Oil: For and Against

FOR:

• Very versatile: it is a very versatile material from which countless items such as plastics, gasoline is extracted, etc.
• Petroleum products: almost all petroleum are used to meet the energy needs of the world.
• Synthetic fertilizers: a high percentage of synthetic fertilizers come from oil.

AGAINST:

• Highest Price: their preparation is very expensive compared to other types of energy such as renewable energy.
• Ecological risk: oil extraction involves a great ecological and environmental risk.
• Acid rain: Acid rain associated with burning oil for the production of nitrogen oxides is generated.
• Safe storage: it is necessary to use a safe for storage of oil in destination space.
• Transforming raw material: to use oil needs to pass a process of distillation prior to use.
• Global warming: the transformation for use causes significant greenhouse effect and global warming increases.
• Exhaustible energy source: unlike renewables about oil is a source of energy that will be exhausted within a few years.
• Pollution: unlike what happens with other types of energy use oil can cause high contamination due to the large amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels

Importance of water

Energy and water are intricately connected. All sources of energy (including electricity) require water in their production processes: the extraction of raw materials, cooling in thermal processes, in cleaning processes, cultivation of crops for biofuels, and powering turbines. Energy is itself required to make water resources available for human use and consumption (including irrigation) through pumping, transportation, treatment, and desalination.

Agriculture as a system

Agricultural enterprises-crop or livestock-deal with such concepts as labor supply, marketing, finances, natural resources, genetic stock, nutrition, equipment, and hazards. While it is possible to effectively manipulate each mechanism of successful farming individually, better results can often be obtained by treating the farming operation as a system. The interactions, then, among system components may become more important than how each component functions by itself. Treating production operations holistically offers greater management flexibility, provides for more environmentally and economically sound practices, and creates safer and healthier conditions for workers and for farm animals. NIFA staff provides leadership to land-grant university partners and other grantees as they conduct research, education, and extension activities in programs related directly and indirectly to agricultural systems.