The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis (47 page)

    
by lightening,
64

    
plants and,
80
,
82
,
139

Nitrosomonas,
64

Nitrous oxide,
121
,
196
,
202

Nixon, Richard,
166

Norfolk four-course system,
80–81

Norin 10 (wheat variety),
174
,
176

Northwest Passage,
35

Nutrition,
55
,
60–61

Obesity,
194

Oil,
124

Oils, plant

    
access and affordability of vegetable,
192
,
193

    
solidified,
192–193

    
soybean,
140

Olduvai Gorge,
48

Oliver Twist
(Dickens),
86

On the Banks of Plum Creek
(Wilder),
146

On the Origin of Species
(Darwin),
128

Overshoot,
13–14

Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change
(Catton),
13

Overweight people, increase in,
193–195

Oxen,
73
,
78

Oxygen,
31

Ozone layer, creation of,
31

Paris, sewer system of,
87

Paris green,
151
,
154
,
156

Peas, Mendel’s experiments with,
129–132

Peers, learning from,
42

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs),
164

Peru

    
guano trade,
89
,
90

    
War of the Pacific,
91

Pest control,
150–170

    
of birds,
151

    
Bt,
168
,
186

    
early chemical uses,
151

    
integrated pest management,
166–167

    
as perpetual pursuit,
165–170

    
by traditional farming practices,
151–153
,
166

    
See also
Pesticides

Pesticides

    
agricultural use of,
154–155

    
consequences of use,
159–165

    
DDT,
151
,
153–169

    
differing viewpoints on,
169–170

    
early chemicals used as,
151

    
for fire ant control,
155

    
for gypsy moth control,
156

    
human health effects of,
164–165

    
for malaria control,
154

    
persistence in the environment,
157
,
160

    
poisonings related to,
167–168

    
resistance to,
157–159
,
167

    
with specific targets,
167

    
Stockholm Convention and,
164–165

    
used by traditional farmers,
152

Pests

    
amount of crops destroyed by,
147–148

    
locusts,
145–147

    
monocultures as invitation to,
149

    
natural predators of,
153
,
166

    
resistance to toxins,
158–159

    
spread of,
149–150

    
variety of,
147

    
See also
Pest control

Philosopher’s Stone,
66

Phosphate detergents,
119

Phosphorus

    
from bones,
113–116

    
cycling,
28
,
67–69
,
117
,
120

    
eutrophication of freshwater lakes by,
119

    
fertilizer,
113–118

    
glowing,
66

    
in guano,
88–89

    
Liebig and,
62
,
65

    
as life’s bottleneck,
65–66

    
in manure,
76

    
from rock,
116–118

    
roles of,
66

    
uses of,
66–67

Photosynthesis,
30–31
,
74

Pizarro, Francisco,
94

Planet(s)

    
in Habitable Zone,
19–21

    
life supporting,
17–18

    
magnetic fields,
21–22

    
recycling machinery of,
23–28
,
197

    
requirements needed for habitable,
196

    
tilt of,
22–23

Planetary Boundaries
(Rockström),
2

Plant breeders

    
of corn,
133–135

    
early,
127

    
Indian,
175–176

    
Norman Borlaug,
171–175

    
private companies,
140

    
of soybeans,
139–140

    
of wheat,
137–138

    
Yuan Longping,
177–178

Plant breeding

    
rice,
176–178

    
shuttle breeding,
173
,
174

    
time required in conventional,
187

    
wheat,
137–138
,
172–176

Plants

    
domestication of wild species,
52–55

    
humus theory
versus
mineral theory,
106–107

    
legumes,
62–64
,
75–76

    
Mendel’s experiments with,
129–132

    
nitrogen uptake by,
61
,
62

    
phosphorus cycling and,
67–68

    
photosynthesis by,
74

    
seed vault,
185

    
water cycling and,
101

    
wild relatives of domesticated species,
184–185

Plate tectonics,
24–27
,
31
,
68
,
92

Plow, moldboard,
78

Plymouth Company,
95

Point Counter Point
(Huxley),
117

Pollen,
129–131
,
133
,
137
,
168
,
177–178

POPs (persistent organic pollutants),
164

Population, demographic transition in,
6

The Population Bomb
(Ehrlich),
175

Population growth

    
in developing countries,
179

    
farming and,
56–57

    
potatoes and,
11

    
stabilization of,
196

    
twentieth century,
190

    
in world,
6

Potato

    
European population growth and,
11

    
Great Irish Famine and,
10–13
,
148

    
New World origin of,
93

Potato blight,
12
,
148

Poverty, hunger and,
181

Predator and prey, balance of,
150

Protein

    
deficiency,
60–61

    
in meat,
143–144

    
nitrogen in,
61

    
roles in human body,
61

Pseudomonas,
65
,
121

Pyrethrins,
154
,
167

Qanat,
101–102

Quinoa,
93
,
194

Rain,
26
,
99–101

Rats, learning by,
40

Recessive gene,
131–132

Recycling of nutrients

    
food production interference with,
197

    
machinery of Earth,
23–28
,
197

    
nitrogen,
62–65
,
75–76

    
phosphorus,
67–69

    
slash-and-burn agriculture and,
60
,
65
,
69–70

    
soil fertility and,
59
,
86–87

Reproduction, sexual,
31

Resources

    
finite nature of,
2

    
supply and demand for,
200

Rhizobium,
63–64
,
75
,
109

Rice,
176–178

    
domestication of,
53

    
Golden,
186

    
hybrid,
177–178

    
semi-dwarf varieties,
174
,
177

    
short varieties,
176–177

Richerson, Peter,
38
,
39
,
45

Riots, food,
198

Rivers,
70–72

Rock

    
phosphate from,
68
,
116–118

    
weathering of,
26
,
27
,
68

Rockefeller Foundation,
172
,
180

Rockström, Johan,
2–3
,
7

Rocky Mountain locusts,
146–147
,
165–166

Roosevelt, Franklin D.,
120
,
125
,
126

Root nodules,
63

Rotating crops.
See
Crop rotation

Rothamstead Experimental Station,
62
,
114
,
167

Russian wheat aphid,
150

Rust, wheat,
172–173
,
183

Sabatier, Paul,
192–193
,
199

Salmon, Samuel,
174

Salt, buildup in soil,
71

Saltpeter,
91
,
103
,
110

Sauer, Carl,
180

Scarecrows,
151

Schistosomiasis,
77

Schopenhauer, Arthur,
14

Screwworm flies,
167

Scurvy,
36

Seabirds, guano from,
88–92

Seed men,
133–134

Seed vault,
185

Seeds, hybrid,
134–136