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Raul - a. What is the current government & economic policies that is contributing to the possibility of a dust bowl in the southwestern portion of the United States?
Lenient Government and Economic policies on water use and irrigation in the South Western United States have been in place since the 1930’s due to the need to provide food, electricity and water to an exponentially growing population. The following video shows how stricter water management policies need to be in place or face the demise of critical natural water resources such as the Colorado River.
Supporting video found at: http://vimeo.com/15947807
Cousteau, A. (n.d.). Age of Limits: 21st Century Water Management [Motion picture]. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/15947807
Take a Stand on Irrigation Policy:
This site is a research site by California high school students on how policies are lacking in the conservation of water as well as their proposals on how to change those policies for preservation of dwindling water resources.
http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/stuwork/rockwater/Agriculture%20and%20Irrigation/taking%20a%20stand.html
Raul - b. What are they types of crops grown in this area?
The article below talks about four major crops, for years spanning from 1870 to 1994, which affect the Southwest the greatest. Barley, corn, and all wheat types show a significant increase in yield for the southwestern states. Sorghum increased in CA, AZ, NM, CO, and KS, but decreased for TX, OK, WY, and NE. Examining data for these crop types and their evapotranspiration rates in relation to where they are grown will help us determine what we can change to increase our output and preserve resources.
http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/anthropogenic/cropland/
Gladys - c. What other areas could be used to cultivate these crops?
Areas that could be used to cultivate these crops can be Kansas, New Mexico, Idaho, and Iowa
Reference:
Climate change could turn Southwest into "Dustbowl"
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
April 5, 2007
Patricia - d. Could they be grown hydroponically inside a lab?
The answer is no, but here are other methods that could be used in order to prevent the topsoil eroding away.
The map below illustrates how forests in North America have been devastated by anthropogenic causes.
Figure 3.15 Estimates of Forest Fragmentation due to Anthropogenic Causes
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/biodiversity/l-3/4-causes-desertification.htm
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/biodiversity/l-2/6-conserve-biodiversity.htm
HERE IS SUPPORT TO FIND OTHER METHODS OF AGRICULTURE
Support for alternative methods of preserving biodiversity and improving agriculture:
Protected areas are an essential part of conservation programs, particularly for sensitive habitats. However, these areas alone are not sufficient to ensure the conservation of the full range of biodiversity.
For protected areas to be successful, sites need to be carefully chosen while making sure that different types of ecosystems are well represented. In many cases, geographic areas may be labeled as a protected area without sufficient management planning, monitoring and evaluation, and budgets for security and law enforcement. Marine and freshwater ecosystems are even less well protected than terrestrial ecosystems, leading to increasing efforts to expand marine protected areas. Yet, the enforcement of marine protected areas is difficult, as a large part of the world's oceans lies outside national jurisdictions.
Protected areas may increase poverty when they lead to local rural communities being excluded from resources upon which they have traditionally relied. However, protected areas can contribute to improved livelihoods when they are managed to benefit local people, hence the importance of participatory consultation and planning.
The impacts of climate change on protected areas will increase the risk of extinction of certain species and change the nature of ecosystems. Effective precautionary strategies that will help biodiversity adapt to changing conditions include corridors and other measures aimed at giving protected areas greater flexibility
Substantial benefits have been gained from many of the actions that have caused the homogenization or loss of biodiversity. For example, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry — three activities that have placed significant pressures on biodiversity — have often been the mainstay of national development strategies, providing revenues that have enabled investments in industrialization and economic growth. The agricultural labor force currently contains approximately 22% of the world’s population and accounts for 46% of its total labor force. In industrial countries, exploitation of natural resources continues to be important for livelihoods and economies in rural regions. Similarly, many species introductions, which contribute to the homogenization of global biodiversity, have been intentional because of the benefits the species provide. In other cases, humans have eradicated some harmful components of biodiversity, such as particular disease organisms or pests.
Modifications of ecosystems to enhance one service generally have come at a cost to other services due to trade-offs. Only 4 of the 24 ecosystem services examined in this assessment have been enhanced: crops, livestock, aquaculture, and (in recent decades) carbon sequestration. In contrast, 15 other services have been degraded, including capture fisheries, timber production, water supply, waste treatment and detoxification, water purification, natural hazard protection, regulation of air quality, regulation of regional and local climate, regulation of erosion, and many cultural benefits (spiritual, aesthetic, recreational, and others). The impacts of these trade-offs among ecosystem services affect different people in different ways. For example, an aqua-culture farmer may gain material welfare from management practices that increase soil salinization and thereby reduce rice yields and threaten food security for nearby subsistence farmers.
VIDEOS
Water cycle animated video http://youtu.be/GOLf2RbxmzE
Water cycle rap http://youtu.be/3ibeY88LTHc
A short film looking at the success of organic urban agriculture in Havana
An agricultural revolution http://youtu.be/JIWsxo5nNgg
Patricia - e. What actions can be presented to conserve water?
http://www.greenfacts.org/en/water-resources/about-water-resources.htm#1A
Here is the info. I retrieved from the site above. Our water resources are under pressure. More reliable information is still needed regarding the quality and quantity of available water, and how this availability varies in time and from place to place. Human activities affect the water cycle in many ways, which needs to be understood and quantified to manage water resources responsibly and sustainably.
