, it is another benefit to not eating or reducing your meat consumption. AT: Soil Erosion 2/24. Pollution decreases are solvingKaleita in ‘7 (Amy, Env’l. Studies Fellow @ Pacific Research Institute and Assistant Prof. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering @ Iowa State U., “An Earth Day Meditation: Inconvenient Truths About Environmental Improvements”, 4-22, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/04/on_the_environment_it.html)According to the latest edition of the Natural Resources Inventory from the U.S. Department of Agriculture soil erosiondropped by 43 percent between 1982 and 2003 -- a remarkable improvement. In 2003, 72 percent of land was eroding at rates below the tolerable level for that area, compared to only 60 percent in 1982. Decreasing erosion rates generally mean improved soil quality and lower water pollution due to sediments.5. GM crops solveFedoroff 08 (2/16. Nina, Special Advisory for Science and Technology @ US Department of State, States News Service, “AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE (AAAS) PLENARY LECTURE”, L/N)From 1996 through 2006, the total area planted in GM crops increased 60-fold, today exceeding 100 million hectares in 22 countries. The use of GM or biotech crops has increased yields, decreased pesticide use, and promoted no-till agriculture, markedly decreasing soil erosion. The fears that their widespread use would lead to the rapid development of Bt-resistance in insects and wipe out Monarch butterflies have not been realized. To date, the only unforseen outcomes of their use have been positive: Bt corn shows much lower levels of contamination with mycotoxins, which can be lethal, because the fungi that produce them follow the boring insects into the corn. No insects, no fungi, no mycotoxins. 6. No impact --- tech solves. Bjørn Lomborg, 2001. Adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School. The Skeptical Environmentalist, p. 106.For the US it is estimated that the total effect of soil erosion over the next hundred years will be about 3 percent. “By comparison with yield gains expected from advances in technology, the 3 percent erosion-induced loss is trivial.” Consequently, soil erosion may be a local problem and will often be a consequence of poverty, but the present evidence does not seem to indicate that soil erosion will to any significant degree affect our global food production, since its effects both up till now have been and in the future and expected to be heavily outweighed by the vast increase in food productivity. Directory: files -> documents documents -> North Mankato Taylor Library documents -> In the Red and Brown Water documents -> - documents -> I. Disaster Summary Sheet II. 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