Omnivore's Dilemm The Environmental Effects Of Irrigated Agriculture

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 70 percent of the Earth’s freshwater goes toward irrigation. Farmers all around the world use water to help the crops grow, but sometimes they use too much of it. This makes people wonder, “Could over watering crops during agriculture be a bad thing?” Even though irrigation systems and farmers give a little more water than needed to help the crops grow, they should save and conserve water, because, if they don’t, the freshwater supply around the planet will rapidly decrease and the economy will be negatively affected by that. The world today is about three quarters covered with water, which seems like a lot. According to The National Geographic Society, only about 0.3

To prove this, the “Environmental Effects of Irrigated Agriculture,” article informs that the extra water than is not absorbed from the crops becoming saturated with chemicals. This unhealthy water then runs off into other clean water sources infecting them with chemicals and this keeps on spreading until stopped. In addition, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan explains, “But what happens to the eighty pounds of man made nitrogen the Naylor’s corn plants don’t take up? Some of it evaporates into the air where it creates acid rain. Some of it turns into nitrous oxide, a gas that increases global warming...The flood of extra nitrogen causes a wild growth of algae, smothering the fish” (33-34). Due to the fact that the extra water is being unabsorbed, it will cause damage to other things like the water cycle and other living species which hurts the community. Another example is once again from, The Effects of Farming, which said, “...after farmers have cleared away natural vegetation to plant crops. These crops may not drink as much water as the natural vegetation, so when it rains more water seeps past these roots into the soil. This raises the ground level in the rocks beneath” (Smith). This statement shows that the extra, unabsorbed water will raise the ground level, but by conserving water we can keep the ground level the same, this will also help prevent

This statement is true, however, it’s the little things that the farmers don’t expect too make such a big impact on the planet. Next, to avoid over watering their crops, “Farmers carefully monitor the weather forecast, as well as soil and plant moisture, and adapt their irrigation schedule to the current conditions” (“10”). This seems like a good method to use for saving water, although what if the farmer’s just watered the crops and an unexpected rainfall occurs, that won’t end too well. A second instance is, “Good grazing management increases the fields water absorption and decreases water runoff, making pature more drought-resistant” (“10”). Grazing does help conserve water, but, their is still going to be chemical water that has to go to waste because it isn’t reliable. To end with, even if farmers did over water the crops, the farmers then could, “...cover crops reduce weeds, increase soil fertility and organic matter, and help prevent erosion and compaction. This allows water to more easily penetrate the soil and improves its water-holding capacity” (“10”). Even though covering the crops will decrease the chances of global warming and help the crops to hold more water, there will always be some water that slips through into the ground and into other water resource as unhealthy water. Therefore, there are many solutions to save