Difference between revisions of "Tem"

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==APR 5: 21 ==
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==APR 12: 23 ==
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===Montgomery, Chapter 4, "Graveyards of Empires"===
 
  
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:*Thesis: Soil degradation doesn't directly cause declines in civilization, but makes civilizations more vulnerable to "hostile neighbors, internal sociopolitical disruption, and harsh winters or droughts."
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===Montgomery, Chapter 8: Dirty Business===
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:*Tikal (Guatamala) - Meso-American (Mayan, in this case) civilization reclaimed by the jungle. 1840s re-discovery. (returns to this at the end).
 
  
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:*Ancient Greece
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:*Tsangpo River culture in Tibet, exception to soil erosion story.  silt and soil cared for, but also animals fertilize fields.
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::*(In this section, he implies that we tell "false histories" of ancient agriculturalists when we imagine that they took care of their soil.)
 
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::*As land degraded, needed more slaves to feed owners.  Sporadic use of fertilizers.  Hills around Athens bare by 570 BC (before Plato).
 
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::*Evidence of knowledge of erosion (from hillsides) as public policy, but failure to address it.   
 
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::*By time of Peloponnesian War (431-404), Egypt & Sicilian provide 1/3 to 3/4 of food to Greece. (In news this am (2017), Yemen imports 80% of food.)
 
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::*(Comments by Plato and Aristotle on soil degradation.)
 
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::*Greeks repeat pattern of Mesopotamia -- intensified cultivation as population grows.  Plow a significant step.  p. 54: 1,000 year cycle of soil erosion / pop density decline.
 
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::*Evidence of movement from small diversified farming to large plantations with fewer crops.
 
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::*We associate Greece with olive trees and grapes, but that's partly because they do well in the thin rocky soil left from millennia of soil erosion.
 
  
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:*Rome
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:*History of cultivation in China, emergence of wetland rice production (patties allow for nitrogen fixing algae), early 20th cent. 70-80 percent of income on food.  199-2003 crop yields down 10%.  (Note: Question of food import dependence gets people's attention. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswright/2014/02/11/when-chinas-food-runs-out/#29bdc9636f43]
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::*146bc, conquest of Corinth, incorporate of Greece into Empire
 
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::*Research of Vita-Finzi, mid-60s: Was soil erosion (in Libya) from climate change or mismanagement?  Found two major periods of hillside erosion: one ancient,attributable to climate, the other dated to late Roman era.  Climate also involved when you mismanage soil because land is more vulnerable to climate variation.  (Note: In light of climate change, food security (or price stability) might become a greater concern.)
 
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::*Roughly 5,000 to 4,000 bc.:  agriculture introduced to Italian pennisula by immigrants.
 
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::*Significance of Bronze Age (2,000bc to 800bc) and Iron Age (500 bc on):  depth of plowing and deforestation.   
 
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::*500bc -- highpoint of productivity - 1-5 acres / family.  "farmers" had social status. 
 
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::*Erosion in south (Campagna) also produced malaria from pooling of water on eroded land.
 
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::*Cato's ''De Agri Cultura'' - p.59  Cato brought plump figs from Carthage to the Senate floor, arguing that Carthage was a threat to Rome because of its food productivity.  Ended all his speeches with "Carthage must be destroyed."  Third Punic War took care of that. Roman model become colonial system of agriculture around N. Africa and Sicily.  Pliny the Elder (23-79ad)
 
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::*Varo, De re Rustica, 117bc, focused on intensive high yield ag for the times.
 
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::*Like Greece, Romans in Empire Period relied heavily on slaves to feed them. 
 
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::*Difference in Roman case: extensive knowledge of hubandry.  1960s studies of erosion around Rome: 1" a year before the Via Cassia was built, 1"per 200 years after. 
 
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::*substory: emergence of the latifundia system of agriculture in 2nd cent bc due, in part to post-war availability of cheap land, lots of slaves.  63
 
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::*by 300 ad, productivity of central Italy dramatically declined.  Campagna.
 
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::*Empire needed to annex parts of N. Africa to secure food.  Mid-80s UNESCO research moved us away from climate explanation for decline. 
 
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::*30bc - Egypt becomes a colonial food source.  after Cleopatra dies.  Emperor Augustus (1st cent ad) forbade senators and nobles from entering Egypt due to fear of its ag power.67 
 
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::*story of 19th American, George Perkins March, research in Italy on soil erosion.  early hypothesis of Roman land misuse. '''land doesn't always recover'''.
 
  
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:*North Africa - Mideast
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:*discoveries of nitrogen and phosphorous (late 18th cent.), potassium and calcium in 1808. (note Justus von Liebig, claim that form of soil ammedment doesn't matter, but still rec. organic soil cultivation), early fertilizer factory, 1843, using sulfuric acid on phosphate to make it available to plants -1843 John Lawes.   
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::*Lowdermilk in Tunisia, Algieria. Then on to Levant.  Lebanon and Israel.   
 
