A recent report by National Public Radio Facing planetary enemy number one agriculture describes the future global impact of agriculture on global patterns of land use. Agriculture currently covers 40% of the land in the world and uses nearly 2/3rds of the water. During the next 40 years the demand for food is expected to double. Jonathan Foley is the Director of the Institute on the Environment at the U of MN. He advises governments and NGO's on developing sustainable agricultural processes. He advocates a new kind of agriculture called Terraculture. His major question is "How do we feed the world without destroying it?"
Jonathan Foley's talk on "The Other Inconvenient Truth" from September, 2011
We can compare Haiti and the Dominican Republic and look at two possible futures. The two countries share the same island. Haiti is completely deforested and in abject poverty. The Dominican Republic is the exact opposite because of different land use. We are fortunate that we have the opportunity to have some say in our future.
This image taken at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is from oglhaiti.wordpress.com
For more background information on the subject read Jared Diamond's book Collapse. He devotes a chapter 11 to the history of land use in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Deforestation is often a major contributor to the destruction of a culture. He also looks at the causes for other societal collapses throughout history.
Why Societies Collapse TED talk October, 2008
Jonathan Foley's talk on "The Other Inconvenient Truth" from September, 2011
We can compare Haiti and the Dominican Republic and look at two possible futures. The two countries share the same island. Haiti is completely deforested and in abject poverty. The Dominican Republic is the exact opposite because of different land use. We are fortunate that we have the opportunity to have some say in our future.
This image taken at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is from oglhaiti.wordpress.com
For more background information on the subject read Jared Diamond's book Collapse. He devotes a chapter 11 to the history of land use in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Deforestation is often a major contributor to the destruction of a culture. He also looks at the causes for other societal collapses throughout history.
Why Societies Collapse TED talk October, 2008
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