StoryLine Issue No. 2 Fall 2020

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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