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Battalion/Page 10
April 1,1982
Land damage to hurt
food production: study
United Press International
WASHINGTON — De
terioration of the world’s pro
ductive soil will impair world
food production by the year
2000, according to a new Agri
culture Department study.
The study, “Impact of Land
Degradation on Future World
Food Production,” was pub
lished by the international eco
nomics division of the Agricul
ture Department’s Economic
Research Service.
The study predicted that per
capita food production would
increase in developed nations in
blorth America, Europe and
Australia. It said those nations
might improve land manage
ment and even reverse moder
ate land degradation, or deserti
fication, that has occurred.
But prospects for other parts
of the world are gloomier. The
majority of developing nations,
primarily in Africa, Asia and
Central and South America, will
have difficulty increasing food
production, the study said.
It would be possible to halt or
reverse desertification in all but
small land areas of those na
tions, the study said. However,
degradation of soil in those na
tions is frequently overlooked
and reversal costs would be
high.
“This, combined with the
additional expense of expand
ing cultivation to new lands, will
make it difficult for these de
veloping nations to increase
fooa production to meet rising
populations,” the study said.
The author, Harold Dregne,
is director of the International
Center for Arid and Semiarid
Land Studies at Texas Tech
University in Lubbock.
Dregne discussed desertifica
tion caused by water and wind
erosion, waterlogging and sali
nization, compaction of soil, sur
face crusting and destruction of
plant cover. The problems can
result from excessive cutting of
Severe desertification in
North America is mostly
an arid-land problem,
affecting Texas, New
Mexico and Arizona in
the United States —
Agriculture Depart
ment study.
forests, overgrazing, cultivation
of sloping or shallow soils and
irrigation without drainage.
In extreme cases, the land
becomes useless for humans and
animals.
Estimating rates of land de
gradation, Dregne’s study fea
tures maps showing the severity
of desertification on each conti
nent compared to the potential
land productivity of each area.
His maps show where the
problems are the greatest, but
actual worldwide rates of deser
tification are impossible to de
termine reliably because of a
lack of information.
The U.N. Food and Agricul
ture Organization, which has
studied soil degradation since
1974, plans to develop a method
to determine the present rate of
degradation. But Dregne said
that goal is still several years off.
Dregne estimated that 62
percent of land in the world has
slight desertification problems,
26 percent has moderate prob
lems, 12 percent has severe
manifestations and 0.1 percent
has very severe problems.
If the problems are slight,
crop yields are reduced less than
10 percent, and if problems are
severe, yields are reduced 50
percent to 90 percent, he esti
mated.
“Desertification will affect
food production by the year
2000,” Dregne concluded.
Severe desertification in
North America is mostly an arid-
land problem, affecting Texas,
New Mexico and Arizona in the
United States and Mexican
states from Oaxaca in the south
to Sonora and Chihuahua in the
north, he said.
Water erosion has severely
damaged land in the mountains
of Guatemala, El Salvador, Hon
duras and Nicaragua, cutting
into food production in those
nations for the foreseeable fu
ture, the study said.
Severe degradation of range-
land and cropland is most exten
sive in Africa north of the
equator and in Southwest Asia,
the study said.
“Large parts of China, the
Soviet Union, Greece, Spain, the
United States, Mexico, Central
America and the Andean coun
tries of South America have also
suffered much land degrada
tion,” Dregne said.
LARGE SELECTION OF VIDEO GAMES INSTOCK
at A&M
HPlIHRHHiTbiiindtay
AGRICULTURE ECONOMICS CLUB: Meeting to discuss
computers in agriculture and officer elections at 7 p.m. in 209
j Harrington.
MSC AMATEUR RADIO COMMITTEE: Meeting to discuss
Aggiecross at 7:30 p.m. in 140 MSC. There will be a scrapping
party afterwards.
CEFHEID VARIABLE: “Heavy Metal” will be shown at 7:30
p.m. and 9:45 p.m. in Rudder Theater.
UNITED CAMPUS MINISTRY: Women’s bible study will be
at 7:30 p.m. at 1002 Pershing St.
FOR CHRIST: Leadership training
m. in 108 Harrington. Everyone is wel-
LUTHERAN CHAPEL: We will leave for
UB: Dr. Johnson’s “The Fi-
ent” will be continued at 7:30 p.m. in 106 Highway
:arch Center.
OUTDOOR RECREATION COMMITTEE: “Free
nb” with Robert Bedford will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in 501
CATHOLIC STUDENTS ASSOCIATION: Inquiry Class II
will meet at 6 p.m. in the student center. The adoration of the
blessed sacrament will be at 7 a.m. in St. Mary’s Church
off-campus mass will be at 10 p.m. in the Old College y
party house. h ' * r
Friday
HILLEL JEWISH ST UDENT CENTER: Services willbeli
by Dr. Yechial Weitsman followed by a Homen YashenO
Shabat at 8 p.m. in the center. ‘ ‘ 1
TAMU CHESS CLUB: Players of all strengths are welcom
meeting at 7 p.m. 410 Rudder. "
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»N
meeting at / p
UNITED CAMPUS MINISTRY: Friday night bible study
be at 6:30 p.m. Check MSC video for room numliei
FIFTH BAIT ALIGN: There will be a Beach Party at O-Hn-i
from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. All girls free! HHH
MSC CAMERA: First day of accepting prints for Salon
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the first floor taoles of the MSC
CATHOLIC STUDENTS ASSOCIATION: Coffeehousc-
the group "Southwind” will perform at 8 p.m. in thestudeir
center.
