David Tilman

A report from David Tilman, visiting researcher at the National Centre for Environmental Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, discusses a "dead-zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, apparently due to agricultural run-off from the Mississippi Delta..

"The global impact of agriculture will be at least as great as climate change," said lead author David Tilman, visiting researcher at the National Center for Environmental Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara.The authors give a number of suggestions using existing knowledge to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and still increase productivity.They call upon international agencies to aid third world farmers in the transition. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/04/010415223052.htm

Kyoto

"The global impact of agriculture will be at least as great as climate change," said lead author David Tilman, visiting researcher at the National Center for Environmental Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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"Neither society nor most scientists understand the importance of agriculture," said Tilman."It's grossly misunderstood, barely on the radar screen, yet it is likely as important as climate change."

He said that those who are trying to farm sustainably are hit economically and it is often the more careful farmers who are squeezed out."We need to rethink incentives for farmers," said Tilman.
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Tilman explained that this research project could only have happened at NCEAS where working groups from many institutions are able to assemble and manage large computer data sets, and take the time to interpret them."It's the only facility that allows this type of cross-disciplinary integration of data," said Tilman.

"The global impact of agriculture will be at least as great as climate change," writes lead author David Tilman, a visiting researcher at the National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California at Santa Barbara

The study authors believe that the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides as well as habitat destruction have caused a major extinction event and predict that this trend will continue to lower the world's biodiversity and change its ecology.

"Neither society nor most scientists understand the importance of agriculture," said David Tilman."It's grossly misunderstood, barely on the radar screen, yet it is likely as important as climate change."He stated "We have to find wiser ways to farm."Tilman (2001)