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gerontocrat

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #950 on: April 04, 2017, 03:25:40 PM »
CHERRY BLOSSOM (and other blossomings). The problem with early blossoming and fruit setting is late frosts and snow, as the eastern USA has just found out. Not easy to find out what is the real extent of losses - media never follows through.
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jai mitchell

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #951 on: April 06, 2017, 10:26:06 AM »
40C in South Asia and Monsoon season predicted to arrive late (June)  :o

http://indiaclimatedialogue.net/2017/04/05/south-asia-braces-intense-heat-summer/

Quote
South Asia gets over three-quarters of its annual rainfall during the June-September monsoon season. Though agriculture accounts for only around 12% of India’s GDP now, over half the population is still dependent on farming, and an estimated 61% of farmers are without irrigation facilities and are totally dependent on rainfall. All these percentages are higher in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
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+3C today

Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #952 on: April 09, 2017, 12:50:23 PM »
Mesmerizing Video Of Hawaii Beach Sand Reveals Unsettling Reality
The ocean’s plastic pollution problem is hiding in plain sight.
Quote
During a recent beach clean up in Kailua on the island of Oahu, the nonprofit group used a sand sifter to rid the sand of trash and plastic pollution. They filmed the slow-motion video... of the sifter in action to show people just how much harmful debris sits within the sand.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sustainable-coastlines-hawaii-sand-sifter-kailua_us_58e97247e4b058f0a02fade1?
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Paddy

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #953 on: April 10, 2017, 09:51:09 AM »
I was thinking about coral reef bleaching, and had a couple of questions/conjectures:

- How much do sea and ocean CO2 levels and consequent acidity vary, and how closely tied is this to local airborne co2 emissions, e.g. from a local fossil fuel plant?
- Would there be any additional benefit for coral reef survival from local cuts in CO2 emissions leading to lower local co2 levels, above and beyond the contribution of such changed to global CO2 levels?
- Would reductions in any of the other emissions if such plants be beneficial for coral reef survival?

gerontocrat

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #954 on: April 10, 2017, 10:06:33 AM »
It seems that any solution to coral reef bleaching may be too late for much of the great barrier reef. Goto theguardian.com and find climate change and despair.
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Paddy

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #955 on: April 11, 2017, 08:22:51 PM »
Yep, that was the article that inspired these thoughts.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #956 on: April 15, 2017, 10:00:19 PM »
More Sea Lions in Los Angeles and Orange Counties Showing Signs of Poisoning From Algae Bloom
Quote
Marine mammal rescue centers in Orange and Los Angeles counties are reporting increasing instances of sea lions showing signs of domoic acid poisoning, caused by a neurological toxin resulting from an ocean algae bloom, it was reported Monday.

The symptoms include lethargy and unawareness, according to the Orange County Register, which attributed its report of increased poisonings to an official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Officials told the Register that the sea lions' plight could signal that the marine environment remains out of balance. A lack of food sources available to lactating mothers close to Channel Islands sea lion breeding grounds led to mass strandings starting in 2013.....
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/More-Sea-Lions-LA-Orange-Counties-Signs-Poisoning-Algae-Bloom-419158974.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #957 on: April 16, 2017, 03:08:41 AM »
How will rising temperatures affect Atlantic Cod populations?
https://insideclimatenews.org/species/fish/atlantic-cod
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #958 on: April 17, 2017, 04:02:18 PM »
The linked reference provides an ESLD estimate of the decline in primary marine food production from the Tropical Oceans by 2100.

Lester Kwiatkowski et al. Emergent constraints on projections of declining primary production in the tropical oceans, Nature Climate Change (2017). DOI: 10.1038/nclimate3265


http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate3265.html

Abstract: "Marine primary production is a fundamental component of the Earth system, providing the main source of food and energy to the marine food web, and influencing the concentration of atmospheric CO 2. Earth system model (ESM) projections of global marine primary production are highly uncertain with models projecting both increases and declines of up to 20% by 2100. This uncertainty is predominantly driven by the sensitivity of tropical ocean primary production to climate change, with the latest ESMs suggesting twenty-first-century tropical declines of between 1 and 30%. Here we identify an emergent relationship between the long-term sensitivity of tropical ocean primary production to rising equatorial zone sea surface temperature (SST) and the interannual sensitivity of primary production to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-driven SST anomalies. Satellite-based observations of the ENSO sensitivity of tropical primary production are then used to constrain projections of the long-term climate impact on primary production. We estimate that tropical primary production will decline by 3 ± 1% per kelvin increase in equatorial zone SST. Under a business-as-usual emissions scenario this results in an 11 ± 6% decline in tropical marine primary production and a 6 ± 3% decline in global marine primary production by 2100."
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DrTskoul

