Sustainability & Stewardship
The story of Easter Island is an example of
what can happen if
People are not practicing these concepts of
environmentalism.
As was said in the movie Jurassic Park, Just
because we can do
something does not mean we should.
One good example of this quote
is found in the use of Pesticides
Certainly some
benefit can be
observed in the use
of these products.
But over-use and
misuse have caused
many problems in
our world
A pesticide is any substance or
mixture of substances intended for
preventing, destroying, repelling or
mitigating any pest
• A pesticide may be a chemical substance,
biological agent (such as a virus or bacterium),
antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used
against any pest.
• Pests include insects, plant pathogens, weeds,
mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes
(roundworms), and microbes that destroy
property, spread disease or are a vector for
disease or cause a nuisance.
Wild eagles in the eastern US
were lost to the pesticide DDT
In the mid 1980’s eagles
were reintroduced to
Deposit,
New York. The eagles
we see
In Whitney Point are
direct
descendents of these
birds
Introduced from Alaska.
Although there are benefits to the use
of pesticides, there are also drawbacks,
such as potential toxicity to humans
and other animals.
• any substance or mixture of substances
intended for preventing, destroying or controlling
any pest, including vectors of human or animal
disease, unwanted species of plants or animals
causing harm during or otherwise interfering with
the production, processing, storage, transport or
marketing of food, agricultural commodities,
wood and wood products or animal feedstuffs, or
substances which may be administered to
animals for the control of insects, arachnids or
other pests in or on their bodies.
• The term includes
substances intended for
use as a plant growth
regulator, defoliant,
desiccant or agent for
thinning fruit or
preventing the
premature fall of fruit,
and substances applied
to crops either before or
after harvest to protect
the commodity from
deterioration during
storage and transport.
• Pesticide use raises a
number of environmental
concerns. Over 98% of
sprayed insecticides and 95%
of herbicides reach a
destination other than their
target species, including nontarget species, air, water and
soil
• Pesticides are one of the
causes of water pollution, and
some pesticides are
persistent organic pollutants
and contribute to soil
contamination.
Historical Uses
Sulfur is one of the oldest
fungicides and pesticides. Dusting
sulfur, elemental sulfur in
powdered form, is a common
fungicide for grapes, strawberry,
many vegetables and several
other crops. It has a good efficacy
against a wide range of powdery
mildew diseases as well as black
spot.
Apple scale
Since before 2000 BC, humans
have utilized pesticides to protect
their crops. The first known
pesticide was elemental sulfur
dusting used in ancient Sumer
about 4,500 years ago in ancient
Mesopotamia. By the 15th century,
toxic chemicals such as arsenic,
mercury and lead were being
applied to crops to kill pests.
Sumer, Mesopotamia
Pesticides are used to control
organisms considered harmful
• For example, they
are used to kill
mosquitoes that
can transmit
potentially deadly
diseases like west
Nile virus, yellow
fever, and malaria.
Uses
• Insecticides can protect animals from illnesses
that can be caused by parasites such as
fleas.[11] Pesticides can prevent sickness in
humans that could be caused by moldy food or
diseased produce. Herbicides can be used to
clear roadside weeds, trees and brush. They can
also kill invasive weeds that may cause
damage. Herbicides are commonly applied in
ponds and lakes to control algae and plants
such as water grasses that can interfere with
activities like swimming and fishing and cause
the water to look or smell unpleasant
• Uncontrolled pests such as termites and
mould can damage structures such as
houses. Pesticides are used in grocery
stores and food storage facilities to
manage rodents and insects that infest
food such as grain. Each use of a
pesticide carries some associated risk.
• Pesticides can save farmers' money by
preventing crop losses to insects and other
pests; in the U.S., farmers get an estimated
fourfold return on money they spend on
pesticides.[13] One study found that not using
pesticides reduced crop yields by about
10%.[14] Another study,conducted in 1999,
found that a ban on pesticides in the United
States may result in a rise of food prices, loss of
jobs, and an increase in world hunger.
Some pesticides are considered too
hazardous for sale to the general public
and are designated restricted use
pesticides.
We have tried to make safety work
• Though pesticide regulations differ from country
to country, pesticides and products on which
they were used are traded across international
borders.
• To deal with inconsistencies in regulations
among countries, delegates to a conference of
the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization adopted an International Code of
Conduct on the Distribution and Use of
Pesticides in 1985 to create voluntary standards
of pesticide regulation for different countries
• Pesticide exposure
has also been linked
to Parkinson's
disease. Agricultural
workers exposed to
high levels of
pesticides have a
raised risk of brain
tumors, research
suggests.
The French
study also
indicated a
possible higher
risk among
people who use
pesticides on
houseplants.
Some have already understood the
future!
• In Europe, recent EU legislation has been
approved banning the use of highly toxic
pesticides including those that are carcinogenic,
mutagenic or toxic to reproduction, those that
are endocrine-disrupting, and those that are
persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or
very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB).
Measures were approved to improve the general
safety of pesticides across all EU member
states.
Regulation
• In most countries, pesticides must be
approved for sale and use by a
government agency. For example, in the
United States, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) does so.
• Complex and costly studies must be
conducted to indicate whether the material
is safe to use and effective against the
intended pest.
Unintended Consequences
Herbicides used in the Vietnam War
left behind a legacy of Horror
Agent Orange
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgLlkjsg1uo
• Agent Orange is the code name for one of the
herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S.
military as part of its herbicidal warfare program,
Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War
from 1961 to 1971.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCXt9hHEFu
8&feature=related
• The horror of war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zay0zcC0K4
&NR=1
• The program's goal was to defoliate forested and rural
land, depriving guerrillas of cover; Another goal was to
induce forced draft urbanization, destroying the ability
of peasants to support themselves in the countryside,
and forcing them to flee to the U.S. Dominated cities,
thus depriving the guerrillas of their rural support base
and food supply.
• The US began to target food crops in October
1962, primarily using Agent Blue. In 1965, 42
percent of all herbicide spraying was dedicated
to food crops.[4] Rural-to-urban migration rates
dramatically increased in South Vietnam, as
peasants escaped the destruction and famine in
the countryside by fleeing to the U.S.-dominated
cities. The urban population in South Vietnam
more than tripled: from 2.8 million people in
1958, to 8 million by 1971. The rapid flow of
people led to a fast-paced and uncontrolled
urbanization;
• Vietnamese man
born with deformed
face as a result of
prenatal exposure
to Agent Orange.
• The Vietnam Red
Cross reports that as
many as 3 million
Vietnamese people
have been affected by
Agent Orange
including at least
150,000 children born
with birth defects.
The mountains along
the border with
Cambodia.
• Children in the areas
where Agent Orange
was used have been
affected and have
multiple health
problems including
cleft palate, mental
disabilities, hernias,
and extra fingers and
toes.
Pod cast: Silence of the bees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
dIUo3STj6tw
The problem with honey bees
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucCYAF
XjduM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5
c52JpfOGQ
• Part 2:
Part three:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAFB3y
wlnVQ&feature=related
Part 4:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odlR9c
CriUU&feature=related
Part 5
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z_8An
TS8pA
Part 6:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGpsyS
O9Fek&feature=related