[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: The Limits To Growth



l.mcfadden@mail.utexas.edu (Loretta McFadden) wrote for all to see:

[edited]
>
>Well, I hope you like surprises, then, you've got more coming. I recommend
>browsing (make sure you've got alot of time on your hands, the
>bibliographies are very extensive) the USDA's National Agriculture Library
>collection called Alternative Farming Systems
>(http://www.nalusda.gov/answers/answers.html). Full of what you might call
>"agricultural doomsaying." I call it responsible acknowledgement of our
>failings, and, subsequently, responsibilities to try to mitigate the
>damage we've done to our world. 

The quoted URL is that of the National Agricultural Library.  This is
the page referred to, minus the graphics:

     Answers to Your Questions

     General Reference Services
     Find out how to obtain agriculture-related database searches and
information products including bibliographies, resource guides,
     and fact sheets. Access to experts and organizations is also
provided. 

     Information Centers (listed below)

     NAL has 10 subject specific information centers that provide
customized services to the agricultural community and others.
     Through the Internet, the centers provide access to digital
information including images, databases, software, patents,
     bibliographies, and resource guides. They also provide subject
matter expertise and perform extensive outreach and
     collaborative activities. 

1.  Agricultural Trade and Marketing Information Center (ATMIC)

2.  Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) 

3.  Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) 

4.  Aquaculture Information Center (AIC) 

5.  Biotechnology Information Center (BIC) 

6.  Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) 

7.  Plant Genome Data and Information Center (PGDIC) 

8.  Rural Information Center (RIC) and RIC Health Service (RICHS) 

9.  Technology Transfer Information Center (TTIC) 

10. Water Quality Information Center (WQIC) 

I looked into each one of these, and found little if any "agricultural
doomsaying".  Each of the ten centers features as its primary
contribution a bibliography of books and papers covering its area of
concern.  Some of the these were informative, here is one from AFSIC,
picked at random, more or less:


TITLE:         The Basic Principles of Sustainable Agriculture    
           (also called  Alternative Agriculture and 
               LISA):  An Introduction for  Farmers,
               Environmentalists, the Public, and
               Policy-makers
AUTHOR:        Hudson, William J. and Jonathan Harsch
PUBLISHER:     Washington, DC:  U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
               Cooperative Extension Service, February 1991.      
         32 p.
NAL NUMBER:    aS441.H82 1991
ANNOTATION:    A booklet that answers, in very general terms,
elementary questions about sustainable agriculture. 
Highlights beneficial aspects of 1985 and 1990 federal farm
legislation.  Includes some data on fertilizer and chemical
pesticide costs; comparative crop rotations and yields;
tillage systems; livestock needs; pest control; marketing and
economic aspects; how farmers should approach the transition from
conventional to sustainable agriculture.
Available from U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Cooperative
Extension Service, Room 3849 South Building, Washington, DC  20250.


I can't believe I actually spent several hours trying to locate a hint
of "doomday agriculture", but I did not find any.  If Ms. McFadden
could sharpen her pointers a little, maybe I could find the articles
she is referring to.

Regards, Harold
----
"But if, like a spendthrift, [the federal government] throws discretion 
to the winds and is willing to make no sacrifice at all in spending, if 
it extends its taxing to the limit of the people's power to pay and 
continues to pile up deficits, then it is on the road to bankruptcy."
          -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, campaign address, October 1932




References: