1. Introduction
Other researchers, including Foote, Joy, & Death (2015) , Bain & Dandachi (2015)have identified that the intensification of dairy farming has the potential to degrade water-ways.
1.1 What question will be answered?
Through this study the researcher will look at Taranaki as a case and answer the research question:
What aspects, if any of the WAC Mission Statement may be applicable to Taranaki?
1.2 Why is it interesting to the rest of us?
There has been a recent report claiming that ‘our streams and rivers show good to excellent water quality on most measures’(TRC, 2015b), however an article by Joy (2014) would appear to be at odds with the TRC report conclusions. The public are very interested in the quality of the Taranaki waterways and are not sure what to believe.
2. What is already known?
This study will focus on the quality of the waterways in Taranaki and the perception that degradation is occurring from the increasing intensification of dairy farming, where the total number of dairy cows in New Zealand has increased by 1,071,504 cows (27.8%) from 2003/04 – 2013/14 (LIC & DairyNZ, 2014).
This study will draw on aspects of the New York watershed water supply system which is made up of a complex network of reservoirs, aqueducts, tunnels, and pipes, all managed by the Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC). WAC is a not-for-profit organisation that works with farm and forest landowners in the New York City Watershed region to provide high quality, yet unfiltered water to the nine million residents of New York City.
The New York WAC Mission is relevant to this study as New York had previously faced water quality problems similar to Taranaki but managed to overcome pollution type issues by developing a sustaina...
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...left many customers questioning the validity of the claim, for example, after Fonterra’s Clostridium Botulism scare in 2013, the official Chinese newspaper Xinhua wrote “New Zealand’s “100% Pure” tourism slogan is becoming a “festering sore,” saying buyers of Kiwi goods are losing faith in its clean, green image’.(Brockett & Wither, 2013)
2.3 WAC Mission Goal - Water Quality
There is a public perception, and there are numerous scientific papers, such as Blackett, (2004) and Foote et al. (2015) that suggest that the issue of intensive dairy farming and it’s perceived impact on the waterways is important to many parties, including the community, lobby groups and businesses.
Whether the perception of ‘dirty dairying’ is true or false, (yet to be determined) if accepted by our global business partners, has the potential to cause severe damage to New Zealand’s economy.
o Has created more sanitary water but less is available. Goats have also destroyed the grass. And each cattle post now has a permanent population of houseflies.
...urkholder, J., Libra, B., Weyer, P., Heathcote, S., Kolpin, D., Thorne, P., et al. (2007). Impacts of waste from concentrated animal feeding operations on water quality. Environmental Health Perspectives, 11(2), 308–312. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817674/pdf/ehp0115-000308.pdf
From a financial and marketing standpoint, the effects have been catastrophic. In some areas, milk production has decreased by an average of two liters daily and calving index (efficiency at which new calves are produced) went down by an average of twenty days (Davies NP). Th...
Bibliography Laws, Edward A. Aquatic Pollution. 2nd edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1993. Pg. 301-305. Adams, Aurthur G. The Hudson Through the Years. New Jersey: Lind Publications, 1983. ------------------------. The Hudson: A Guide to the River. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981. Barnthouse, Lawrence W. Science, Law, and the Hudson River WWW.SCENICHUDSON.ORG WWW.HUDSONRIVER.ORG WWW.RIVERKEEPER.ORG
The Cadron Creek watershed covers approximately 775 square miles and is composed mostly of forests (48%) and grassland (37%). However, a pending permit, AR0052086C, would allow a centralized waste treatment facility to discharge, recycled fracking fluid waste waters into an unnamed tributary located within the Cadron Creek watershed. This unnamed tributary flows directly into Linn Creek, which would then feed into the north fork of the Cadron and eventually into the Arkansas river (ADEQ 2013). The Cadron Creek, located within the Arkansas river basin, is listed by the US Army Corps of Engineers as an extraordinary resource water body or ERWB (USACE 2013). ERWBs are important, because they satisfy a broad range of socio-economic, cultural, and environmental values which benefit both humans and the environment. ERWBs can help facilitate re-entry into nature, because of their scenic beauty, recreation potential, and their ecological and scientific values which can provide educational opportunities for the public. For this project, a suite of water quality metrics were collected from confluences and bridge crossings of headwater streams located within the Cadron Creek watershed. These water quality metrics included dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and specific conductivity.
About 80% of the State’s surveyed freshwater rivers and streams have good water quality that fully supports aquatic life uses, 17% have fair water quality that partially supports aquatic life uses, and 3% have poor water quality that does not support aquatic life uses. Ten percent of the surveyed rivers do not fully support swimming. The major sources of impairment are agriculture (responsible for 53% of the impaired river miles), urban runoff (responsible for 16%), and construction (responsible for 13%). These sources generate siltation, bacteria, and organic wastes that deplete disssolved opxygen.
