Shortly after federal authorities took down a national college admissions scam in March, officials at USC launched their own investigation with emails to dozens of students.
They did not mince words: The school wanted to know whether the 33 students had lied on their applications to USC. Some of the students understood what was happening because their parents had been charged in the federal case. Others were in the dark.
The reason for the emails would soon become clear to them all. They had been linked to William “Rick” Singer, the confessed leader of the admissions con, and they now faced expulsion, depending on what university investigators discovered.
Username: Tumake_Chai Published on 2020-07-03 15:30:24 ID NUMBER: 2230
Did you know that African rhinos have a unique relationship with oxpeckers? These birds, sometimes called "tick birds" or "cleaner birds," are helpful companions to rhinos by providing grooming services. They eat ticks, parasites, and insects that infest rhino skin.
Additionally, oxpeckers serve as guards for rhinos, warning them of danger with their sounds since rhinos have poor eyesight. In exchange for their services, rhinos offer oxpeckers a reliable food source and a safe place to perch4.
Three subspecies of modern rhinos have tragically become extinct due to different threats.
Western Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes): It was declared extinct in 2011 by IUCN. The primary reason for its extinction was rampant poaching for its valuable horn. Loss of habitat due to human encroachment and conflict with humans also contributed to its decline.
Northern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni): The last male of this subspecies died in 2018, leaving only two surviving females, making it functionally extinct. Poaching for their horns decimated their population.
Vietnamese Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) became extinct in 2011. The primary cause of its extinction was also poaching for its rhino horn, driven by the demand for traditional medicine and illegal wildlife trade. This subspecies was restricted to the Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam, making it one of the world's rarest and most critically endangered mammals.
In the early 1900s, there were approximately 500,000 rhinos found in Africa and Asia. However, by 1970, the rhino numbers dropped to 70,000. Unfortunately, today there are only around 27,000 remaining rhinos in the wild. Rhino poaching remains their most significant threat. Poachers target their valuable horns, which are highly sought-after trophies in the illegal wildlife trade and traditional Asian medicine markets.
Poachers relentlessly hunt and kill rhinos, pushing several rhino species to extinction. To make matters worse, the increasing human populations also contribute to habitat loss for these animals. Climate change is intensifying drought and affecting vegetation, further compounding the challenges rhinos face.
IUCN lists the three species of rhino—black, Javan, and Sumatran—as critically endangered species. The white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) is listed as near threatened, with an estimated population of around 18,000. Despite being listed as vulnerable, the Greater One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) has one of Asia's most successful conservation stories. Thanks to the conservation efforts of Indian and Nepalese authorities, their population has significantly increased.
Conservation efforts to protect rhinos include anti-poaching measures, habitat protection, and community engagement. Well-trained rangers with advanced technology apprehend poachers and dismantle trafficking networks. Translocation, population management, and reducing demand for rhino products are also crucial.
Organizations like the International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino International, alongside governments and communities in countries with rhino populations, are actively involved in rhino conservation.
Be part of the solution by simply spreading these rhinoceros facts.
If monoculture is not ideal, why is it the most common agricultural practice in the world today? All the primary reasons for monocultural farming revolve around maximizing profits.
If a farmer plants a single crop on the entire farm, there's more space available for that crop, making them a major supplier. Also, they can run the whole business using a single farming system: the same seed, pest control, weed control, and machinery. That helps farmers save considerable amounts of money and effort.
Popular crops grown in monoculture plantations include corn, wheat, rice, sugar cane, soybeans, and oil palm trees. Monoculture crops are usually essential sources of food, fiber, and other commercially important materials.
Monoculture has helped to increase food and fiber production. The increase in grain production has helped reduce the number of malnourished people even as the population keeps rising.
Effects of monoculture on the environment
Monoculture has immediately noticeable advantages, but it also has adverse effects that are slow but destructive. Such effects include environmental degradation and risks to human health.
Let's consider some consequences of monoculture.