  
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:*Back to Tikal and the Mayan case
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:*1838: discovery of nitrogen fixing plants, but not till 1888 do we get the microbial mechanism.  Guano deposits, phosphate mining, Franklin Pierce 1856 Guano Island Act (pretty extraordinary - allowed US citizens to claim guano islands).  set off a kind of "gold rush" over guano.  Rape of Nauru.
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::*Maize domestication about 2000bc.  greatest erosion around 600-900ad, along with evidence steep population decline.  from 1million in 3rd c. ad. to 1/2 that 200 years later.
 
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::*mechanisms: slash and burn agriculture.  fertility declines.  but worked at low population levels. 
 
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::*lots of studies of silting and erosion. p. 75ff.
 
  
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:*General points:
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:*Pre-civil war Mississippi state geologist, Eugene Hilgard and mid-19th soil science: 1872: talk on how soil exhaustion shapes fate of civilizations (early version of montgomery's thesis!)  Understood importance of manure and replenishing minerals.  Goes to California to figure out problem of alkaline soils.  Salt leeching from rock.  "H's 1892 landmark report laid out the basic idea that the physical and chemical character of soils reflect ... regional climate and vegetation. Disputes with South Carolina professor Milton  Whitney, who thought moisture and texture alone explained soil fertility. Infamous proclamation as 1901 head of USDA: soil is inexhaustible. King fired by Whitney for agreeing with Hilgard. examples, at 194 of crazy explanations Whitney offered to account for soil depletion without acknowledging it.  Ex. he thought fertilizers accelarated soil production from rocks.  productivity differences due to social causes.
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::*Soil degradation characteristic of major civilizations.   
 
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:::*Reflected in commitments to slavery, expansion, and exploitation.
 
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:::*Happens regardless of knowledge of good practices.
 
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:::*Often in connection with development of a food export industry.  
 
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::*Civilizations which left records often assigned blame to climate change, disappearance of water sources.  (Remarkable exceptions include famous intellectuals like Pliny the Elder, Tertulian, Plato, Aristotle.)
 
  
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:*193: Story of natural nitrogen formation.  Phorphorus mining and depletion by 1st WW.
  
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===Small Group Discussion===
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:*Story of industrial nitrogen: bombs and fertilzer, need to secure sources: 196:German nitro technology.  Fritz Haber.  Haber-Bosch process.  post ww2 nitrogen production, further separated animal ag from plant ag. 1920s new version of the process converts methane to ammonia.  Global nitrogen production, 197. [http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6895e.pdf More current info]
  
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:*How is the Montgomery's narrative about soil and civilizations similar to or different fromthe story of agriculture you grew up with?
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:*Green Revolution -- high-yield strains for wheat and rice, combined with nitrogen fert.  1970 Nobel Prize to Norman Borlaug. top of 198 - probs with Green Revolution.  By 1980s population growth consumed crop yield growth.  reduced viability of non-capitalized farms.  Mention Songhai Center.  Oil dependence: ag used 30% of petroleum production.  USDA estimate: 1/2 of fertilizer used to replace nutrients lost through soil erosion. 
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:*Is it useful to inform a philosophy of food with a view about soil management?  Why or why not?
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 +
:*Can organic farming match yields from nitrogen/oil farming?  Pennsylvania study at p. 201. 
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:*Modern Organic Movement: starts with 1930s Sir Albert Howard and Edward Faulkner.  animal waste crucial. early composter advocates, early warning on synth nitrogen. Faulkner argued against ploughing.  "alt-Ag"  Wes Jackson, Land Institute, Salinas KS.  Check them out.  Still working on a no plough wheat. "natural systems agriculture" (also compatible with "permaculture")
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:*207:  Barry Commoner, Center for Biology of Natural Systems at Wash U.  study claiming organic farms produce similar yields as industrial methods.  Others claims within 2%.  Mid- 80s research by John Reganold [http://css.wsu.edu/people/faculty/john-p-reganold/] on two farms near Spokane, check out his Ted talk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGBZZh8Oqyo]  What if industrial agriculture is partly a culture conception of how to produce food rather than a market based or science based approach?
 +
 
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:*(Some recent sceptical doubts: Can these results be scaled up?  What are the inputs for human labor? p. 208 mentions 1/3 higher labor costs.)
 +
 
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:*208-209: more comparative research on organic/commerical ag.  Farm subsidies and effect on farm size/corporate farming. 210  1/10 of ag producers get 2/3 of subsidies.
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:*211 on: update on no-till and conservation tilling.  catching on.  Food Security Acts of 1985 and 1990 mandate conservation plans for farms.  soil erosion contributes directly to climate change - oxidation of organic material releases CO2.  Soil conservation sequesters co2.
 +
 
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:*story of Quincy, WA.  Cenex toxic fertilizer scandal. 
 +
 
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:*(This account could easily incorporate the stories of the Montana farmers in the gripping "Lentil Underground" -- a good book group book.)