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #959 on: May 03, 2017, 01:53:41 AM »
From Climate Central: Europe’s Farming Vulnerable with Water Scarcity

Quote
Water scarcity half a world away caused by climate change could push up prices for meat and diary products in Europe by disrupting supplies of soybean, which is widely used as feed for livestock, researchers said Wednesday.

The European Union sources most soybean from outside the 28-nation bloc — mainly from Argentina, Brazil and the United States, according to an EU-funded study by Dutch-based NGO Water Footprint Network (WFN).

But 57 percent of soybean imports are from regions that are highly vulnerable to water scarcity, exposing Europe to possible shocks in supply, said Ertug Ercin, the study's co-author.

"The highest risk that the European meat and dairy sector will face due to climate change and weather extremes lies outside its borders," he said in a statement.

Less beef less problems.....

DrTskoul

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #960 on: May 03, 2017, 01:55:31 AM »
Quote
"The EU's economy is dependent on the availability of water in other parts of the world for many crops," said Christopher Briggs, WFN executive director. "That makes it vulnerable to increasing water scarcity and drought."

Exporting unsustainability...

nicibiene

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #961 on: May 03, 2017, 08:06:47 AM »
All about Europe farmers have been affected by the freezing April following the warmest March ever. Vine, apples, strawberries, cherries, plums others berries. Farmers worked with emergency programs like burning fires, spraying water to freeze the blossoms, at the Bodensee region they even tried flying helicopters to mix the sky layers. Mostly all got in spite of the efforts a victim of the cold outbreak of the last weeks. (fortunately I'm living in a rough area where nature was not so far....thinking about planning some more trees here.  8)

http://www.newsweek.com/spring-freeze-damages-french-wine-production-591467
https://dobianchi.com/2017/04/21/freezing-temperatures-vineyards-italy/
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2017/04/europe-late-spring-freeze-170422083859329.html
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oren

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #962 on: May 05, 2017, 11:55:26 PM »
Here's a blog post quoted on an economic blog I read regularly. The interesting thing for me is that the economic blogger is on the right-wing/denier/skeptic spectrum, and yet he quotes a very long post that seems spot on.
The post deals with quite a few issues but focuses mainly on agriculture and food so I chose to put it here.

https://mishtalk.com/2017/05/04/earth-overshoot-how-sustainable-is-population-growth/

Quote
Reader Rick Mills at Ahead of the Herd addresses the subject in a guest blog that first appeared on his blog as Earth Overshoot Day.

Earth Overshoot Day

The second half of the 20th century saw the biggest increase in the world’s population in human history. Our population surged because of:

Medical advances lessened the mortality rate in many countries
Massive increases in agricultural productivity caused by the “Green Revolution”
The global death rate has dropped almost continuously since the start of the industrial revolution – personal hygiene, improved methods of sanitation and the development of antibiotics all played a major role.

Green Revolution

The term Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfers that happened between the 1940s and the late 1970s.

The initiatives involved:

*Development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains
*Expansion of irrigation infrastructure
*Modernization of management techniques
*Mechanization
*Distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers

Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #963 on: May 07, 2017, 05:20:33 PM »
Australia:  key to better crops is better connectivity.

Budget 2017: Data drought must come to an end to unlock agriculture's earning potential, farmers say
Quote
It is vital that Tuesday's federal budget addresses the data drought in regional Australia, farmers say.

Some of the poorest farmers in Africa have better digital connectivity than farmers here, David Statham, owner of cotton, grain and beef producer Sundown Pastoral Company, said.
...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/story-streams/federal-budget-2017/2017-05-07/federal-budget-2017-farmers-call-for-end-to-data-drought/8504454
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #964 on: May 12, 2017, 07:51:36 PM »
"We think about half of all suitable land will no longer be suitable [for coffee] by 2050."

