The document summarizes an essay about environmental security. It discusses how the 2012 drought in the Midwest affected crops and global populations. It questions whether this was due to natural causes or human impacts on the environment. The concept of environmental security considers the effects of environmental issues within and between countries. It also discusses how climate change caused the USDA to update its plant hardiness zone map in 2012, showing zones had shifted northward. This expansion of viable crop zones could financially benefit large agriculture companies but hurt small, independent farmers.