ชาวนารัก(ษ์)โลก ลดภาวะโลกร้อน

Abstract

Global warming is caused by an increase of the average temperature within the Earth’s atmosphere from the higher accumulation of greenhouse gases. Human’s actions created solely for further development of the Earth are mainly responsible. Some of the main greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O). According to the statistic in 2013 showing the release of greenhouse gases in Thailand, it showed that 318.66 million tonnes of greenhouse gases were released in which 236.94 million tonnes were from the energy sector (74%) and 50.92 million tonnes were from the agricultural sector (16%).

In the agricultural sector, it was found that the main greenhouse gases were methane and nitrous oxide, which mostly came from rice field, fertilization, and livestock. For the rice cultivation, it was found that methane was the major greenhouse gases that was released to the environment at about 27.86 million tonnes (or around 55% of agricultural sector). The release of the methane was caused by the cultivation of rice in the waterlogged field. This was because the biodegradation of organic matters in the waterlogged rice field resulted in the lack of oxygen in the soil for a long time.

From the results of using technology to decrease the greenhouse gases from rice cultivation, it showed that the adjustment of soil surface making it more evenly and water management with alternate wetting and drying method, which allow the oxygen to flow from time to time, could decrease the release of methane gas and reduce the use of water for the rice cultivation. Another technology was the use of fertilizers with proper recommendations in which decrease the release of nitrous oxide. Moreover, the management of rice straw after harvesting or before the cultivation of rice for the next season was another way to decrease the release of greenhouse gases from the rice field. The key point here was if the farmers could apply these technologies, they could reduce the costs involving with the cultivation, such as from water pump and fertilizers. This could reduce their investment for the cultivation. Furthermore, as the manufacturers were concerned about the impacts from global warming, it could help supporting the policies created to reduce the causes of global warming from the agricultural sector. Additionally, farmers that would follow these practices could be called as “Green Farmers”.