Lack of biodiversity
Natural ecosystems consist of diverse wildlife communities that effectively sustain one another. Because of that diversity, essential ecosystem services like biological control of pests and diseases, carbon sequestration, pollination, etc., occur.
Monoculture is essentially a threat to biodiversity. Farmers remove all crops except the crop of choice. Consequently, they also force out animal species dependent on those removed plants by extermination, starvation, or lack of habitat.
Many native animal and plant species, some critical to the environment, become extinct because of monoculture. Agricultural expansion already threatens the natural environment, and monocropping makes it even scarier.
Planting the same crop year after year on the same piece of land strains soil resources.
Different crops demand more soil nutrients while adding other nutrients. For example, legumes use more phosphorus and potassium than nitrogen. Soybean monoculture will result in excess nitrogen in the soil and less of other nutrients. Such imbalances mess with soil health.
Various bacteria and microorganisms replenish the soil and keep it fertile. Different microbes mean many kinds of nutrients and soil health services. Research has established that plant diversity influences soil health and the type of microbial community in an area2. With monocropping, the variety of microbes significantly decreases.
Nutrient pollution
Since monoculture depletes soil nutrients, farmers must maximize production by using chemical fertilizers. However, there are severe environmental costs associated with using artificial fertilizers. Chemicals from fertilizers enter rivers, lakes, streams, and reservoirs through rainfall runoff or erosion, and they can also seep into groundwater.
Oversaturation of soil nutrients in aquatic habitats can cause harmful algae blooms, depleting the water's oxygen. Swimming in or accidentally swallowing water contaminated by such algae can cause serious health issues. Soil nitrate can also find its way into our drinking water. Water with high enough nitrates can be fatal to infants.
Excess fertilizer use also contributes to climate change. Nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers produce nitrogen oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas with 265 times more warming power than carbon dioxide3.
Pests and diseases more easily destroy monoculture crops as they lack the resistance a diverse plant and animal population would have provided. Those destructive agents stay in monocultural fields longer because they find them a perfect home.
Farmers who practice monoculture agriculture tend to use pesticides and herbicides excessively. Some parasites even resist the pesticides used against them, passing on the immunity to their offspring, so farmers use even more potent pesticides.
Pesticides, insecticides, rodents, and herbicides contain toxic chemicals harmful to humans and wildlife. These chemicals contaminate the soil and groundwater, enter water bodies, and become air pollutants.
Weak ecosystems
Agricultural ecosystems typically lack the resilience that undisturbed environments show in the face of biological and geological challenges. Monoculture, especially, creates fragile ecosystems.
For example, natural environments have biocontrol agents that control plant diseases and pests. Monoculture does not allow for diverse species to serve as control agents. Therefore, one pathogen can wipe out acres of monoculture farms in a blink.
Furthermore, monoculture fields cannot withstand weather events like fires, floods, and erosion due to a lack of diversity in root length and canopy. One type of root also means water uptake occurs at one level in the ground. In cases of severe drought, deep roots will require more irrigation, straining water resources.
Nutrition and health
There are over 350,000 known plant species, of which around 7,000 to 30,000 are considered edible and have been used for food and agriculture. Yet, only about 255 plants currently make up the bulk of the human diet worldwide1. We lack food diversity because monoculture prioritizes the production of certain crops over others based on profitability.
Over the last century, we have lost more than three-quarters of the genetic diversity in crops. Because monoculture has restricted us to a few options, we may be missing out on fantastic health and nutritional benefits.
Another concern monoculture raises is the effect of crop genetic modification. Despite bans on GMO foods, we have modified many of the crops we consume today for hardiness, higher yield, and easier processing. Both corn and soybeans are popular GMO crops.
Economical effects of monoculture
Here are some economic disadvantages of monocropping:
Monoculture farming may push small local farmers into obscurity in favor of big corporations that can afford more land and complex machinery. These companies produce in larger quantities and ship their products worldwide. And since monoculture can be relatively cheaper than other methods, they can sell quite at meager prices, pushing small farmers off the market.
