CRUX ESSAY CONTEST WINNER 2019 - 2020
The extent of pollution from conventional farming not only impacts the world ’ s water
supply but also distorts the atmosphere . While farmers continue to depend on fossil fuels
to power tractors , tillers , harvesters , etc . in crop production , negative byproducts are
generated and released into the atmosphere , including carbon dioxide , nitrous oxide , and
methane . These byproducts , created by the burning of fossil fuels , are also known as
greenhouse gases because of their heat - trapping properties . It isn ’ t just the burning of
fossil fuels that creates greenhouse gases , but also the production of these fuels . Because
conventional farming is so heavily reliant on fossil fuels , oil companies need to produce
more to match the demand , which then contributes to the greenhouse effect of earth ’ s
rising temperatures . A flow chart from World Resources Institute showed that agriculture
was responsible for 13 . 5 % of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2000 — the
same percentage as greenhouse gases released from road , air , and water transportation
combined (“ World Greenhouse Gas Emissions Flow Chart : 2000 ”). People and wildlife
breathe in the harmful fuel emissions created from burning fossil fuels in conventional
agriculture , a burden the entire planet must bear . On the other hand , vertical farms do not
need to burn fossil fuels because they do not require heavy industrial machinery to
operate . As mentioned earlier , vertical farms can be run on solar energy which “ burns ”
clean . Thus , we can greatly reduce air pollution and the accompanying effects of
greenhouse gases . By making the switch from conventional farming to vertical farming , we
can begin the process of ultimately saving the temperature of the earth .
Carbon dioxide is the most dominant gas of the greenhouse gases . In 2017 , eighty - two
percent of U . S . greenhouse gas emissions came from carbon dioxide (“ Overview of
Greenhouse Gases ”). Interestingly , research conducted by the Rodale Institute showed that
the global implementation of regenerative organic agriculture techniques on all farms
could recapture 100 % of the world ’ s carbon emissions into the soil by the first year
( Marcario and Bronner ). But there ’ s a reason why conventional farmers aren ’ t choosing
organic : they are constantly battling pests , disease , and weeds from the natural world .
However , recapturing all of the world ’ s carbon emissions by organic farming is possible
with vertical farms . Organic farming can be achieved in a controlled environment . By
implementing indoor vertical farming , farmers won ’ t have to remove insects , pests , and
outside contaminants and therefore wouldn ’ t need to use pesticides . Disease would have a
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