sustainability & stewardship the story of easter island is an example of what can happen if...

Sustainability & Stewardship

The story of Easter Island is an example of what can happen ifPeople are not practicing these concepts of environmentalism.

As was said in the movie Jurassic Park, Just because we can do something does not mean we should.

One good example of this quote is found in the use of Pesticides

Certainly some benefit can be observed in the use of these products.But over-use and misuse have caused many problems in our world

A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or

mitigating any pest • A pesticide may be a chemical substance,

biological agent (such as a virus or bacterium), antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest.

• Pests include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, spread disease or are a vector for disease or cause a nuisance.

Wild eagles in the eastern US were lost to the pesticide DDT

In the mid 1980’s eagles were reintroduced to Deposit,New York. The eagles we see In Whitney Point are direct descendents of these birdsIntroduced from Alaska.

Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides, there are also drawbacks,

such as potential toxicity to humans and other animals.

• any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pest, including vectors of human or animal disease, unwanted species of plants or animals causing harm during or otherwise interfering with the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of food, agricultural commodities, wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or substances which may be administered to animals for the control of insects, arachnids or other pests in or on their bodies.

• The term includes substances intended for use as a plant growth regulator, defoliant, desiccant or agent for thinning fruit or preventing the premature fall of fruit, and substances applied to crops either before or after harvest to protect the commodity from deterioration during storage and transport.

• Pesticide use raises a number of environmental concerns. Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, including non-target species, air, water and soil

• Pesticides are one of the causes of water pollution, and some pesticides are persistent organic pollutants and contribute to soil contamination.

Historical UsesSulfur is one of the oldest fungicides and pesticides. Dusting sulfur, elemental sulfur in powdered form, is a common fungicide for grapes, strawberry, many vegetables and several other crops. It has a good efficacy against a wide range of powdery mildew diseases as well as black spot.

Apple scale

Since before 2000 BC, humans have utilized pesticides to protect

their crops. The first known pesticide was elemental sulfur dusting used in ancient Sumer

about 4,500 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. By the 15th century,

toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and lead were being applied to crops to kill pests.

Sumer, Mesopotamia

Pesticides are used to control organisms considered harmful

• For example, they are used to kill mosquitoes that can transmit potentially deadly diseases like west Nile virus, yellow fever, and malaria.

Uses

• Insecticides can protect animals from illnesses that can be caused by parasites such as fleas.[11] Pesticides can prevent sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or diseased produce. Herbicides can be used to clear roadside weeds, trees and brush. They can also kill invasive weeds that may cause damage. Herbicides are commonly applied in ponds and lakes to control algae and plants such as water grasses that can interfere with activities like swimming and fishing and cause the water to look or smell unpleasant

• Uncontrolled pests such as termites and mould can damage structures such as houses. Pesticides are used in grocery stores and food storage facilities to manage rodents and insects that infest food such as grain. Each use of a pesticide carries some associated risk.

• Pesticides can save farmers' money by preventing crop losses to insects and other pests; in the U.S., farmers get an estimated fourfold return on money they spend on pesticides.[13] One study found that not using pesticides reduced crop yields by about 10%.[14] Another study,conducted in 1999, found that a ban on pesticides in the United States may result in a rise of food prices, loss of jobs, and an increase in world hunger.

Some pesticides are considered too hazardous for sale to the general public

and are designated restricted use pesticides.

We have tried to make safety work

• Though pesticide regulations differ from country to country, pesticides and products on which they were used are traded across international borders.

• To deal with inconsistencies in regulations among countries, delegates to a conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization adopted an International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides in 1985 to create voluntary standards of pesticide regulation for different countries

• Pesticide exposure has also been linked to Parkinson's disease. Agricultural workers exposed to high levels of pesticides have a raised risk of brain tumors, research suggests.

The French study also indicated a possible higher risk among people who use pesticides on houseplants.

Some have already understood the future!

• In Europe, recent EU legislation has been approved banning the use of highly toxic pesticides including those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction, those that are endocrine-disrupting, and those that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB). Measures were approved to improve the general safety of pesticides across all EU member states.

Regulation

• In most countries, pesticides must be approved for sale and use by a government agency. For example, in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does so.

• Complex and costly studies must be conducted to indicate whether the material is safe to use and effective against the intended pest.

Unintended ConsequencesHerbicides used in the Vietnam War

left behind a legacy of Horror

Agent Orange

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgLlkjsg1uo• Agent Orange is the code name for one of the

herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCXt9hHEFu8&feature=related

• The horror of war. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zay0zcC0K4&NR=1

• The program's goal was to defoliate forested and rural land, depriving guerrillas of cover; Another goal was to induce forced draft urbanization, destroying the ability of peasants to support themselves in the countryside, and forcing them to flee to the U.S. Dominated cities, thus depriving the guerrillas of their rural support base and food supply.

• The US began to target food crops in October 1962, primarily using Agent Blue. In 1965, 42 percent of all herbicide spraying was dedicated to food crops.[4] Rural-to-urban migration rates dramatically increased in South Vietnam, as peasants escaped the destruction and famine in the countryside by fleeing to the U.S.-dominated cities. The urban population in South Vietnam more than tripled: from 2.8 million people in 1958, to 8 million by 1971. The rapid flow of people led to a fast-paced and uncontrolled urbanization;

• Vietnamese man born with deformed face as a result of prenatal exposure to Agent Orange.

• The Vietnam Red Cross reports that as many as 3 million Vietnamese people have been affected by Agent Orange including at least 150,000 children born with birth defects.

The mountains along the border with

Cambodia.• Children in the areas

where Agent Orange was used have been affected and have multiple health problems including cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias, and extra fingers and toes.

Pod cast: Silence of the bees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIUo3STj6tw

The problem with honey bees

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucCYAFXjduM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5c52JpfOGQ

• Part 2:

Part three:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAFB3ywlnVQ&feature=related

Part 4:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odlR9cCriUU&feature=related

Part 5

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z_8AnTS8pA

Part 6:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGpsySO9Fek&feature=related