Market shocks
Monoculture farmers typically focus on a single product and supply distant markets. There are many risks involved in doing business that way.
Monoculture farms have little chance of survival, like a drought or pest attacks, if something goes wrong. A farmer could lose their entire harvest. Lost or destroyed cargo also presents a problem. Its high-risk nature can lead to sudden scarcity and economic hardships for farmers and their customers.
Food insecurity
Monoculture is dangerous to pollinators because it lacks crop diversity and is chemically intensive. Pollinators may become sick and die as they migrate through monoculture fields. In addition, pollinators with only one food source suffer from nutrient deficiencies and weakened immune systems due to poor diets.
The declining pollinator population is a global concern because it directly affects crop yields. Fewer pollinators equals lower food production. Big agriculture corporations can usually afford artificial pollination, but what about small-scale farmers?
Monoculture isn't the only way to grow crops; other ways don't put the environment at risk as much. Switching to sustainable agriculture has many advantages, but maintaining plant diversity is vital.
Maintaining biodiversity sustains ecosystem services that increase yields, such as biological control, unmanaged pollination, and waste disposal services.
It also maximizes land fully for production since different species of plants can thrive on the same field at different seasons of the year. In monocropping, the land lies idle once the growing season is over.
Farmers need to start looking at other types of farming that are more environmentally friendly than monoculture. Thankfully, there is more than one way to practice sustainable agriculture. We have;
Polyculture
Polyculture is the practice of simultaneously growing different crops on the same piece of land. One key benefit is that some crops can serve as pest repellents for other crops. Polyculture also increases soil fertility and water retention.
Conservation agriculture
This farming system tries to replicate natural ecosystems as much as possible. It promotes minimal soil disturbance, diverse plant species, and permanent soil cover. Conservation agriculture's most significant advantage is that farmers have a higher hope of stable yields.
Crop rotation
A rotation system allows a farmer to plant different crops on the same field in sequence. Crop rotation interrupts pest cycles and removes pathogens. It also helps revitalize and balance the soil. For example, planting nitrogen-loving vegetables after legumes keeps the soil nitrogen balanced.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a sustainable food production system that embraces the whole concept of sustainable living. Its key aspect is eliminating resource waste, and it encourages slow consumption.
The major challenge in eliminating monoculture is keeping the food supply high enough so people don't go hungry. That is a valid concern, as food insecurity, which discriminately affects low-income households, would only worsen if the supply suddenly dipped.
Another challenge is that many local farmers struggle to transition from monocropping. They may face complex financial or technical issues.
Political willingness is also a concern, as the government can institute policies that support sustainable farming. They also have the authority to compel large agro companies to adopt more environment-friendly practices.
However, monoculture is not sustainable. Past trends show that continuing monocultural farming would only increase nitrogen pollution, irrigated fields, and agricultural encroachment.
Conclusion
Many farmers have turned to monoculture to avoid lower yields. Despite its seemingly great economic benefits, monoculture has unpleasant environmental consequences. Diversity in agriculture is the way to go. It has long-term positive effects on the environment and the economy.
Avocados, technically a fruit, are native to Central and South America. However, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Peru are the top avocado producers in the world. Mexico sits at the top of the avocado industry. They produced 2.4 million tons of avocados in 20203.
However, Mexico wasn't always at the top of the industry. As of 1914, the government restricted the importation of avocados into the United States due to the risk of importing agricultural pests. The government lifted the ban on avocado importations in 1997 and kickstarted the avocado industry's growth.
In the US, over 2.7 billion pounds of avocados were consumed in 20204. Production efforts tripled as it became a green gold in tune with rising demand. According to the Hass Avocado Board, an organization founded to “make the avocado the most popular fruit in the US,” the global avocado market will continue to grow at a CAGR of over 5%.
Records show the majority of the avocados consumed in the US are from South America. However, before the government lifted the ban on Mexican avocados, the US grew avocados in California and Florida. Avocado farms can only survive in tropical regions; this is why Mexico and South America are the primary producers of avocados.
