Fertilizers+and+Pesticides

By: Andrew, Cameron, Isabella, and Charlie
=Introduction:=

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Fertilizers and pesticides are widely overused throughout the world, especially in the United States. Fertilizers and Pesticides are used on golf courses, large farms, and household lawns, and just about any other area of crops that humans want to grow better.=====

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Fertilizers are used to increase the harvest or make your grass grow better. The average fertilizer has nitrates and phosphorus, which are both harmful to the enviroment. Rain and sprinklers can run these chemicals into waterways, and they always make their way to the ocean. When in the ocean, these chemicals create algea blooms which starve the fish of oxygen and kill them.=====

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Pesticides are used to kill certain organisms, whether it be rodents or insects or weeds, so that they don't eat the crops, which would decrease production levels. These pesticides are made of dangerous chemicals that can poison not only humans, but they can kill things that weren't intended to be killed.=====

=__**Table of Contents**__=

**3. Articles About Pesticides and Fertilizers**
[|Picture's Article About Dangerous Food Contamination] = =

=__**Pesticides**__=

Definition-
A c hemical used for killing pests, esp insects and rodents. (Those pests are killed because they destroy certain plant life that humans want to look good or grow more of)


 * Different kinds-** There are many different types of [|pesticides], and all are used for killing certain organisms to increase crop harvests.

**About Pesticides:** Although pesticides are useful in the fact that they can dramatically increase a farm's production rate (by killing weeds that would take of the crop) or in everyday situations like on lawns making the grass grow better, many pesticides are harmful to humans, especially to pregnant women. The food from the crops sprayed with pesticide usually contain pesticides. Pesticides are commonly used on [|farms], lawns, and [|golf courses]. A way [|to get rid of a little bit of pesticide] is by boiling your food. People that benefit from pesticide use are all those who eat the food from such farms. The people who are harmed by the pesticides are those that apply the pesticides and live near said farms because they are very likely to be contaminated. People who are drinking water contaminated from the pesticides also are harmed because of the dangerous substances in the pesticide. There are many symptoms of pesticide poisoning listed at: [] Facts about pesticides at: []

**Pros:**

 * Kills pests (rodents, insects, weeds, and fungi), which allows an increase in crop production
 * Primary benefits are direct gains from the use of pesticides
 * secondary benefits are effects that are more long-term
 * The economy for pesticides produces atleast a 50 billion dollar business
 * chemicals are easy to obtain and fast acting
 * the amount of harmful insects that can cause sickness and desease are decreased by applying pesticide use

**Cons:**
> **--** According to the [|Stockholm Convention] on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 9 of the 12 most dangerous and persistent [|organic chemicals] are pesticides. million people per year obtain deathly pesticide poisoning a year are poisoned by indiscriminate use of pesticides when growing plants such as cotton.
 * Can cause cancermedia type="youtube" key="zYN240BgSUs" height="455" width="529" align="right"
 * Can affect the nervous system in a harmful way
 * Can damage hormone or endocrine system
 * Potential toxicity to humans and other animals
 * According to the World Health Organization, about 3
 * Birth defects
 * According to the PARC an estimated 10,000 farmers

In 1984 in Bhopal,India, a pesticide-production plant exploded and released toxic fumes throughout the area of India, killing an estimated 2,000 people. It is estimated that almost 200,000 people's health were affected in some way. Some examples of possible illness's are coughing or having trouble breathing, or even breakdown of the central nervous system over a long period of time. One disaster led to another, and soon flocks of people were fleeing the visible fumes, although many didn't make it. Read more about it at: [|Pesticide Plant Explosion in 1984]

In the Punjab state in India, many villagers from farming towns board a train known as the "Cancer Train". Scientists have found that people in the farming villages that use pesticide have a growing number of people with cancer because of their use of pesticides. Some have blood cancer while others have different varieties of cancer. The carcinogens in the pesticide are causing these cases of cancer. Although farming has gone well, the health of the farmers and the people rapidly are becoming worse and worse. Read more about it at: [|Punjab State cancer increase.]

**Good ways to help these problems:**

 * Improve the pesticides to where it is not harmful to humans and animals (organic pesticide(s))
 * Boil all of your vegetables, fruit, and any other food products that are sprayed with pesticides to get ride of some chemicals. [|Pesticide Video Link]

[|The Annual U.S. Cost from Pesticide Use]
 * ~ Harm ||~ Annual US Cost ||
 * Public Health || $1.1 billion ||
 * Pesticide Resistance in Pest || $1.5 billion ||
 * Crop Losses Caused by Pesticides || $1.4 billion ||
 * Bird Losses due to Pesticides || $2.2 billion ||
 * Groundwater Contamination || $2.0 billion ||
 * Other Costs || $1.4 billion ||
 * **Total Costs** || **$9.6 billion** ||

[|Below are the primary and secondary benefits from pesticides]

** Primary benefits **
//1. Controlling pests and plant disease vectors// //2. Controlling human/livestock disease vectors and nuisance organisms// //3. Prevent of control organisms that harm other human activities and structures//
 * Improved crop/livestock yields
 * Improved crop/livestock quality
 * Invasive species controlled
 * Human lives saved and suffering reduced
 * Animal lives saved and suffering reducedmedia type="youtube" key="SBm-I3Tvi04" height="367" width="491" align="right"
 * Diseases contained geographically
 * Drivers view unobstructed
 * Tree/brush/leaf hazards prevented
 * Wooden structures protected