Encompassing the agricultural processes involved in the raising and slaughtering of livestock, the meat industry naturally involves some economical, environmental, biological, geographical, and ethical consequences. As one of the largest components of the global agricultural sector, the meat industry is able to impact the world’s water resources on an alarming level. It does this in primarily two very significant ways: through its consumption of water and its contributions to water pollution. These effects on the world’s water are an increasing cause for concern as water scarcity escalates.
The pollution of Lake Macatawa has reached a point where both government entities as well as local people need to do their part to clean it up. Through my research it is clear that Lake Macatawa has a clear pollution problem. The pollution problem is an underrated issue because its lack of coverage and its potential significant impact. Lake Macatawa is connected to Lake Michigan, which is a massively valuable natural resource. Lake Macatawa’s pollution is an issue of which needs to be taken care. Even though there are city ordinances, state-wide laws, and federal laws in place, Lake Macatawa still manages to remain incredibly polluted. The proof of the pollution can be shown through the clean-up effort that is going on now. The research includes
The Colorado River resides in North America at 1,450 miles long it spans from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado flowing southwest through six other states into Mexico. During the 19th century, settlement within this region was limited to merely accessing the Colorado River. Back then adjacent water was strictly used to support life. Today, with our advanced water treatment and transportation methods, water is known for its more loose sense of sustaining “life” and that is of an economic sense. Now, we utilize water for more than just drinking. We apply water to trigger industry, mass produce agriculture, generate power and even recreationally. With our new thirsts we encounter dizzying demands for water. As we use this water for economic gains we take increasing amounts from the river. The water that is returned is then of severely lower quality causing detrimental effects to biologic life. To complicate the problem at hand the Colorado River has experienced drought since 1999. Currently, according to The Bureau of Reclamation, most areas of the river are experiencing extreme drought conditions. The Colorado River is not only degrading, but also drying up due to climate change and poor water management, consequently modern human development is impeded and the environment permanently scarred, therefore to prevent further damage local and state authorities should plan to alter wasteful methods of water management.
In the 1800s the industrial revolution began and with it came the agricultural revolution. As time passed, people demanded more and more meat and dairy. Eventually, factory farming emerged. Factory farming called for more intensive farming, meaning more animals in a very small area to maximize profits, at the animals’ expense that is. Factory farming in Ohio is highly detrimental to the surroundings and humans, not to mention its ethical flaws2 (Figure 3). As a result, today’s environment is polluted with carbon monoxide emissions, runoff pollution, and disease and much of this meat can cause health complications. This runoff can contaminate drinking water with fecal matter or antibiotics fed to the animals to increase their growth (Figure
As concerns regarding climate change continue to spread, environmentalists are searching for a solution. However, the fact is that cars, planes, trains and ships combined produce less greenhouse gas emissions than the livestock industry. Other resources are also depleted, and in some cases eliminated, because of factory farming. For example, several farms create man-made lagoons to store manure. However, these lagoons are overran and are easily ruptured. The manure in the flooding lagoons act as nutrient pollution in waterways and soil, which wastes valuable land and drinking water. The wasted resources do not stop there as the production of meat products waste so much water that you could save more water by not eating one pound of beef then you could if you went six months without showering. The actions of factory farming towards the environment are blatantly
Runoff from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, farms where animals are fed a plethora of drugs including antibiotics and hormones, are contributing large amounts of drug contamination to the water supply (Powell). Much of this runoff comes from biowaste and manure produced by large farm animals. It has been found that states with more CAFOs experience higher numbers of contamination problems every year (Hribar). The waste that these farm animals produce not only contains hormones, but more significantly, dangerous nitrates. According to the EPA, “Animal agriculture manure is a primary source of nitrogen and phosphorus to surface and groundwater” (Estimate). The nitrogen produced naturally in addition to that excreted from animals becomes dangerous because it is soluble, and it easily infiltrates the animals and the water supply.
Cruelty toward animals, huge economic problems, and major health concerns are just three reasons why factory farming should be banned worldwide. Many people argue that factory farming is the only way to meet growing demands for food in the world today. However, factory farming is just not necessary, especially when it comes down to killing innocent animals in order to feed people. A way to put an end to the factory farming system is by buying our food from smaller, sustainable farms. These businesses still aim to profit from their labor, but that’s not their only objective. (The Issues: Factory Farming, n.d.) They simply will not sacrifice the health of the land or the quality of food simply to make a few extra dollars.
Smith, Zachary A., and Grenetta Thomassey. Freshwater Issues: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print
Environmental impacts have increased, including potential ruin of the soil and water resources essential to both farm productivity and human health.