Pesticides: Making Them Greener For The Better
The creek was translucent and impeccable. The sun rays, penetrating through the height of the sequoias, cut through the remaining morning fog until they reached the untroubled water. I thought this was going to be the ultimate fishing weekend, until my dad and I neared our lucky spot along the banks of the Feather River. As we settled down, we looked into the river only to find hundreds of frogs washed up to the shores by the high tide. Who had done such a barbaric act, and murdered these innocent and helpless amphibians? It turns out that farmers are the ones we should point the fingers at. Their toxic pesticides have not only extinguished the pests affecting their crops, but also killed many of nature’s slimy leapers. Pesticide use should be regulated in a more ecological way, as an effort to reduce the number of deaths of frogs, an important indicator of anthroterrestrial relations in California’s Central Valley.
Some farmers might argue that if the pesticides are adjusted to meet with the desired regulations, then the productivity levels of crops will be affected. This is because more harmful organisms can infest crops and the harvest will not prove to be as plentiful, decreasing the incoming revenue. An assessment made by numerous researchers, published in a BioScience journal 1, states “in general, each dollar invested in pesticide... returns approximately $4”. Although this might be true, farmers who are only interested in effective production should consider looking at how other agriculturists use eco-friendly pesticides to their advantage. These conservative farmers have to look out of American borders and into Canadian studies, such as the one performed by Murray Isma...
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... which these creatures will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Effects similar to these happen in humans as proved by LA Times 4: “[28% of] Central Valley women living within 500 meters... of fields sprayed with… pesticide during their first trimester of pregnancy...had autism.” Considering the numerous workers who live near these areas, over one hundred families have changed for the irresponsible acts of using malignant chemicals. Immediate action is necessary. Research companies should increase the large-scale production of “green pesticides” for the sake of the frogs. Laws also should be reinforced about the use of pesticides resulting in reducing deformities in humans and frogs, and the risks of getting a mosquito-transported disease. With this radical change to agriculture, not only frogs will be saved but planet earth will be better preserved.
There are many issues regarding the raising and producing of various livestock animals, and the use of pesticides on various types of crops. The movie Food.Inc does a good job explaining these issues, but in a very biased way. It makes agriculturists look like terrible people, when this is not the case.
Have you ever thought about how your fruits and vegetables are grown? How about which ingredients are put into bug sprays and insecticides to ward off those pesky insects? Look no further because author Rachel Carson looks deep into the many environmental issues caused by pesticides and herbicides in her New York Times best-selling novel, “Silent Spring.” “Silent Spring” is a collection of studies which were performed in an effort to educate others about the harmful things occurring everyday to their foods and every-day environment in hopes of giving them a wake up call. This novel is thought by many to be a revolutionary novel that forced people to take notice of the harm being caused in their world, many of which people were unaware of. After discovering the results of these chemicals, it really makes one wonder, is the luxury of being insect free really worth all of the consequences?
Kroma, M. M., & Flora, C. B. (2003). Greening pesticides: A historical analysis of the social
“(Silent Spring) spells out in memorable detail through out the book the effects of synthetic insecticides and herbicides on water, soil, plants, wildlife, fish and human beings. But in the book’s final chapter she suggests alternative courses of action for mankind —- a way out of this march toward death.” (Holmes, Pg. 123)
Pesticides can be absorbed from the outside of the produce to the inside of the skin. If one does not eat completely organic, there is no way to stay completely away from consuming chemicals. Pesticides also contaminate drinking water. Run off water from farms using pesticides contaminate rivers and have the potential to infiltrate drinking water supplies ("Assessing Health Risks from Pesticides | Pesticides | US EPA"). A simple way to avoid this is to filter your water a few extra times before you consume it. Scientists know more about the effect pesticides have on people than the effects GMOs do. This evidence is due to worker exposer. People who apply pesticides such as vegetable and fruit pickers. The Environmental Protection Agency known as the EPA, evaluates exposure workers have to chemicals. The EPA only registers chemicals that are shown to be safe if used properly. There are different ways to be exposed to pesticide, inhalation exposure, dermal exposure, and oral exposure. Testing is typically preformed on animals by pesticide companies in independent laboratories. While testing pesticides the EPA looks for a wide range of side effects such as eye and skin irritation to birth defects and cancer. The Federal Government also regulates pesticides, “to ensure that they do not pose unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.” ("Assessing Health Risks from Pesticides | Pesticides | US
Sure farmers may have a big fuel bill at the end of spring for having to go out and spray pesticides. Spraying pesticides doesn’t waste the farmer’s time, it just wastes their money that they use to pay for the expensive pesticides. Pesticides are beneficial to farmers, and are a farmer’s best friend. The pesticides take care of weeds, pests, and diseases. Pesticides kill the weeds, diseases, and pests. They are a farmer’s right hand man because it saves them from having to go out and pull weeds by hand. The pesticide business is a fifty million dollar business (Pros and Cons of Pesticides). I think pesticides are a great thing because they save people’s lives by getting rid of the diseases that can get in foods, and they get rid of all the back breaking work for agriculturists.