Coffee's Fate Is Getting Jittery as Climate Change Puts Growing Areas at Risk
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12052017/coffee-risk-climate-change-study-forests-puerto-rico
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #965 on: May 15, 2017, 08:41:31 PM »
Vertical farming: Lessons learned, new ideas.

Quote
So far, vertical farms grow mostly leafy greens, because the crops can be turned over quickly, generating cash flow easily in a business that requires extensive capital investment....

And the farms aren’t likely to grow wheat, rice or other commodities that provide much of a daily diet, because there is less of a need for them to be fresh, Mr. Gordon-Smith says. They can be stored and shipped efficiently, he says.

A Farm Grows in the City
Startups are leading the way to a future in which more food is grown closer to where people live
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-farm-grows-in-the-city-1494813900
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TerryM

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #966 on: May 16, 2017, 01:53:22 PM »
Vertical farming: Lessons learned, new ideas.

Quote
So far, vertical farms grow mostly leafy greens, because the crops can be turned over quickly, generating cash flow easily in a business that requires extensive capital investment....

And the farms aren’t likely to grow wheat, rice or other commodities that provide much of a daily diet, because there is less of a need for them to be fresh, Mr. Gordon-Smith says. They can be stored and shipped efficiently, he says.

A Farm Grows in the City
Startups are leading the way to a future in which more food is grown closer to where people live
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-farm-grows-in-the-city-1494813900


I wonder if there is much documentation from Cuba re. their experiments with vertical gardening during the "Special Period"? Very little fuel, and the people still needed to be fed. - possibly practice for what lies ahead.
Terry

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #967 on: May 16, 2017, 02:23:48 PM »


A Farm Grows in the City
Startups are leading the way to a future in which more food is grown closer to where people live
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-farm-grows-in-the-city-1494813900

This move to local will accelerate for all economic activity. It is small wonder that food is leading this trend, given the perishable nature for much of it.

gerontocrat

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #968 on: May 17, 2017, 01:17:06 PM »
Armyworms: The hungry caterpillar threatening a global food crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/may/16/armyworms-the-hungry-caterpillar-threatening-a-global-food-crisis

The article points to how large-scale mono-culture increases risks to food crops from infestations.

Also shows how maybe the fate of many millions of lives depend on one scientist and his small team.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #969 on: May 20, 2017, 12:54:36 AM »
“This is supposed to last for eternity....”

The Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.

Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts
No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-stronghold-of-worlds-seeds-flooded-after-permafrost-melts
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TerryM

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #970 on: May 20, 2017, 03:55:02 AM »
“This is supposed to last for eternity....”

The Global Seed Vault[/b], buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.

Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts
No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/19/arctic-stronghold-of-worlds-seeds-flooded-after-permafrost-melts
Notice
Eternity Expires
6/16/2021
Subject to future revision


prokaryotes

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #971 on: May 20, 2017, 01:12:53 PM »

Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #972 on: May 20, 2017, 08:56:58 PM »
The Crop That Ate America
Quote
Farmers who had long rotated plantings among a diverse group of grains are increasingly turning to a single one. Corn has always been a mainstay of U.S. agriculture, but its increasing profitability has driven up corn's share of total production, while grains such as wheat, oats and sorghum have steadily fallen, according to a Bloomberg analysis of a half-century of crop data. This locks farmers, as well as machinery-makers including Deere & Co., to the rises and falls of one crop, as both domestic and export markets grow more and more tied to the dominant U.S. grain. That exposes farmers to greater volatility and greater trade risk if a major buyer, such as Mexico, were to decide to stop buying U.S. corn.

