Script final Draft

RG, Matt, Lishane
Spencer Pforsich
Humanities
20 September 2007
“Agricultural Chemicals” Script


Chemicals, natural and man-made, are used in agriculture for many reasons. Things such as fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides have evolved greatly over the years. Most of our modern day world now relies on these chemicals in some way. Merriam Webster defines a fertilizer as; a substance (manure or a chemical mixture) used to make soil more fertile. The EPA describes a pesticide as; any substance or mixture of substances intended for: preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Agricultural chemicals are vital to the Earth but they affect the environment as well.
Fertilizers are incredibly important to farming and the growing of crop. For a plant to develop, it needs a few chemical elements. Oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, also known as water and air, are essential. Potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen are macronutrients that plants also need to grow. These are the three most common elements that you find in packaged fertilizers. The only source of nitrogen in soil comes from dead plants. Manure, a very natural fertilizer adds nutrients to the ground, which in turn, helps plants and contributes to the circle of life. Other chemicals that plants need are almost always found in the soil. If nutrients are hard to obtain, the plant will not grow.
A pesticide is any substance or mixture that is intended for preventing, destroying and repelling any pests. In simple terms, they kill bugs. Pesticides are used very frequently in farming and agriculture, but also in the home. It’s hard to go through the cabinet under someone’s sink and not find a can of Raid or Bug B Gone. Farmers use them because bugs eat their crops, while the average person just uses them to keep ants and other household pests away. Most pesticides do their work by changing or altering the Metabolism of their target, resulting in its death. Others like pest repellants aim to sort of scare the pests away, or rid the house of them without necessarily killing anything.
Most pesticides contain their own unique blend of different chemicals to do their job. That could mean that one company uses its own ingredients, or just uses different measurements of another’s. With some 70,000 different chemicals that are available, one could surmise that there is no shortage of pests. Many countries have trouble keeping track of all of these pesticides; about 1,500 new ones are released each year. This poses a problem because if a country is planning to make sure each one doesn’t pose a serious risk to the environment, they’ve got plenty of work to do.
Most pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides that are on the market today do little or no damage to non-target organisms, but there are always a few. Agent Orange was an Herbicide that was heavily used during the Vietnam War to defoliate trees, and it did a good job at it, but years later we’ve seen outrageous after effects and insane birth defects. But with pesticides and all of their complex ingredients, coupled with their designed function, to kill pests, it’s almost obvious that they would pose a threat to other things. Many pesticides are harmful to water dwelling animals, because of their sensitive skin and the fact that if it rains, the chemicals can be washed off of plants and right into the pond, river, lake or sea that the animals are living in. The effect on frogs has been well documented.
One study showed that when Roundup, a common household chemical, was used on Algae, it was more harmful to tadpoles and frogs in the water than it was to the algae. In fact, it actually helped the algae grow, because without the tadpoles eating it, it was left to flourish.


Interview………………..


In Conclusion, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are definitely great for world economy and for short-term survival, but should be used in great moderation and with great precaution. Otherwise, harm is rapidly approaching, because if these dangerous chemicals are used improperly or without proper testing, the future doesn’t seem too bright. The world needs to realize that although these chemicals are important now, we should be working toward a more organic agricultural system, we need to be farming foods that don’t harm the environment. We need to realize that we’re on this planet together, and if we screw it up, there are no second chances.