** Secondary benefits **
//1. Community benefits// //2. National benefits// //3. Global benefits//
 * Farm and agribusiness revenues
 * Nutrition and health improved
 * Food safety and security
 * Workforce productivity increased
 * Increased export revenues
 * National agriculture economy
 * Assured safe and diverse food supply
 * Less greenhouse gas
 * Reduced civil unrest

[|Video All About Pesticides]

__Pesticide Cycle__


[] (Also includes interesting statistics on the area of land which is sprayed with pesticides each year)

**Questions?**
may depend on how fast the groundwater is flowing. []
 * If I applying pesticides, what type of gear should I wear?
 * Wear clothes that cover all of your skin
 * Goggles
 * Respirator
 * Rubber gloves
 * How long does it take for pesticide to spread?
 * There are several factors of the rate of the spread of pesticides. When pesticides are in the air it may take a matter of hours to spread great distances, while if it were going through the ground it may take several years, and it

=__**Fertilizers:**__ media type="youtube" key="HD8TUhqeCOA" height="315" width="420" align="right" =

Definition-
===**Different kinds-** There are several different types of [|fertilizers], and all are used for increasing productivity. examples of different kinds of fertilizers include: DAP, MOP, Urea and Rock Phosphate (which appear to be the most common).===
 * 1. || any substance, such as manure or a mixture of nitrates, added to soil or water to increase its productivity ||
 * 2. || an object or organism such as an insect that fertilizes an animal or plant ||

**Pros:**

 * Improve soil life
 * May prove a large depository for excess carbon dioxide
 * Allows for more food to be produced in the same amount of space
 * Improves said soil nutrition
 * Prevents soil erosion
 * Roots are consistently taught to grow healthier and stronger over time

**Cons:**

 * Fertilizers run into the water, causing high nitrogen levels which can kill marine life because algea is created. The algea depletes oxygen levels, starving marine life of oxygen.
 * Eutrophication explain these 5 points
 * Blue Baby Syndrome
 * Soil acidification
 * Persistant organic pollutants
 * Increased pest fitness

In California in the year 2008 esearchers from Calforinia University discovered taht 96% of nitrate contamination in Califorinia's groundwater originated from farms in Salinas Valley and Tulare Lake. Most of the nitrate orginated from the fertilizers used on the farms. About 254,000 people were at risk from nitrate contamination. Learn more abouth Calfornia's water contamination at: [].
 * Examples of Fertilizer Contamintation**

**[|Fertilizer Video Link]**

 * Use phosphorus-free fertilizer and only organic fertilizer. Phosphorus, when in water, immediately makes algea blooms much larger, starving fish of oxygen.
 * Apply fertiliizer in the correct seasons to reduce runoff into water sources. Also, if you know it is going to rain, don't apply fertilizer because it will just get swept away into waterways. Not only does that waste money spent on fertilizer, but it pollutes water.
 * Test your soil first to see if it even needs fertilization.
 * Read labels on your fertilizer product to know the correct amount of fertilizer that needs to be applied.
 * Dispose of extra fertilizers at your local hazerdous waste center.
 * Leave grass clippings on the ground. They may naturally fertilize the grass!

The United States is one of the biggest users of fertilizers especially in agriculture. Fertilizers may take years to appear in water sources, but the contamination can spread across great distances.

Fertilizer Cycle media type="youtube" key="xt93uaDPg84" height="315" width="560" align="right" []

[|Video of Inorganic Vs. Organic Fertilizers]

About Fertilizer
An organic or inorganic material of synthetic or natural origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. They are essential for high-yield harvest. Organic fertilizers tend to be more healthy than inorganic fertilizers. Fertilizers tend to have more nutrients and chemicals than what a plant needs, so the excess nutrients and chemicals seep into the ground and contaminate the water.

[|102-0403094757-Plane-Spraying-Pesticide.jpg]
 * [|Estimated Growth in Fertilizer Use, 1960-2020]**

[|Picture of Plane Spraying Pesticides]

-Can you fertilize too much?

 * ====Yes, excessive fertilizing can cause plants to burn or stunt plant growth.====
 * It's always better to under-fertilize your plants rather than fertilizing too much.

-What is soil testing and why is this important to to taking care of my plants? According to: []
 * soil testing is when you send a sample of your lawn to a science lab to be tested for what amount of nutrients are currently existent in/on your lawn.
 * These test results are also used for suggestions for the future when it comes to improving the quantity of for example: pH, phosphorus, and potassium) in order to keep your lawn healthy!

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Articles About Pesticides and Fertilizers
A very good article by __Scientific American__ about fertilizer run-off into the oceans, causing dead-zones, and many facts about fertilizers and how they affect the enviroment: [|http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fertilizer-runoff-overwhelms-streams#comment]

A good article about what pesticides are and how you should use them: []

About Fertilizers and Pesticides: []

An article about the sources of pesticide contamination [].

A good article about how fertilizers work and what they contain. []

A good article about how to safely and efficiently use fertilizers so that you don't harm the enviroment: []