Saturday
SOCIETY OF IRANIAN STUDENTS AND INTERNA
TIONAL STUDENTS ASSOCIATION: Dr KukabSidi
fue will lecture on the Middle East: Other Perspectives at 7p.i.
in 102 Zachry. The program will be preceeded by thestuden
panelists from Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
EXCUSE
PARING.
attrac
across
THf BEG
SE
Uneasy Senate committee
begins budget resolution
United Press International
WASHINGTON — The Re
publican-led Senate Budget
Committee, tired of waiting for
guidance from the White
House, began work on a 1983
budget resolution by rejecting
the optimistic predictions in
President Reagan’s spending
plan.
The committee voted, 13-1,
at its first mark-up hearing
Tuesday to use the more pessi
mistic economic assumptions
supplied by the Congressional
Budget Office.
The lone dissenter was Sen.
Bob Kasten, R-Wis., who argued
the panel “could be making a
real mistake by rejecting the
base of the administration’s
numbers. By throwing out the
administration’s economics, we
are starting out on the least rosy
scenario.”
But committee Chairman
Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said he
believes the CBO approach
“permits us to work with a set of
numbers that are reliable.”
The “economic assumptions”
are estimates of the future •
Reagan’s budget pre
dicts the interest rate on
a three-month Treasury
bill will drop to 11.7 per
cent this year and 10.5
percent in 1983, while
the CBO (Congression
al Budget Office) esti
mates it will be 12.4 per
cent in 1982 and 13.2
percent next year.
growth of the gross national
product, the inflation rate, the
unemployment rate and interest
rates, and are used to figure out
future costs in the budget.
For example, Reagan’s
budget predicts the interest rate
on a three-month Treasury bill
will drop to 11.7 percent this
year and 10.5 percent in 1983,
while the CBO estimates it will
be 12.4 percent in 1982 and 13.2
percent next year.
The latest six-month Treas
ury bill yield is about 13.5 per
cent, up this week from about
12.9 percent. For interest rates
to decline, economists say infla
tion must be curbed.
Senate Republican leaders
had delayed committee action
on the budget to see if negotia
tions between House Democrats
and the White House would
produce a bipartisan compronv
ise plan, but Tuesday they de
cided time was running out.
Under the Budget Act, the
Senate must pass a budget re
solution by April 15 and both
House and Senate mustagretl
on one by May 15.
Domenici said it is possible-1
but not probable — the commit I
tee could finish work on I
budget resolution by this I
weekend, the start of the 12-dai |
Easter recess.
“We want to send a signal that I
we are concerned and we havet# |
move ahead,” Domenici told it I
porters.
In opening the first hearing,
Domenici field hope Reaganyeil
will indicate what changes he |
might accept in his $757.6 bil-1
lion budget proposal.
But other Republicans, in-1
eluding Sen. William Armstrong |
of Colorado, said they could not ?
wait forever for Reagan to send
them a conciliatory signal. |
“The White House has sent
us a signal (that’s) undesirable,’ I
Armstrong said.
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the force
U.S.-China stance shaky
Sales to Taiwan hurt ties
United Press International
PEKING — The United
States and China were locked on
a collision course over U.S. milit
ary sales to Taiwan Wednesday
and Western diplomats said a
downgrading of relations
appeared inevitable.
U.S. officials in Washington
Tuesday said the Reagan admi
nistration would press ahead
with a $60 million military
spare-parts sale to Taiwan.
The development, combined
with a stiffening Chinese post
ure, convinced most diplomats
in Peking the two sides were
within weeks of a severe down
grading of diplomatic relations.
“The time has now come,”
one veteran diplomat said.
“Once this deal is made public,
in the sense it is presented to
Congress, all the signs are there
from the Chinese side that they
are not bluffing.”
Diplomats regard the $60
million deal as the acid test of
China’s often-stated threat to
downgrade ties with the United
States over Washington’s milit
ary support for Taiwan, which
Peking efinsiders part of China.
The Chinese are expected to
wait for the deal to win routine
congressional approval after a
30-day wait, before withdrawing
their ambassador from
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Washington and sending U.S.
Ambassador Arthur Hummel
packing.
T hey will move to down
grade diplomatic relations as a
result of this sale,” the diplomat
said. “Id be really surprised if
that’s not the way it works. They
can’t be bluffing. They’ve
painted themselves into a
corner.”
U.S. officials in Washington
said a specific decision on how to
execute the $60 million deal was
expected ‘soon” and the pack
age could be submitted to Con
gress by mid-April.
1 he officials said the Reagan
administration realizes arms
sales to Taiwan is a sensitive
issue for Peking, but cannot
allow China s objections to stand
in the way.
They said meetings will be
held in coming weeks to attempt
to defuse Chinese opposition,
but it was not clear whether the)
would be in addition to secret
discussions already under waym
Peking.
The Sino-American dispute
has spread with Chinese objec
tions extending to include un
official” American ties with
Taiwan and a new immigration
law for Taiwan-born immig
rants.
China delivered a formal pro
test note to the American
Embassy in Peking Friday de
manding” the new immigration
law, which sets quotas for 20,OU
visas each to Taiwan-born an
mainland-born Chinese, oe
“corrected.”
“This is an open act of creat
ing “two Chinas” on the parto
the United States,” the protest
note said.
Attention Students!
MW’mmm
TfTglOJC
303 College Main
(Down from Loupots, next to Whites)
Summer Prices!
Shampoo, conditioner, cut, blow dry-style
Men
$10.00
Women
$15.00
Phone 846-8528 for Appointments
Ask For:
Tom or Brooks
Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-Till? j
Cc
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