It has become evident that:
- Changes in climate are affecting water availability
- Pollution, water diversions and uncertainties about the abundance of water are threatening economic growth, environment, and health.
- Underground water is often being overexploited and polluted.
- To augment water supply, traditional techniques - such as rainwater collection - are now being supplemented by newer technologies like desalination and water reuse.
Political support is needed to improve information collection that can in turn enable better decision making about the management and use of water.
A number of key messages emerge from the foregoing discussion of water resources. Demand for these limited resources continues to increase as populations grow and move. Sound management depends on reliable information about the quantity and quality of water available and how this availability varies in time and from place to place. It is important to enhance the understanding of all elements of the water cycle and how human activities affect it, so that water resources can be protected and developed sustainably.
- Climate change greatly affects weather, precipitation, and the entire water cycle, including water resources both above and below ground.
- The growing problem of surface water availability and the increasing levels of water pollution and water diversions threaten to hamper or even disrupt social and economic development in many areas, as well as the health of ecosystems.
- Groundwater resources can help meet demand, but too much of it is being withdrawn and some of it is being polluted. It is important to better control the use of underground water that will not be replenished.
- Longstanding practices, such as collecting rainwater, are being refined and supplemented by newer techniques such as artificial recharge, desalination and re-use. More support is needed, not only for innovative technical solutions to improve supplies, but also for the management of demand and the promotion of efficiency in water use.
- Growing changes in the availability of water resources will require political support for the collection of information on water resources. That information will allow policy-makers to make better decisions about the management and use of water.
Ground water percentages from 2005
Population: 297 043 000
Precipitation Rate1: 700 mm/year
Total Actual Renewable Water Resources (TARWR)
Volume in 2005: 3 051 km3/year (3 051 billion m3/year)
Per Capita in 2000 : 10 837 m3/year
Per Capita in 2005 : 10 270 m3/year
Breakdown of Total Actual Renewable Water Resources
- Surface water: NA
- Ground water: NA
- Overlap is water shared by both the surface water and groundwater systems: NA
Incoming Waters: 8 %
Outgoing Waters2: NA
Total Use of Total Actual Renewable Water Resources: 16 %
References:
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has an extensive portal on water, and hosts the World Water Assessment Program (WWAP): www.unesco.org/water/index.shtml
- The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Water Development and Management Unit presents information on the management of Water, and hosts Aquastat, an extensive database on water resources: www.fao.org/nr/water/
- The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) dedicates part of its website to freshwater and provides all kinds of useful links at:
www.unep.org/themes/freshwater/
- UN-Water is the official United Nations mechanism for follow-up of the water-related decisions reached at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development Goals: www.unwater.org/flashindex.html
- The World Health Organization (WHO) provides information on water, sanitation and health: www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/en/
- The Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission publishes its information on water at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/index_en.htm
- The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a policy institute that contributes to international efforts to find solutions to the world’s escalating water crisis: www.siwi.org
- The Global Water Partnership is a working partnership among all those involved in water management: government agencies, public institutions, private companies, professional organizations, multilateral development agencies and others. Its mission is to "support countries in the sustainable management of their water resources": www.gwpforum.org/
- The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, whose mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands […] as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”: www.ramsar.org/
- The World Bank addresses water resources at: http://web.worldbank.org/water/
1.2 Some water resources news sites
1.3 Other websites
Gladys - f. What impact would a new dust bowl formation would impact our economy?
According to the article “Climate change could turn Southwest into “Dustbowl”” written by Rhett A. Butler, a new climatic change of dry and arid conditions are already underway. Researchers believe these conditions are caused by “ a poleward expansion of the subtropical dry zones” (Butler, R. A.).
Water loss will trigger a World food disater Other countries depend on crops the United States grows. This loss of water could trigger a World food disaster since many areas of the World are now dependant on American corn exports
Reference:
Climate change could turn Southwest into "Dustbowl"
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
April 5, 2007
Shannon - g. Could we have other vegetation within the crops to anchor the soil?
The disaster that struck the Great Plains in the 1930's left it without humus, nutrients, and plant cover. The land was un-cultivatable; thus, the government intervened with a number of reforms. They replanted grass and trees together with introducing scientific agricultural methods. The roots would help prevent further erosion. Broad leafed crops such as clover and alfalfa produce organic matter and available nitrogen; accordingly, they were planted and also because they absorb the force of the rain and their roots bind the soil.
The Dustbowl of America in the 1930s. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2011, from 123HelpMe.com website: http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=23316
Shannon - h. What other farming methods are being done to alleviate a dust bowls in the area?
By the early 1930's, one of many practices the Great Plains Agricultural Council proposed to slow or halt the damage was the planting of trees to reduce wind and drought-caused soil erosion.