It takes a long time to grow and harvest avocados. When you plant an avocado farm from seed, it takes up to 14 years before harvesting can start. If you planted trees instead, you would have to wait for about five years of growth before harvesting.
Did you know that African rhinos have a unique relationship with oxpeckers? These birds, sometimes called "tick birds" or "cleaner birds," are helpful companions to rhinos by providing grooming services. They eat ticks, parasites, and insects that infest rhino skin.
Additionally, oxpeckers serve as guards for rhinos, warning them of danger with their sounds since rhinos have poor eyesight. In exchange for their services, rhinos offer oxpeckers a reliable food source and a safe place to perch4.
Three subspecies of modern rhinos have tragically become extinct due to different threats.
Western Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes): It was declared extinct in 2011 by IUCN. The primary reason for its extinction was rampant poaching for its valuable horn. Loss of habitat due to human encroachment and conflict with humans also contributed to its decline.
Northern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni): The last male of this subspecies died in 2018, leaving only two surviving females, making it functionally extinct. Poaching for their horns decimated their population.
Vietnamese Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) became extinct in 2011. The primary cause of its extinction was also poaching for its rhino horn, driven by the demand for traditional medicine and illegal wildlife trade. This subspecies was restricted to the Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam, making it one of the world's rarest and most critically endangered mammals.
In the early 1900s, there were approximately 500,000 rhinos found in Africa and Asia. However, by 1970, the rhino numbers dropped to 70,000. Unfortunately, today there are only around 27,000 remaining rhinos in the wild. Rhino poaching remains their most significant threat. Poachers target their valuable horns, which are highly sought-after trophies in the illegal wildlife trade and traditional Asian medicine markets.
Poachers relentlessly hunt and kill rhinos, pushing several rhino species to extinction. To make matters worse, the increasing human populations also contribute to habitat loss for these animals. Climate change is intensifying drought and affecting vegetation, further compounding the challenges rhinos face.
IUCN lists the three species of rhino—black, Javan, and Sumatran—as critically endangered species. The white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) is listed as near threatened, with an estimated population of around 18,000. Despite being listed as vulnerable, the Greater One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) has one of Asia's most successful conservation stories. Thanks to the conservation efforts of Indian and Nepalese authorities, their population has significantly increased.
Conservation efforts to protect rhinos include anti-poaching measures, habitat protection, and community engagement. Well-trained rangers with advanced technology apprehend poachers and dismantle trafficking networks. Translocation, population management, and reducing demand for rhino products are also crucial.
Organizations like the International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino International, alongside governments and communities in countries with rhino populations, are actively involved in rhino conservation.
Be part of the solution by simply spreading these rhinoceros facts.
If monoculture is not ideal, why is it the most common agricultural practice in the world today? All the primary reasons for monocultural farming revolve around maximizing profits.
If a farmer plants a single crop on the entire farm, there's more space available for that crop, making them a major supplier. Also, they can run the whole business using a single farming system: the same seed, pest control, weed control, and machinery. That helps farmers save considerable amounts of money and effort.
Popular crops grown in monoculture plantations include corn, wheat, rice, sugar cane, soybeans, and oil palm trees. Monoculture crops are usually essential sources of food, fiber, and other commercially important materials.
Monoculture has helped to increase food and fiber production. The increase in grain production has helped reduce the number of malnourished people even as the population keeps rising.
Effects of monoculture on the environment
Monoculture has immediately noticeable advantages, but it also has adverse effects that are slow but destructive. Such effects include environmental degradation and risks to human health.
Let's consider some consequences of monoculture.
Lack of biodiversity
Natural ecosystems consist of diverse wildlife communities that effectively sustain one another. Because of that diversity, essential ecosystem services like biological control of pests and diseases, carbon sequestration, pollination, etc., occur.
Monoculture is essentially a threat to biodiversity. Farmers remove all crops except the crop of choice. Consequently, they also force out animal species dependent on those removed plants by extermination, starvation, or lack of habitat.
Many native animal and plant species, some critical to the environment, become extinct because of monoculture. Agricultural expansion already threatens the natural environment, and monocropping makes it even scarier.
Planting the same crop year after year on the same piece of land strains soil resources.
Different crops demand more soil nutrients while adding other nutrients. For example, legumes use more phosphorus and potassium than nitrogen. Soybean monoculture will result in excess nitrogen in the soil and less of other nutrients. Such imbalances mess with soil health.
Various bacteria and microorganisms replenish the soil and keep it fertile. Different microbes mean many kinds of nutrients and soil health services. Research has established that plant diversity influences soil health and the type of microbial community in an area2. With monocropping, the variety of microbes significantly decreases.
Nutrient pollution
Since monoculture depletes soil nutrients, farmers must maximize production by using chemical fertilizers. However, there are severe environmental costs associated with using artificial fertilizers. Chemicals from fertilizers enter rivers, lakes, streams, and reservoirs through rainfall runoff or erosion, and they can also seep into groundwater.
Oversaturation of soil nutrients in aquatic habitats can cause harmful algae blooms, depleting the water's oxygen. Swimming in or accidentally swallowing water contaminated by such algae can cause serious health issues. Soil nitrate can also find its way into our drinking water. Water with high enough nitrates can be fatal to infants.
Excess fertilizer use also contributes to climate change. Nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers produce nitrogen oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas with 265 times more warming power than carbon dioxide3.
Pests and diseases more easily destroy monoculture crops as they lack the resistance a diverse plant and animal population would have provided. Those destructive agents stay in monocultural fields longer because they find them a perfect home.
Farmers who practice monoculture agriculture tend to use pesticides and herbicides excessively. Some parasites even resist the pesticides used against them, passing on the immunity to their offspring, so farmers use even more potent pesticides.
Pesticides, insecticides, rodents, and herbicides contain toxic chemicals harmful to humans and wildlife. These chemicals contaminate the soil and groundwater, enter water bodies, and become air pollutants.
Weak ecosystems
Agricultural ecosystems typically lack the resilience that undisturbed environments show in the face of biological and geological challenges. Monoculture, especially, creates fragile ecosystems.
For example, natural environments have biocontrol agents that control plant diseases and pests. Monoculture does not allow for diverse species to serve as control agents. Therefore, one pathogen can wipe out acres of monoculture farms in a blink.
Furthermore, monoculture fields cannot withstand weather events like fires, floods, and erosion due to a lack of diversity in root length and canopy. One type of root also means water uptake occurs at one level in the ground. In cases of severe drought, deep roots will require more irrigation, straining water resources.
Nutrition and health
There are over 350,000 known plant species, of which around 7,000 to 30,000 are considered edible and have been used for food and agriculture. Yet, only about 255 plants currently make up the bulk of the human diet worldwide1. We lack food diversity because monoculture prioritizes the production of certain crops over others based on profitability.
Over the last century, we have lost more than three-quarters of the genetic diversity in crops. Because monoculture has restricted us to a few options, we may be missing out on fantastic health and nutritional benefits.
Another concern monoculture raises is the effect of crop genetic modification. Despite bans on GMO foods, we have modified many of the crops we consume today for hardiness, higher yield, and easier processing. Both corn and soybeans are popular GMO crops.
Economical effects of monoculture
Here are some economic disadvantages of monocropping:
Monoculture farming may push small local farmers into obscurity in favor of big corporations that can afford more land and complex machinery. These companies produce in larger quantities and ship their products worldwide. And since monoculture can be relatively cheaper than other methods, they can sell quite at meager prices, pushing small farmers off the market.
Market shocks
Monoculture farmers typically focus on a single product and supply distant markets. There are many risks involved in doing business that way.
Monoculture farms have little chance of survival, like a drought or pest attacks, if something goes wrong. A farmer could lose their entire harvest. Lost or destroyed cargo also presents a problem. Its high-risk nature can lead to sudden scarcity and economic hardships for farmers and their customers.
