Agriculture As Climate Killer In The United States

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - Environmental Policy, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn, language: English, abstract: The following essay deals with agriculture as a polluter and contributor to climate change in the United States. I have chosen this topic because it currently has a high degree of relevance in the world, and I am very interested in this topic. I have also chosen this theme because I like to analyse current issues to determine the problems of the topic, and to calculate the impacts and to potentially find ways to solve problems. I think a good analysis of this topic needs to be made. In recent decades’ attention has increasingly been drawn to global climate change because of the belief that changes are happening to the earth. Today the visible consequences seem like they are increasingly occurring. Examples of this are severe natural disasters, global warming and this in turn causes increased social disparities, especially so in developing countries. Practices related to agriculture are a main polluter and therefore a contributor to climate change and a climate, especially in the United States. I will show this with my essay. For this I explain the reasons, problems, impacts and solutions. In addition, I'll show the view of the U.S. Government and what people can do about this problem.

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Environmental Policy, grade: 2,0, University of Paderborn, language: English, abstract: The following essay deals with agriculture as a polluter and contributor to climate change in the United States. I have chosen this topic because it currently has a high degree of relevance in the world, and I am very interested in this topic. I have also chosen this theme because I like to analyse current issues to determine the problems of the topic, and to calculate the impacts and to potentially find ways to solve problems. I think a good analysis of this topic needs to be made. In recent decades' attention has increasingly been drawn to global climate change because of the belief that changes are happening to the earth. Today the visible consequences seem like they are increasingly occurring. Examples of this are severe natural disasters, global warming and this in turn causes increased social disparities, especially so in developing countries. Practices related to agriculture are a main polluter and therefore a contributor to climate change and a climate, especially in the United States. I will show this with my essay. For this I explain the reasons, problems, impacts and solutions. In addition, I'll show the view of the U.S. Government and what people can do about this problem.

The agriculture (ag) sector is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which many scientists agree are contributing to observed climate change. Ag. is also a ¿sink¿ for sequestering carbon, which might offset GHG emissions by capturing and storing carbon in ag. soils. The two key types of GHG emissions associated with agricultural activities are methane and nitrous oxide. Contents of this report: (1) Ag. Sinks and Emissions: Source of Nat. Est.; Ag. Emissions; Ag. Carbon Sinks; Potential for Additional Uptake; (2) Mitigation Strategies in the Ag. Sector: Federal Programs; State Programs; (3) Congressional Action: Climate Change Proposals; 2008 Farm Bill Provisions; Related Initiatives Involving U.S. Ag.; Considerations for Congress. Illus.

Publisher Description

Agriculture in the United States produces approximately $300 billion a year in commodities with livestock accounting for roughly half the value. Production of these commodities is vulnerable to climate change through the direct (i.e., abiotic) effects of changing climate conditions on crop and livestock development and yield (e.g., changes in temperature or precipitation), as well as through the indirect (i.e., biotic) effects arising from changes in the severity of pest pressures, availability of pollination services, and performance of other ecosystem services that affect agricultural productivity. Thus, U.S. agriculture exists as a complex web of interactions between agricultural productivity, ecosystem services, and climate change. Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to U.S. agriculture because of the sensitivity of agricultural productivity and costs to changing climate conditions. Adaptive action offers the potential to manage the effects of climate change by altering patterns of agricultural activity to capitalize on emerging opportunities while minimizing the costs associated with negative effects. The aggregate effects of climate change will ultimately depend on a complex web of adaptive responses to local climate stressors. These adaptive responses may range from farmers adjusting planting patterns and soil management practices in response to more variable weather patterns, to seed producers investing in the development of drought-tolerant varieties, to increased demand for Federal risk management programs, to adjustments in international trade as nations respond to food security concerns. Potential adaptive behavior can occur at multiple levels in a highly diverse international agricultural system including production, consumption, education, research, services, and governance. Understanding the complexity of such interactions is critical for developing effective adaptive strategies.

In 2012, the United States produced about $395 billion in agricultural commodities, with about half of this revenue from crop sales and half from livestock. According to the Third National Climate Assessment, climate change has the potential to negatively affect agricultural productivity in the United States through warmer temperatures and an increase in weather extremes. In recent years, USDA has taken actions to help U.S. farmers adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. GAO was asked to review USDA's climate change efforts. This review examines (1) USDA's climate change priorities and how these align with national priorities, (2) the status of USDA's climate change efforts, and (3) the challenges USDA faces in implementing its climate efforts and the steps it has taken to overcome these challenges. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed USDA documents and data and interviewed USDA officials and other knowledgeable stakeholders, such as farmers and environmental groups. GAO recommends that USDA develop performance measures that better reflect the breadth of USDA climate change efforts and use its performance plans and reports to provide information on how the agency plans to achieve its goals and the status of its efforts. GAO also recommends that USDA develop and provide information to farmers on the economic costs and returns of taking certain actions in response to climate change. USDA concurred with these recommendations.

The book 'Climate Change and Agricultural Food Production: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Remedies' provides an overview of climate change impacts on all agricultural food producing sectors (agriculture, livestock and fisheries), food contamination, and food safety (microbial pathogens, toxic biological & toxic chemical contaminants), food security and climate change adaptation and mitigation measures to counteract or minimise or reduce the effects of climate change on agriculture, livestock and fisheries. It reviews and summarizes research results, data and information from the world including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, North America, Polar Regions and Small Island Nations. The book has been structured as textbook, reference book and extension book and written in simple and plain English with key facts and acronyms and glossary provided in each with tables and figures to benefit a wide range of readeThe key data and information provided in each are highlighted below: