Assignment task: Agricultural practices contribute to air pollution with nitrogen from fertilizers, methane from animals, and fossil fuel emissions from plowing fields, harvesting crops, and transporting animals. These contributions all impact global climate change. Read these articles:
- Agriculture and Food Production Contribute up to 29 Percent of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Agriculture's Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the Rise
- Sniffing Out Origins of Methane: Instrument Identifies Methane's Origins in Mines, Deep-Sea Vents, and Cows
- Cleaning Up Europe's Air Pollution Hotspots
How can current agricultural practices be changed or modified to reduce air pollution emissions?
When responding to your classmates, discuss the options given and comment on how the world's food supply will be affected if climate change predictions for agriculture are correct.
For background information on how climate change affects agriculture, read the following articles:
- Climate Change and Air Pollution Will Combine to Curb Food Supplies
- The Future of Agriculture May Include New Land, Fewer Harvests
- Potential Food Crisis With Global Warming, UK Scientists Warn