Revision as of 20:27, 12 April 2018

APR 12: 23

Montgomery, Chapter 8: Dirty Business

  • Tsangpo River culture in Tibet, exception to soil erosion story. silt and soil cared for, but also animals fertilize fields.
  • History of cultivation in China, emergence of wetland rice production (patties allow for nitrogen fixing algae), early 20th cent. 70-80 percent of income on food. 199-2003 crop yields down 10%. (Note: Question of food import dependence gets people's attention. [1]
  • discoveries of nitrogen and phosphorous (late 18th cent.), potassium and calcium in 1808. (note Justus von Liebig, claim that form of soil ammedment doesn't matter, but still rec. organic soil cultivation), early fertilizer factory, 1843, using sulfuric acid on phosphate to make it available to plants -1843 John Lawes.
  • 1838: discovery of nitrogen fixing plants, but not till 1888 do we get the microbial mechanism. Guano deposits, phosphate mining, Franklin Pierce 1856 Guano Island Act (pretty extraordinary - allowed US citizens to claim guano islands). set off a kind of "gold rush" over guano. Rape of Nauru.
  • Pre-civil war Mississippi state geologist, Eugene Hilgard and mid-19th soil science: 1872: talk on how soil exhaustion shapes fate of civilizations (early version of montgomery's thesis!) Understood importance of manure and replenishing minerals. Goes to California to figure out problem of alkaline soils. Salt leeching from rock. "H's 1892 landmark report laid out the basic idea that the physical and chemical character of soils reflect ... regional climate and vegetation. Disputes with South Carolina professor Milton Whitney, who thought moisture and texture alone explained soil fertility. Infamous proclamation as 1901 head of USDA: soil is inexhaustible. King fired by Whitney for agreeing with Hilgard. examples, at 194 of crazy explanations Whitney offered to account for soil depletion without acknowledging it. Ex. he thought fertilizers accelarated soil production from rocks. productivity differences due to social causes.
  • 193: Story of natural nitrogen formation. Phorphorus mining and depletion by 1st WW.
  • Story of industrial nitrogen: bombs and fertilzer, need to secure sources: 196:German nitro technology. Fritz Haber. Haber-Bosch process. post ww2 nitrogen production, further separated animal ag from plant ag. 1920s new version of the process converts methane to ammonia. Global nitrogen production, 197. More current info
  • Green Revolution -- high-yield strains for wheat and rice, combined with nitrogen fert. 1970 Nobel Prize to Norman Borlaug. top of 198 - probs with Green Revolution. By 1980s population growth consumed crop yield growth. reduced viability of non-capitalized farms. Mention Songhai Center. Oil dependence: ag used 30% of petroleum production. USDA estimate: 1/2 of fertilizer used to replace nutrients lost through soil erosion.
  • Can organic farming match yields from nitrogen/oil farming? Pennsylvania study at p. 201.
  • Modern Organic Movement: starts with 1930s Sir Albert Howard and Edward Faulkner. animal waste crucial. early composter advocates, early warning on synth nitrogen. Faulkner argued against ploughing. "alt-Ag" Wes Jackson, Land Institute, Salinas KS. Check them out. Still working on a no plough wheat. "natural systems agriculture" (also compatible with "permaculture")
  • 207: Barry Commoner, Center for Biology of Natural Systems at Wash U. study claiming organic farms produce similar yields as industrial methods. Others claims within 2%. Mid- 80s research by John Reganold [2] on two farms near Spokane, check out his Ted talk [3] What if industrial agriculture is partly a culture conception of how to produce food rather than a market based or science based approach?
  • (Some recent sceptical doubts: Can these results be scaled up? What are the inputs for human labor? p. 208 mentions 1/3 higher labor costs.)
  • 208-209: more comparative research on organic/commerical ag. Farm subsidies and effect on farm size/corporate farming. 210 1/10 of ag producers get 2/3 of subsidies.
  • 211 on: update on no-till and conservation tilling. catching on. Food Security Acts of 1985 and 1990 mandate conservation plans for farms. soil erosion contributes directly to climate change - oxidation of organic material releases CO2. Soil conservation sequesters co2.
  • story of Quincy, WA. Cenex toxic fertilizer scandal.
  • (This account could easily incorporate the stories of the Montana farmers in the gripping "Lentil Underground" -- a good book group book.)
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