Corn will make up 68 percent of this year’s projected harvest of major U.S. grains and oilseeds this year, according to data the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Wednesday. That’s up from 47 percent in 1968. New markets and technology have made corn more profitable compared to other crops, which is why longtime farmers once devoted to competitive grains have switched to the nation’s number-one source for biofuels and cattle feed.
...
Pushing along the economics were shifts in technology and markets. The U.S. approved genetically modified (GMO) corn and soybeans for planting in 1995. That reduced those crops’ risk of disease and simplified their cultivation, gains that weren’t matched in non-GMO wheat and other grains.
...
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-crop-that-ate-america/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #973 on: May 25, 2017, 09:15:35 PM »
Factory Farms Put Climate at Risk, Experts Say in Urging Health Officials to Speak Out
Quote
Roughly 200 experts in disciplines from nutrition to animal welfare are calling on the World Health Organization to take a more serious look at the impact of industrial livestock production on human health and the climate.

In a letter sent Monday, the group—which includes former New York Times food writer Mark Bittman and environmentalist Bill McKibben—appealed to the WHO, asking that its next director-general work "to reduce the size and number of factory farms." The WHO's World Health Assembly got underway Monday, and the body will elect a new leader this week.

"As the global health community acknowledges the intertwined nature of planetary and human health, it must also confront the role that factory farming plays in climate change," the letter says.

The group points to predictions that, without a reduction in meat consumption, agriculture—including livestock production and growing grain to feed livestock—is on track to gobble up half the world's carbon budget if countries expect to meet the 2050 target of limiting global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. The livestock industry's contribution to greenhouse gases come from direct sources, including methane emitted from the animals belching and their manure, but also from indirect sources, including land conversion and deforestation linked to growing feed.
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22052017/factory-farms-cafos-threaten-climate-change-world-heath-organization
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gerontocrat

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #974 on: May 27, 2017, 02:26:59 PM »
Over on the 2017 melting season thread, they have been discussing the abnormal (extraordinary)  snowfall amounts last winter in places as far apart as parts of Siberia, the Rockies, Greenland and the Himalayas, with thoughts on how that could effect the melting season in the Arctic.

I have seen in various places serious discussion as to whether this greatly enhanced snowfall will become the norm. In a warming world that surely will lead to greatly enhanced summer melting. I tried to think what that might mean in terms of consequences for Greenland and South Asia but it is beyond my poor tired brain.
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oren

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #975 on: May 27, 2017, 02:45:49 PM »
Gerontocrat, bbr1234 has been discussing positive snow anomalies for a while. You may find the thread "negative feedback of positive snow anomalies", https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1932.0.html, interesting. It has been set up to discuss this theory, which I personally don't subscribe to.

bbr2314

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #976 on: May 27, 2017, 08:03:59 PM »
Gerontocrat, bbr1234 has been discussing positive snow anomalies for a while. You may find the thread "negative feedback of positive snow anomalies", https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1932.0.html, interesting. It has been set up to discuss this theory, which I personally don't subscribe to.
No worries :)

I have a question, though, that you or others may be able to answer:

Obviously solar insolation peaks in late June, but generally, NHEM temperatures peak in early/mid August.

For the Himalayas specifically, if abnormal snowcover is able to survive through to early July, would this translate into an earlier "end" of summer for surrounding regions, and the beginnings of additional accumulations far earlier than previously? (or rather, wouldn't that in effect result in year-round accumulations in the areas that remained abnormally snowcovered?)

Checking various weather stations in the Himalayas, it looks like snow levels are expected to climb to ~18,000 feet before dropping again after the next week or so. The incoming tropical cyclone over the Bay of Bengal is going to result in some absolutely *massive* snowfalls across the Eastern Himalayas, with upwards of 150" of snow predicted in a two-day timespan.

I would think that if current trends continue, we will eventually hit such a point that snow does begin accumulating in elevations where it normally melts, for the duration of "summertime". And as the Arctic continues to melt -- perhaps even enhanced by the newfound/growing fortitude of the cold pole surrounding the Himalayas, which could serve to encourage 500MB blocking to its north, in essence updrafting huge quantities of heat from both the Indian and Pacific Oceans into the Arctic -- the added atmospheric water vapor is going to accelerate this occurrence (IMO).

We could be talking about a large region of the globe entering an extended period of winter with only a brief/no interlude of "spring". Of course that doesn't mean the snow in these regions will see no melt whatsoever, but as long as the bulk survives the summer, it will (IMO) lend itself to a substantially earlier arrival of "fall" in the surrounding areas, and additional accumulations of snowfall in surrounding lower-lying elevations vs. what we have seen previously, further accelerating the shift.

