Upload
nathaniel-carvin
View
214
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Series of Boards depicting the influences of the Corn Belt on natural ecologies and the new landscapes created in the process.
Citation preview
US Production of Ethanol in millions of gallons
300
200
100
Farm Size in Acreage2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000US Production of corn in millions of bushels
54oF 54oFAverage annual temperature in the Midwest
$1
$2Dollar Price of a Bushel of Corn
2013 AD1950 AD1900 AD1870 AD
1860 Improvement of farming technology
1860 Other crops dominate Midwest 1870
1897 George Washington Carver devises his Crop Rotation
1860 Hybridization of Corn 1870
1842 Broad use of fertilizer (Artificial Manure)
1933 Agricultural Adjustment Administration pays farmers to reduce their land with Agricultural Adjustment Act
1945 Industrialization 1972
1946 Irrigation of the Midwest (Dams / Reservoirs) 1975
2012 Change in Corn Production due to Change in Climate 2013
Dams in the Midwest raise the levels of the Mississippi River downstream
Henry Ford and the Model-T
Wheat and Cotton
1970 New uses for Corn invented 1980
1908 First use of corn-based fuel
1949 Farm sizes double with new technology 1982
1997 Corn Belt Ecoregions designated by EPA
2005 Great Lakes Basin damaged from Mass Production of Corn
2007 Corn Belt produces 50% of US corn
2004 Biotechnical advances in corn200 Bi h i l2004 Biotechnical
2004 Green Plains Renewable Energy
1978 Mass production / use 2004 of trucks for shipping
2012 Predicted massive decline in production
Mass Production of Corn
2007 C B ltB ltrops dominate Midwest 18701860 Other c
1949 Farm sizes double with new technology 1982
d f h lUS Production of Ethanol in ll f ll
1837 John Deere Company Current
1938 Corn Belt Energy Current Electric Company for the Midwest
Pioneer of farming practices and technology
(National Inventors Hall of Fame)
(Corn Belt Energy)
(Fuel Testers)
(Reinhardt)
(Agriculture in the Classroom)
(Princeton University)
(Deere & Company)
(The Climate Corporation)
(Hart)
(Great Lakes Commission)
(EPA)
(US Government)
(US Government)
(US Government)
(US Government)
(Combs)
(Anderson)
(Reinhardt)
(Great Lakes Commission)
(Encyclopedia Britannica)
(Encyclopedia Britannica)
(Hart)
(Thiessen)
(Green Plains)
(Smith)
(Smith)
carvin historical interactions with the corn belt
Natural Inputs and Constituents
Largest US cities
carvin
[20,000,000 bushels]
[10,000,000 bushels]
[1,000,000 bushels]
5+ hardiness
USDA Hardiness Map
USDA Corn Production Map
PPaPaPaPParcrccrcell Specialtty y CoCornn AAArerreeeasasasas
flyways through the Corn Belt reveal the natural zones of predators for Corn
gradient reveals the hardiness zones from North to South, explaining best temperatures for corn growth
map of counties in the Corn Belt and production of corn represented in shades of green
each major river flowing through the Corn Belt to create the Mississippi River Delta Basin
wind map reveals a trend toward carrying airborne pesticides toward the Great Lakes Basin
manufacturing plantNitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus compromise the primary elements of chemically produced fertilizer. These elements are processed at a manufacturing plant to the specifications of the order before being shipped to the farm.
Since corn is a shallow rooted crop, fertilizers are spread across the surface of a cornfield and allowed to penetrate the ground. Through this method, very little of the overall fertilizer is actually absorbed by corn and a majority is subject to runoff.
Majority of elements in fertilizer as well as chemical products are not absorbed and rather enter tributaries, eventually entering nearby bodies of water. Often adverse environmental and human health effects can be linked to this runoff.
Removal of any predators and tertiary predators as a result of pesticide use
Introduction of fertilizer due to bred dependency on artificial nutrients
Attraction of new predators and immunity of old predators
fertilizer unabsorbed by plants to enter water table
Aerial dumping of pesticides over corn fields ensures complete coverage and removal of undesirable species / predators to crops. Also ensures crops themselves can absorb the chemicals.
Result of chemical manipulations to corn fields are a monospecies dependent on human manipulation for proper growth
Primarily petrolium based, the other chemically produced technology used in the production of corn is pesticides. These vary widely in type and compound, and are produced with oil based products at a manufacturing plant before disbursement.
aerial crop dusting
tractor and boom
chemical manipulations of corn as a technology carvin
water table
pesticide induced monoculture
fertilizer-dependent mature corn
cycle of agents and environment
production and use of chemical agents
to watershed
pesticides cover everything to remove undesirable species
potassium
nitrogen
phosphorus
potassium
nitrogen
phosphorus
petrolium
petrolium
janfeb
mar
aprm
ayjun
julaug
sep
oct
nov
dec
ssss
Irrigation practices quickly remove water from site’s groundplane as well as water table to preserve crops. The water carries a majority of the fertilizers and pesticides used in the field with it.
Decreased yeilds result in heavier use of fertilizer, compounding the issue.
Pesticides function in the same fashion through the waterways,
The end result can be random extreme algal blooms in major bodies of water like Lake Erie. These in turn will produce hypoxic zones once the algea dies.Originally single growning seasons ended in August, but farming practices have generated a new wild growing pattern.
(CBC News)
(Biello)
Fertilizers become bound to the path of the pesticides, which provide a clear route to headwaters of major bodies.
Pesticides are washed from above ground surfaces, while fertilizer is irrigated along with water table into tributaries.
out of control human systems due to feedback
spillover disrupts natural ecosystems
wild growing seasons supportnew wilderness
(Schober)
(University of Missouri)
(Union of Concerned Scientists)
(Organic Trade Association)
(Union of Concerned Scientists)
(PAN North America)
the environment beyond: new wilderness carvin