NS 1300 Emergence of Modern Science Malthus and Genetically Modified Soybeans

1. NS 1300 Emergence of Modern ScienceMalthus and Genetically Modified Soybeans Fall 2010 Dr. Hoge

2. You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? • "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man". The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus(13 February 1766 – 23 December 1834)

3. Agriculture in the 20th Century • Mechanization • Dust Bowl Green Revolution Silent Spring Organic Farming GMOs

4. Industrial Revolution = Agricultural Revolution • At the turn of the 20th century the introduction of the internal combustion engine set the stage for dramatic changes. Right at the center of that stage was the tractor. It's not just a figure of speech to say that tractors drove the mechanization revolution. Tractors pulled plows. They hauled loads and livestock. Perhaps most importantly, tractors towed and powered the new planters, cultivators, reapers, pickers, threshers, combine harvesters, mowers, and balers. (from Wikipedia)

5. The Dust Bowl • During the drought of the 1930s, with no natural anchors to keep the soil in place, it dried, turned to dust, and blew away eastward and southward in large dark clouds. At times the clouds blackened the sky reaching all the way to East Coast cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. Much of the soil ended up deposited in the Atlantic Ocean, carried by prevailing winds which were in part created by the dry and bare soil conditions itself. The Dust Bowl affected 100,000,000 acres (400,000 km2), centered on the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, and adjacent parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. (from Wikipedia)

6. The Green Revolution • The projects within the Green Revolution spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside industrialized nations. These technologies included: • pesticides • irrigation projects • synthetic nitrogen fertilizer • improved crop varieties (from Wikipedia)

7. Silent Spring • Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published in September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement. • The book documented detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson said that DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in reproductive problems and death. She also accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation, and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically. (from Wikipedia)

8. Modern Agriculture • Agribusiness • Hormones • Antibiotics • New pesticides • Modern irrigation • Genetically Modified Organisms • Organic Farming

10. Quiz • 1. T or F: Robert Malthus predicted widespread starvation due to population growth during the industrial revolution. • 2. T or F: The dust bowl occurred in the 1950s. • 3. T or F: Pesticides are one factor that enabled the Green Revolution. • 4. T or F: Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring in 1962. • 5. T or F: 89% of soybeans in the U.S. have been genetically modified.

11. Test Questions • Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring in 1962 to bring attention to the affect of pesticides on the environment. • GMO stands for genetically modified organism. These include crops and livestock which are increasingly available in the marketplace. • Chains of carbon atoms form hydrocarbons and other organic molecules. • Functional groups make organic molecules behave in specific and unique ways. • Carbohydrates include both simple and complex molecules. Lipids include fats and oils. Proteins are chains of amino acids. • DNA records the information needed for your cells to form proteins. • mRNA transcribes the DNA sequence then tRNA and rRNAtranslate this information into the primary protein structure.