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Furthermore, polluted runoff from farms and cities went largely unabated and actually increased over the past 30 years according to a 2001 report from the Pew Oceans Commission. The report noted that many of the nation's coastal environments exhibit symptoms of over-enrichment from these run-offs. Symptoms include harmful algal bloomsharmful algal blooms, loss of seagrasses and coral reefs, and serious oxygen depletion. Coastal regions, as a result, have suffered reduced production of valuable fisheries and threats to biodiversity and ecosystems less resilient to natural and human influences.

Species Diversity, Conservation & World Food Demands

Because organic practices help safeguard the environment and protect habitats, organic production conserves and promotes species diversity. In the United Kingdom, a study comparing biodiversity in organic farming and conventional farming systems found that organic farms had five times as many wild plants in arable (farmable) fields and 57 percent more species (Source: The Biodiversity Benefits of Organic Farming)..

The organic farms also had 25 percent more birds at the field edge, 44 percent more in the field in autumn and winter, and 2.2 times as many breeding skylarks and higher skylark breeding rates. In addition, they had 1.6 times as many of the invertebrate arthropods that make up bird food; three times as many non-pest butterflies in the crop areas; one to five times as many spider numbers, and one to two times as many spider species. They also showed a significant decrease in aphid numbers.

Buying organic products is also a way to support conservation of our land. Organic products, whether foods or fiber, are produced through a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility in an ecological way. There were approximately 1.3 million acres in certified organic production in the United States in 1997. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service estimates 2.6 million acres were in production in 2001.

As far as feeding the world, the late Donella Meadows, who served as director of the Sustainability Institute, wrote: "We already grow enough food to feed everyone; the excess simply is not distributed where it is needed. Industrial agriculture, far from being the salvation it promises, is actually undermining the resource base-healthy soil, clean water, and diversity of plants and animals-needed to sustain the world's growing human population in the long term. If anything can restore that resource base and at the same time eliminate hunger it is organic methods."

Organic foods and products are making a healthy comeback from a by-gone era, but in more of the light of what's healthy for ourselves and Earth's ecology. And the production and use of these products have become the choice of a rapidly growing number of farmers and consumers today. It does prove that the connection between human health and our ecology are indelibly intertwined.

1. What is the number of the farmers who minimize the use of pesticides?

2. How much money approximately is used for pesticides in USA?

Earth system – земная система

Understanding and prediction – понимание и прогноз

Global Change Research Program – Программа по Исследованию Глобальных Перемен

Scientific findings – научные находки

Surface chemistry – химия поверхности

Major program review – основной обзор программы

Social and economic development – социальное и экономическое развитие

Extreme climatic events – экстремальные климатические события

Flooding and droughts – наводнения и засухи

Global environment – глобальная окружающая среда

Natural and human factors – природные и человеческие факторы

Natural resources – природные ресурсы

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overview of the U.S. Global Research Program

The Earth's environment is constantly changing. Scientific evidence indicates that these changes are the result of a complex interplay among a number of natural and human-related systems.

While the complexity of the Earth system and the interconnections among its components make understanding and prediction a very difficult challenge, the development of scientific knowledge and research capabilities are greatly advancing the understanding of global environmental change and the role of human activities in contributing to and responding to change.