In the summer of 1932, then Presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed that the Federal Government begin a program of planting trees in belts across the hardest hit farm lands on the Great Plains. To reduce wind erosion and protect crops from wind damage, millions of trees were planted on private property or "shelterbelts," as they became known. Under Roosevelt's Administration from 1934 to 1942, the program both saved the soil and relieved chronic employment in the region.
The Forest Service was responsible for organizing the "Shelterbelt Project," later known as the "Prairie States Forestry Project." The project, headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, was directed by Paul H. Roberts from the Research Branch. The Shelterbelt Program included the States of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the northern part of Texas.
Trees were usually planted in long strips at 1-mile intervals within a belt 100 miles thick. It was felt that shelterbelts at this spacing could intercept the prevailing winds and reduce soil and crop damage. The project used many different tree species of varying heights, including oaks and even black walnut. Shelterbelts, with trees and shrubs of varying heights, could reduce wind velocities on their leeward sides for distances of 15 times the height of the tallest trees. Reduced winds tended to create more favorable conditions for crop growth, reduce evaporation of water in the soil (and thus reduce the need for irrigation), reduce soil temperatures, stabilize soils, protect livestock, increase wildlife populations, and provide a more livable environment for farm families.
Although Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps workers planted the trees and shrubs, landowners were responsible for their long-term care and maintenance. During 1939, the peak year of the project, 13 nurseries produced more than 60 million seedlings. Over the project's duration, over 200 million trees and shrubs were planted on 30,000 farms—a total length of 18,600 miles in all! The shelterbelts worked amazingly well and the results can be seen even today, although many of the shelterbelt trees have been cut for their highly valued wood.
Since 1942 tree planting to reduce soil losses and crop damage has been carried out by local soil conservation districts in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service).
USDA Forest Service. (n.d.). The Great Depression Era, 1933-1942. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Publications/ first_century/sec4.htm
Jose - i. Was is the research from the lack of rain in the area?
Evidence suggests the jet stream was at least partially responsible for the widespread drought conditions during the 1930s Dust Bowl in the Midwest United States. Normally, the jet stream flows east over the Gulf of Mexico and turns northward pulling up moisture and dumping rain onto the Great Plains. During the Dust Bowl, the jet stream weakened and changed course traveling farther south than normal. This starved the Great Plains and other areas of the Midwest of precious rain creating dusty conditions.
I found this interesting website that shows current drought conditions over Oklahoma and Texas due to strong La Niña developed in the Pacific Ocean. La Niña caused a shift in the jet stream that favored dry weather in Oklahoma and Texas. Rainfall trailed off very suddenly and dramatically last October, and it has been well below average ever since. Although droughts are hard to predict and prevent, NOAA, the National Weather Service, and its partners continually monitor and record the intensity of the drought via weather and climate observations and reports of drought-related impacts from around Oklahoma and north Texas.
Jet Stream. Retrieved October 15, 2001 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_stream#cite_note-45
Why are this Drought and Heat Wave Happening? Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/?n=climate-drought
Jose - j. Compare the reactions of the 1935 dust storms to what has happened in Arizona just months ago & the wildfires in Bastrop, TX.
On July 5th, 2011, a powerful dust storm swept through Phoenix, Arizona. Many residents said it was the largest they’d seen in decades. The storm lasted for a good two hours, and covered at least 100 miles in horizontal distance, maybe more. It was truly massive. It’s kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime event, like when you see a tsunami or tornado. We were just in awe. The video is just amazing, to watch it.
The article explains how dust storms are formed. Dust storms form from monsoon thunderstorms that form up in the afternoon. When the severe storms reach their full maturity, they produce what we call a microburst, which is like a very rapidly descending burst of air that comes through the thunderstorm that actually puffs out, hits the ground, and then disperses away from the storm.
Some have speculated that the severity of the dust storm might be attributable to shifts in larger climate patterns such as El Nino and La Nina – or even the longer-term pattern of global warming. Waters said that, at this time, it’s not possible for him to make a direct connection.
The immediate impacts were wide and many. Local media covered the dust storm extensively as it occurred, showing direct impacts to the area's transportation system. Traffic on area roadways and highways crawled to a stop in most areas (dust storm safety tips). Air traffic into and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was stopped for 45 minutes. Reports of broken large branches and trees blown down were noted. No estimate is available as to the negative costs associated with this event, though they likely are substantial due to noted infrastructure damage and delays caused across a large area and through a wide swath of the local society.
Clean up quickly began the following day as the entire city was now coated in a layer of dust. Included in the clean up were car washes, swimming pools, streets, and buildings. No estimate is available as to the positive costs associated with this event.
No major damage was seen than you normally get from a monsoon storm. A barrage of dust set off fire alarms in the terminal, but crews quickly cleared the mess from the storm
Major Dust Storms Moves Through Arizona. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/pns/2011/July/DustStorm.php.
Ken Waters: Why the July 5 Arizona dust storm was so huge. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://earthsky.org/earth/ken-waters-on-july-5-dust-storm-in-phoenix-arizona.
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