Agricultural ecosystems - The world is watching
- CH2M Hill, Portland, OR (USA)
- Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City (USA)
Environmental degradation is displacing nuclear war as the overriding concern of the world's people. An accusing finger is rightfully pointed at agricultural practices - for degrading water, air, food, and societal quality. As reported in the popular and technical press, there is a clamor for farming technology that is both productive and ecological. We cannot survive without a productive agriculture. Yet, the eroding soil, the degrading water quality, the decrease in farm profitability, the reductions in wildlife populations, and the closing store fronts in rural America point to a need for new management approaches. The word sustainable continues to be mentioned as an underlying theme for future management techniques. Soil, air, and water form a seamless whole - the thin envelope we call the biosphere. The term sustainable agriculture implies a nourishing stewardship of the biosphere when used by farmers in pursuit of their livelihood. This biosphere simultaneously produces and sustains a multitude of products, including ourselves. It is all we have to create both our present and our future.
- OSTI ID:
- 5765849
- Journal Information:
- Agricultural Engineering; (USA), Vol. 71:1; ISSN 0002-1458
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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