Food insecurity
Monoculture is dangerous to pollinators because it lacks crop diversity and is chemically intensive. Pollinators may become sick and die as they migrate through monoculture fields. In addition, pollinators with only one food source suffer from nutrient deficiencies and weakened immune systems due to poor diets.
The declining pollinator population is a global concern because it directly affects crop yields. Fewer pollinators equals lower food production. Big agriculture corporations can usually afford artificial pollination, but what about small-scale farmers?
Monoculture isn't the only way to grow crops; other ways don't put the environment at risk as much. Switching to sustainable agriculture has many advantages, but maintaining plant diversity is vital.
Maintaining biodiversity sustains ecosystem services that increase yields, such as biological control, unmanaged pollination, and waste disposal services.
It also maximizes land fully for production since different species of plants can thrive on the same field at different seasons of the year. In monocropping, the land lies idle once the growing season is over.
Farmers need to start looking at other types of farming that are more environmentally friendly than monoculture. Thankfully, there is more than one way to practice sustainable agriculture. We have;
Polyculture
Polyculture is the practice of simultaneously growing different crops on the same piece of land. One key benefit is that some crops can serve as pest repellents for other crops. Polyculture also increases soil fertility and water retention.
Conservation agriculture
This farming system tries to replicate natural ecosystems as much as possible. It promotes minimal soil disturbance, diverse plant species, and permanent soil cover. Conservation agriculture's most significant advantage is that farmers have a higher hope of stable yields.
Crop rotation
A rotation system allows a farmer to plant different crops on the same field in sequence. Crop rotation interrupts pest cycles and removes pathogens. It also helps revitalize and balance the soil. For example, planting nitrogen-loving vegetables after legumes keeps the soil nitrogen balanced.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a sustainable food production system that embraces the whole concept of sustainable living. Its key aspect is eliminating resource waste, and it encourages slow consumption.
The major challenge in eliminating monoculture is keeping the food supply high enough so people don't go hungry. That is a valid concern, as food insecurity, which discriminately affects low-income households, would only worsen if the supply suddenly dipped.
Another challenge is that many local farmers struggle to transition from monocropping. They may face complex financial or technical issues.
Political willingness is also a concern, as the government can institute policies that support sustainable farming. They also have the authority to compel large agro companies to adopt more environment-friendly practices.
However, monoculture is not sustainable. Past trends show that continuing monocultural farming would only increase nitrogen pollution, irrigated fields, and agricultural encroachment.
Conclusion
Many farmers have turned to monoculture to avoid lower yields. Despite its seemingly great economic benefits, monoculture has unpleasant environmental consequences. Diversity in agriculture is the way to go. It has long-term positive effects on the environment and the economy.
Avocados, technically a fruit, are native to Central and South America. However, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Peru are the top avocado producers in the world. Mexico sits at the top of the avocado industry. They produced 2.4 million tons of avocados in 20203.
However, Mexico wasn't always at the top of the industry. As of 1914, the government restricted the importation of avocados into the United States due to the risk of importing agricultural pests. The government lifted the ban on avocado importations in 1997 and kickstarted the avocado industry's growth.
In the US, over 2.7 billion pounds of avocados were consumed in 20204. Production efforts tripled as it became a green gold in tune with rising demand. According to the Hass Avocado Board, an organization founded to “make the avocado the most popular fruit in the US,” the global avocado market will continue to grow at a CAGR of over 5%.
Records show the majority of the avocados consumed in the US are from South America. However, before the government lifted the ban on Mexican avocados, the US grew avocados in California and Florida. Avocado farms can only survive in tropical regions; this is why Mexico and South America are the primary producers of avocados.
It takes a long time to grow and harvest avocados. When you plant an avocado farm from seed, it takes up to 14 years before harvesting can start. If you planted trees instead, you would have to wait for about five years of growth before harvesting.
