Burning fossil fuel in the North American continent contributes more to the CO2 global warming problem than in any other continent. The resulting climate changes are expected to alter food production. The overall changes in temperature, moisture, carbon dioxide, insect pests, plant pathogens, and weeds associated with global warming are projected to reduce food production in North America. However, in Africa, the projected slight rise in rainfall is encouraging, especially since Africa already suffers from severe shortages of rainfall. For all regions, a reduction in fossil fuel burning is vital. Adoption of sound ecological resource management, especially soil and water conservation and the prevention of deforestation, is important. Together, these steps will benefit agriculture, the environment, farmers, and society as a whole. 相似文献
Process hazards review (PHR) techniques have generally been applied by large, sophisticated companies in the nuclear, aerospace, and chemical process industries. There remains, however, a large population of smaller distributors and consumers of hazardous materials which could benefit equally from the application of PHR. These consumers unfortunately are generally less sophisticated and individually lack the necessary resources required to apply such state-of-the-art safety techniques.
Where common processes can be identified, it is possible to conduct a more generic PHR that will provide a sound technical basis for recognizing and preventing the development of hazards wherever these processes are used. Some facility-specific issues will always need to be considered, but the existence of the generic PHR should make the conduct of a PHR by each facility considerably easier and less costly.
Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) contracted with DNV Technica Inc. to lead a hazard and operability study (HAZOP) of agricultural handling of anhydrous ammonia, from the receipt of ammonia at the retail distribution centre to the application of the ammonia by farmers to the fields. The multidisciplinary HAZOP team consisted of representatives from NIOSH, an agricultural chemical trade association, an ammonia producer, state ammonia facility inspectors, a retail distributor, and an equipment manufacturer. Several participants were part-time farmers with ammonia application experience.
Some specific aspects of applying the HAZOP technique in the context of this study, the findings obtained, and the plans to disseminate the important safety information developed during the course of the PHR are discussed. Finally, it is suggested that this approach could prove to be a useful addition to the product stewardship activities of chemical producers. 相似文献
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol under it, industrial countries
have to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions annually, and assess the uncertainties in these estimates. In Finland, agricultural
methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions represent 7% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, and globally the share is much higher. Agriculture is
one of the most uncertain emission categories (representing over 20% of greenhouse gas inventory uncertainty in Finland),
due to both high natural variability of the emission sources and poor knowledge of the emission-generating processes. In this
paper, we present an uncertainty estimate of agricultural CH4 and N2O emissions from Finland in 2002. Uncertainties were estimated based on measurement data, literature and expert judgement,
and total uncertainty in agriculture was calculated using Monte Carlo simulation. According to the calculations, agricultural
CH4 and N2O emissions from Finland were 3.7 to 7.8 Tg carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents, 5.4 Tg being the mean value.Estimates of CH4 emissions are more reliable than those of N2O. N2O from agricultural soils was the most uncertain emission category, and the uncertainty was not reduced by using available
national measurement data of N2O fluxes. Sensitivity study revealed that the uncertainty in total agricultural inventory could be 7% points lower, if more
accurate emission estimation methods were used, including 1) improved data collection in area estimates of organic soils,
2) climate-specific methods for N2O from agricultural soils as already presented in literature, and 3) more detailed CH4 estimation methods for enteric fermentation which can be achieved by investigating national circumstances and digestible
systems of animals in more detail. 相似文献
The ongoing drought in the Sahel region of West Africa highlights the vulnerability of food-producing systems to climate change
and variability. Adaptation to climate should therefore increase the sustainability of agriculture under a long-term drought.
Progress towards sustainability and adaptation in the the Senegal River Basin is hampered by an existing set of social and
ecological relationships that define the control over the means of production and how people interact with their environment.
These relationships are sensitive to the technological inputs and the administration of food production, or the factor bias
in the different policy alternatives for rural development. One option is based on state-controlled, irrigated plantations
to provide rice (Oryza) for the capital, Dakar. This policy emphasizes a top-down management approach, mechanized agriculture and a reliance on
external inputs which strengthens the relationships introduced during the colonial period.
A time series decomposition of the annual flow in the Senegal River at Bakel in Senegal suggests that water resources availability
has been substantially curtailed since 1960, and a review of the water resources budget or availability in the basin suggests
that this policy's food production system is not sustainable under the current climate of the basin. Under these conditions,
this program is exacerbating existing problems of landscape degradation and desertification, which increases rural poverty.
A natural resource management policy offers two adaptation strategies that favour decentralized management and a reduction
of external inputs. The first alternative, “Les Perimetres Irrigués”, emphasizes village-scale irrigation, low water consumption
cereal crops and traditional socio-political structures. The second alternative emphasizes farm-level irrigation and agro-forestry
projects to redress the primary effects of desertification. 相似文献
Research on the agricultural impacts of global change frequently emphasizesthe physical and socioeconomic impacts of climate change, yet globalchanges associated with the internationalization of economic activity mayalso have significant impacts on food systems. Together, climate change andglobalization are exposing farmers to new and unfamiliar conditions.Although some farmers may be in a position to take advantage of thesechanges, many more are facing increased vulnerability, particularly in thedeveloping world. This paper considers the dynamics of agriculturalvulnerability to global change through the example of southern Africa. Wedemonstrate that the combination of global and national economic changesis altering the context under which southern African farmers cope withclimate variability and adapt to long-term change. We find that farmers whoformerly had difficulty adapting to climatic variability may become lessvulnerable to drought-related food shortages as the result of tradeliberalization. At the same time, however, removal of national credit andsubsidies may constrain or limit adaptation strategies of other farmers,leaving them more vulnerable to climate variability and change. 相似文献
If no timely measures are taken to adapt Egyptian agriculture to possible climate warming, the effects may be negative and
serious. Egypt appears to be particularly vulnerable to climate change because of its dependence on the Nile River as the
primary water source, its large traditional agricultural base, and its long coastline, already undergoing both intensifying
development and erosion. A simulation study characterized potential yield and water use efficiency decreases on two reference
crops in the main agricultural regions with possible future climatic variation, even when the beneficial effects of increased
CO2 were taken into account. On-farm adaptation techniques which imply no additional cost to the agricultural system, did not
compensate for the yield losses with the warmer climate or improve the crop water-use efficiency. Economic adjustments such
as the improvement of the overall water-use efficiency of the agricultural system, soil drainage and conservation, land management,
and crop alternatives are essential. If appropriate measures are taken, negative effects of climate change in agricultural
production and other major resource sectors (water and land) may be lessened.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献