Resources-Food, Soil, Water, and Minerals

I. Food Sources-Croplands, Rangelands, and Ocean Fisheriesa. Croplands (77% of world’s food)

i. The Big Three1. Wheat, Rice, and Corn (more than half of the calories consumed)2. Types of Agriculture

a. Industrialized-Large scale high-input production that yield high volume for commercial use-Developed countries

b. Traditional-Small scale low-input production that yield enough to feed family and give family income-Developing countries

3. Technology advancement in last 60 year-booming increase in productivity

a. Farming equipmentb. Fertilizersc. Irrigationd. Pesticidese. Genetic engineering-high yield varieties

ii. Environmental Impacts1. Industrialization agriculture is big business-“superfarms”-annual sales

are larger than automotive, steel, and housing industries combined2. Good news-because of new technology and technique we are able to

produce more food for less money. (only 2%-4% of their income)3. Bad news-

a. Industrialization-it takes 10 units of fossil fuel-1unit of food energy

b. Traditional- 1 unit of energy (human energy)-1 to 10 units of food energy

4. Soil erosiona. Caused by flowing water, wind, and human activityb. Human activities

i. Farmingii. Logging

iii. Constructioniv. Overgrazing

v. Burningc. Effects of erosion

i. Lose of good nutrient rich topsoilii. Increase sediment in water system and kills aquatic life

iii. Desertification-degrading topsoil through drought and human activity that slowly area becomes more arid

d. Solutionsi. Minimum tillage

ii. Terracingiii. Alley cropiv. Windbreakv. Contour planting

vi. Fertilizer/compost to restore nutrients5. Human Nutrition (undernutrition vs. overnutrition)

b. Rangeland-livestock (make up 16% of world’s food)i. 40% of the world ice-free land is used for raising livestock

ii. Pros1. Meat production is a good source for protein2. Manure for fertilizing crops

iii. Cons1. High energy demand both fossil fuel and food energy-more than half

cropland is used for feed2. Water resources-over half the water from rivers and aquifers are for

livestock3. Overgrazing4. Waste products

iv. Solutions1. Regulations on grazing and restoration of grazing lands2. Eat less meat in general and when eating meat eat more fish and

chickensc. Ocean fisheries (make up 7% of world’s food)

i. Great source of protein and fatty acidsii. Low energy cost per weight of fish as compared to other sources of protein

iii. New technology (high tech boats) and techniques increased productivityiv. Overfishing is a growing problem-taking more fish and not leaving enough for

breeding to replenish the numbersv. Solution-Government subsidies need to be reduced

II. Water-less then 0.01% of the earth’s water is available for usea. How do we use the water?

i. Irrigation 70%ii. Industries 20 %

iii. Cities and residence 10%

b. Everything we do uses water directly or indirectly

c. Surface and Groundwaterd. Water rights-Snake River aquifere. Shortages

i. Climate, drought, and demandii. One out of six people in the world do not have access to adequate supply of

clean wateriii. We only use about 50% of surface water runoff

f. Solutionsi. Supply and Demand

1. Demand-we can lessen our demand by decrease water wastea. Stop over-irrigatingb. Water conservation practices

2. Supplya. use more of the available water by building damsb. Desalination-turn salt water into freshwater

i. Distillation-heating up salt water, as the water turns to a vapor it leave behind the salt and condenses as freshwater

ii. Reverse Osmosis-force salt water through a semi- permeable membrane that only allows water not the salt to pass through.

Resources Continued

I. Geology and Mineralsa. Geological Processes-an ongoing physical processb. Earth’s three major zones-core, mantle, and crust

i. Core-innermost zone made up of a solid inner part that is surround by a liquid core of molten

ii. Mantle-in between the core and crust and is made up of mostly solid rock.iii. Crust-outermost and thinnest zone

1. Continental Crust2. Oceanic Crust

c. Plate Tectonics-the movement of the plates and the processes that occur at plate boundaries

i. Divergent boundaries-plates move apart in opposite directions

ii. Convergent boundaries-plates being pushed together

iii. Transform fault-plates sliding and grinding past one another

iv. Earthquakes-occur when a part of the earth’s crust suddenly fractures, shifts to relieve stress, and releases energy in the form of shock waves.

1. Magnitude-measure the amount of energy released as indicated by the amplitude(size) of the vibrations.-recorded using a seismograph

2. Richter scale-each unit represents amplitude 10 x greater than the unit before.

a. Less than 4.0 –insignificantb. 4.0-4.9-minorc. 5.0-5.9-damagingd. 6.0-6.9-destructivee. 7.0-7.9-majorf. Over 8.0 -great

v. Volcanoes-magma reaches the earth surface through vent or fissure.

1. Ring of fire2. Hot spots

d. External Processes-wind and water i. Weathering-physical, chemical, and biological processes that break down rocks

and minerals1. Mechanical-

a. Frost wedgingb. erosion

2. Chemical-reaction of rock material with atmosphere (oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor

3. Biological-root systems, mineral being taken up through plants etc…e. Rock Cyclef. Minerals-finding, extracting, and use of mineral

resourcesi. Finding Methods-Air and ground attack

1. Planes with radiation-measuring equipment can be used to find mineral that are radioactive like uranium

2. Planes can use magnetometer to find minerals that are magnetic like iron ore

3. Drilling and obtaining core sample is the most used and actuate way to find mineral deposits

ii. Removing the minerals1. Surface mining-larger impact on environment and have many laws and

regulationsa. Open pitb. Dredgingc. Area strip miningd. Contour strip mining

2. Subsurface mining-less impact on environment but more dangerous and expensive, and less efficient

iii. Environmental Impacts

iv. Minerals and useshttp://www.mii.org/commonminerals.html