Reading Comments for Science of Sustainability Week 7

In "More Crop Per Drop," by Emma Marris, in Nature I have to say that I am aggravated right off the bat by the “We know there is a problem. However…” platform. However, due to this specific topic perhaps being the focal point of my academic endeavors at the moment, I stuck it out. The fact that agriculture is the single largest use of potable water on the planet by humans, it is a topic that bears extra study and focus in overcoming. Unfortunately, I feel that while there should be focus on the use of better agronomic techniques in developing countries, there should also be a focus on moving from large-scale commercial farming in developed countries. There needs to be a concerted shift towards the use of techniques such as hydroponics, which use approximately 70% less water than traditional agronomy and render the remaining water from growth to be reusable, where all water is lost in traditional agronomy. Further than hydroponics, aeroponics use approximately 70% less water than hydroponics with all water reusable after use. I feel like these are technologies that are future growth for giants like Archer Midland and others, if only they would make the decision to change. “A Long Dry Summer,” by Quirin Schiermeier, with the explanation of how rainfall modeling is a less than exact science also supports this. The fact that “rainy season” no longer means any rain may hit the ground at all is depressing on a level I cannot adequately put into words.

However, I digress and make note of seed giants like Mosanto and their arguments concerning how genetically modified seeds are the wave of the future and while that may or may not be true, must agree that unless they can be modified to be drought resistant, they really are not the effective biotechnology that developing countries so badly need as they are often where water dependence is climate affected in the form of storms and droughts. Also, the issue of water intensive commodities such as beef, need to be reckoned with. While countries (like Jordan, mentioned.) may choose to import water-intensive foods to allow for their own focus on other crops or commodities, there should be more countries taking these steps at the government to the household diet level. The lackluster to nonexistent level of care from the United States about these things is not only embarrassing but disheartening.