(Despite cooling trend and record snows) Unprecedented heat will trigger global food crisis

The Globe & Mail ^ | 1/08/09 | MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT

[Libloather]

Unprecedented heat will trigger global food crisis
MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT
From Friday's Globe and Mail
January 8, 2009 at 10:18 PM EST

TORONTO — The world faces a “perpetual food crisis” because global warming will likely lead to massive and simultaneous crop failures in many regions, possibly as early as the period from 2040 to 2060, a new study says.

The finding, appearing in the journal Science, is based on climate models that suggest the worst heat waves of the past – such as the one in Europe in 2003 that killed at least 30,000 people – are likely to become the new normal summertime temperatures.

Although the trend to extreme heat becoming the new normal could start in some parts of the world by mid-century, well within the lifetimes of many people now alive, the researchers are confident it will become a global phenomenon between 2080 and 2100.

Rising temperatures will wither crops that are heat-sensitive, including staples such as wheat, possibly cutting yields by 20 per cent to 40 per cent, according to the study, conducted by scientists at two U.S. universities. The impact will not be as pronounced on some crops, such as millet, that are more heat tolerant but not exactly palate pleasers.

**SNIP**

In an interview, Dr. Battisti contended that global warming's effect on agriculture is likely to be a larger threat to humanity than the submerging of coastal cities due to melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

“This is going to unfold in the next 100 years,” he said, “whereas the sea-level changes are going to probably, most likely, unfold over the next 300 to 400 years.”

[dalereed]

I don’t give a damn, i’ll be dead and gone!

[Dusty Road]

“The world faces a “perpetual food crisis” because global warming will likely lead to massive and simultaneous crop failures in many regions, possibly as early as the period from 2040 to 2060, a new study says.”

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I’d really like them to explain that one in detail. Is it the heat or the lack of moisture that will cause the catastrophic failures? Seems to me that if in fact we are warming then that alone will release more moisture in the atmosphere. Should the oceans rise, wouldn’t that also expose more area for water to evaporate, thus causing even more moisture to release? Around here more moisture and warmer weather equals record harvests!

I live in an area the catches about 16 inches of rain a year on average; most consider our area as desert. 5 years ago I caught 48 inches of rain on the ranch, some area’s had standing water for over 6 months. Had I know we would catch that much, I could have tripled the amount of cattle I run per section. Some cotton farmers were averaging over 2 bales per acre. Give me more of it please.

[101voodoo]

2040-2060? LOL, these asshats can’t call the weather correctly for next week much less 30-50 years.

The stink of desperation is rolling off these gloom and doomers as the evide3nce against their crackpot theories continues to mount.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Hmm. True, so very true.

Wine cooler?