In a single year, America used approximately 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides, 77% used in the agricultural industry alone (Weeks). For years now, conservationists have tried to set stricter regulations for the use of pesticides but have been largely ignored. However, the time to act is now. With pesticides killing more bees every year, it may be too late if regulations are not made now. If the government passed tighter regulations on how much pesticide is used per acre it could help slow down the rate of bee extinction. If companies insisted onuseing vast amounts of pesticides, then said pesticides should be made bee and environmentally friendly. Doing this would be a compromise between agricultural operations and conservationist that both sides are more likely to agree on while still benefiting both
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
... book Silent Spring By Rachel Carson, she talks about after the glory days of the pesticides this problem was developing. this was getting worse. In the U.S., because of pest that have evolved, farmers were losing about seven percent of their crops. Since the 1980s, some 13 percent of crops are being lost, and more pesticides are being used (PBS). Since the pests are evolving, farmers are starting to use higher doses of the pesticide if the traditional dosage does not work. Every time a human uses a pesticide, the bugs evolve a little. the bugs can not help this because it is the process of evolution, it is the cycle of life. Because pest evolution has become such a widespread problem farmers and gardeners are starting to use natural pesticides on their crops and gardens. They might even lure the pest with a meal that is more tasty than the vulnerable crop.
Civilization began with agriculture, and agriculture continues to be an integral part of our lives. Civilization brought knowledge, knowledge brought technology, and technology brought chemicals and pesticides to “improve” our world. “The Obligation to Endure” is an excerpt from Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” a passionate and masterful work on the results of civilization’s efforts to control pests and insects. These effects include destruction of the environment, alteration of gene structures in plants and animals, water contamination, and an upset of nature’s delicate balance. This article is an impassioned plea to the world to understand the threat and demand the information necessary to make an informed consent on use of these deadly substances.
There are billions of pounds of pesticides that are produced annually, despite the research showing how dangerous this overuse is. In fact, “recent research has documented the fact that certain pesticides use may actually increase pest problems” (Pojman, 2017, p. 800). This further demonstrates how pesticides are generally harmful rather than helpful. There are multiple organisms which pesticides affect, including poisoning humans, domestic animals, bees, while also causing a loss in crops, reducing populations of natural enemies, and growing pesticide resistance. Specifically, in the case of bee poisonings, the overall death of these bees results in the loss of 135 million dollars each year. There is also evidence that recently there have been more bee poisonings since 1962, since highly toxic insecticides are being used, while greater amounts of insecticides are being dispensed. Pesticides are also deployed through aircraft, allowing drifting problems. Additionally, insecticides are used by many populations other than farmers, including “golf-course managers, gardeners, and other landowners” to simply deal with their daily unwanted pests that will damage their flowers and crops (Williams, 2014, p. 33). If these insecticides are sprayed near a bee’s habitat or nest site, they will be harmed either immediately or subtly in regards to their behavior. Even worse, there are certain pesticides which treat seeds and thus allow it to be present in the plant’s tissue. This means that bees are being exposed to pesticides through pollen and nectar. In a study by Guseman, the goal was to discover which combinations of compounds were causing bees the most harm, so that a solution could be found. According to the study, bees are exposed to potentially dangerous pesticides in two distinct ways, through “in-hive miticides to control parasites and through the foraging activity of adult bees who collect pollen
With the world having so many people on it we use a lot of pesticides and fertilizers. If it was not for the help of these we would not have gotten to the place we are now. Pesticides and fertilizers do a lot more than just help grow and safe from pests. “Nearly 50% of the world labor is employed in agriculture and they significant risk”
One of the many examples of endocrine disruptors are the effects pesticides on amphibians and alligators. These model organisms have been observed to have an increased exposure
Instead of using pesticides in farming a better alternative would be biological control. This is when a natural predator is released into the crop growing area as a result the number of pests can be reduced.
...ates have more than fourteen distinct Federal Acts control the manufacture, registration, distribution, use, consumption and disposal of pesticides, EPA or other department cannot remove all of pesticides residues from our food, air and water. Therefore, Consumers cannot risk their own life to allow farmers and manufacturers do whatever they want to. The best way to have massive reduction for using pesticide is collecting taxes from farmers and manufacturers that overuse and mixing multiple chemicals. “The direct cost of applying a pesticide is only a small fraction of the actual cost. What remains unaccounted for are human illnesses due to pesticide exposures”(disrupting). Because farmers and manufactures react to tax incentives, pesticide will have a significant decline of use and produce pesticide.