Rebuilding the Unity of Health and the Environment in Rural America Workshop Summary (2006) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Role of the Natural Environment in Rural America
3 The Role of the Natural Environment in Rural America
Pages 47-70
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From page 47... ...
agricultural production and production policy on cotton, sugar, and possibly rice are under way. ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT OF IOWA AGRICULTURE Colonization of the United States by Europeans has inflicted a dramatic transformation on the environment.
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From page 48... ...
These nutrients go through the crop and livestock production systems and end up in the environment, including watersheds, which are susceptible to contamination by imported nutrients. Humans are accustomed to having a natural environment that has a large buffering capacity, and the cognitive behavior of humans suggests that this will continue because historically the environment has always absorbed human waste products.
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From page 49... ...
The technique for measurement of agricultural productivity estimates only one component of the total ecological footprint of agriculture, however. In 1987, the footprint of the Iowa row crop equaled the actual area in production plus an increment of 27 percent of that area.
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Therefore, systems that minimize ecological impacts and that tran sition agricultural practice to a new phase that features more renewable energy transformations must be the target of agroecologists and agricultural scientists. THE FUTURE OF FAMILY FARMS When driving around the middle of the United States looking at farms, one would think that they do not appear much different from the way they did 40 or 60 years ago.
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From page 51... ...
The preferred structures of land ownership have been the limited liability partnership, the limited liability company, and the limited partnership. Farmers have learned that if their land is put into a corporation, it is very costly to take it out of a corporation structure later; therefore, this structure is no longer as popular as it was a few decades ago, noted Harl.
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From page 52... ...
producers to give the benefits to consumers, but also has systematically driven down prices worldwide and created a resistance to trade and, as some believe, created barriers to economic development. Environmental Health Impact The largest problems facing American agriculture at present are not fatal and nonfatal injuries, which show steady declines, but environmental health issues, noted Harl.
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From page 53... ...
With regard to the first force, international trade, a theorem in economics postulates that if totally free trade is achieved so that goods move without limitation across boundaries, capital will move freely as well; and if technology were equally available everywhere, there would be a trend toward equal returns to labor and land of the same quality everywhere. That means a leveling effect around the world if the quality of the land and labor was equal everywhere.
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From page 54... ...
On the other hand, although livestock are mobile and their production could be moved overseas, it is unlikely that this will happen because livestock production is tethered rather tightly to the cost of feed grains, and the lowest-cost feed grains in the world are in the United States. Therefore, international competitiveness could well benefit American agriculture in the sense that if trade policy continues to favor free trade, it could increase the demand for food worldwide.
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From page 55... ...
Sizable benefits to the environment and biodiversity, as well as human and animal health, can be achieved by ex- The question of the unity of health and ploring new agricultural production the environment can be a guide for methods, such as integrated pest man- assembling political coalitions that are agement and organic production, which needed to bring about policy changes. lead to the use of less pesticide.
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From page 56... ...
. Increasing nitrate concentrations in the Iowa River, which feeds into the Mississippi River, mirrors closely the applications of nitrogen to Iowa farmland.
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From page 57... ...
These conditions affect the shrimping industry and the livelihoods of people who make use of the water and the coastal margins in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. Rural residents are also affected by water quality because they are drinking water from their own wells, which are not subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act, noted Schnoor.
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From page 58... ...
Air quality has generally improved in rural America because of the Clean Air Act, noted Schnoor, but challenges remain, such as occupational exposures to dust, windblown soil, ammonia, pesticides (especially those from animal feeding operations) , endotoxins, mycotoxins, animal dander, hydrogen sulfite, and ammonia, odor, and particles.
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From page 59... ...
A 1 percent increase in energy demand means about 10,000 megawatts of new capacity per year, the equivalent of two new companies the size of Alliant Energy annually. The industry's dilemma is to protect and sustain the country's natural resources while providing the increased energy needed to meet the needs and demands of the customers and at the same time trying to replace an increasingly aging infrastructure.
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Since 1999, however, Alliant Energy has reduced its sulfur dioxide emissions by 20 percent and its nitrogen oxide emissions by nearly 30 percent. While these improvements were being made, the company's overall generation capacity increased significantly.
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population grew by 42 percent to 291 million, the number of registered vehicles increased by 111 percent to 235 million, the gross domestic product increased by 175 percent to $10.4 trillion, and energy consumption increased by 41 percent. However, according to EPA, over the same period, nitrogen oxide emissions declined by 17 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions were cut almost in half, lead emissions were reduced by 98 percent, and carbon monoxide emissions decreased by 41 percent.
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From page 62... ...
The best answers to the energy policy debate will most likely come from collaboration and debate among serious stakeholders, concluded Davis. RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION Linkage Between Sources of Energy Production and National Security Issues National security, climate stability, and rural community health can be strengthened with a strong commitment to a new energy economy based on renewable energy and energy efficiency, said Michael Noble of Minnesotans for Energy-Efficient Economy.
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From page 63... ...
These LNG ports will again create a considerable debate about public security and national defense, because natural gas ports will be particularly vulnerable to terrorist attack, which may result in a massive explosion. Hypothetically, electricity services and the coal industry could contribute to securing domestic energy, especially if coal electricity can be produced without new emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming.
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From page 64... ...
In 1995, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assigned a 95 percent probability to the possibility that the increasing storms in rural America were in part related to global warming, noted Noble. Global warming will have international impacts as well.
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Wind energy would provide jobs; rural economic development; infrastructure; and investments for schools, hospitals, and technology. Community ownership and involvement in the financing of wind energy projects would be one way to approach wind energy ventures in the United States.
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From page 66... ...
In addition to the on againoff again federal energy production tax credit, passage of state renewable energy standards is the key policy tool that drives renewable energy in the United States. Also, a broader coalition that would involve environmental groups, clean energy advocate groups, forward-looking businesses, economic development groups, the health care community, the science community, and doctors is needed.
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From page 67... ...
State Revolving Fund The State Revolving Fund is divided into two sections: the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF)
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From page 68... ...
is a cooperative commitment by the state of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska, the federal government, and other stakeholders to address the opportunities and challenges identified by rural Nebraskans. Other organizations and activities affiliated with PRN include Rural News Bits and the Nebraska Rural Poll.
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From page 69... ...
The Nebraska Rural Poll is conducted through the University of Nebraska's Center for Applied Rural Innovation. It conducts high-quality, comprehensive research and provides information on the trends in rural Nebraska.
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