It's difficult to describe what I am saying exactly and I'm not sure I've done it above, but if someone can either destroy or affirm my relatively inarticulate suppositions above, I'd appreciate it. :)

oren

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #977 on: May 27, 2017, 08:19:45 PM »
bbr1234 this needs to be taken to the thread I linked or any other relevant thread, but not here.

bbr2314

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #978 on: May 27, 2017, 08:24:46 PM »
bbr1234 this needs to be taken to the thread I linked or any other relevant thread, but not here.
I don't mind if it is moved but it is pretty relevant to food, the Himalayas border 3 billion of the world's population and continued changes to the weather here will result in catastrophes to harvests in both the Indian subcontinent and China...

gerontocrat

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #979 on: May 27, 2017, 09:04:34 PM »
Having worked on development projects in Pakistan,  India and Bangladesh I was required to understand the overwhelming importance of rivers such as the Indus, the Brahmaputra and the Ganges to just about everything. And the source of the life giving waters is the Himalayas.
The conventional wisdom has it that warming will increase summer melt until the glaciers are sufficiently diminished (in 20, 30 years?). Then food supply becomes a big problem as melt volume decreases.
Any snowfall increase or difference in melt season timing changes the water balance equation.  What is happening in the Himalays today and last winter will have a big effect on prospects for food supply in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent.
Water resources are already a major concern. So while the theory behind increases in snowfall may belong elsewhere, many will be watching snow melt in the Himalayas with apprehension.
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bbr2314

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #980 on: May 28, 2017, 01:02:32 AM »
Having worked on development projects in Pakistan,  India and Bangladesh I was required to understand the overwhelming importance of rivers such as the Indus, the Brahmaputra and the Ganges to just about everything. And the source of the life giving waters is the Himalayas.
The conventional wisdom has it that warming will increase summer melt until the glaciers are sufficiently diminished (in 20, 30 years?). Then food supply becomes a big problem as melt volume decreases.
Any snowfall increase or difference in melt season timing changes the water balance equation.  What is happening in the Himalays today and last winter will have a big effect on prospects for food supply in the northern part of the Indian sub-continent.
Water resources are already a major concern. So while the theory behind increases in snowfall may belong elsewhere, many will be watching snow melt in the Himalayas with apprehension.
Indeed. I wonder if the Himalayan snowfall anomaly will correlate to an event mirroring this one later in the summer -- the additional snowfall would seemingly lead itself to even more moisture availability than normal, combined with all the excess we are seeing from the increasingly open Arctic...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Pakistan_floods

Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #981 on: June 02, 2017, 09:08:04 PM »
A Belgian consortium of research institutions and companies has started a project to investigate if mussels could be grown on offshore wind farms.
http://www.offshorewind.biz/2017/06/02/belgians-start-growing-mussels-on-offshore-wind-farms/

Electrek says:
"There is plenty of history showing that whenever we put structures in the ocean, fish and ocean life populations pick up around those structures. If we can add extra revenue generation to wind farms by adding some mussel farming from a stock that will not hurt natural populations, I suggest we invest and learn."
https://electrek.co/2017/06/02/egeb-california-intersolar-dnv-gl-solar-italy/
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Archimid

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #982 on: June 05, 2017, 12:29:45 AM »
The South Faces a Summer With Fewer Peaches

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/dining/peach-crop-georgia-south-carolina.html

Quote
For almost all Southerners, a summer without a seemingly endless supply of peaches is unthinkable. But growers say the unthinkable is about to happen in America’s cobbler belt. A double punch of unseasonably warm winter weather and an ill-timed freeze has devastated the peach crop.
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Archimid

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #983 on: June 11, 2017, 04:31:09 PM »
USDA: 2017 wheat crop seen down 9% on fewer acres, storm

http://www.farmfutures.com/usda/usda-2017-wheat-crop-seen-down-9-fewer-acres-storm

Quote
USDA on Wednesday forecast wheat production will be down 9% this year and that includes a 25% drop in the winter wheat harvest due to fewer acres, lower yields and damage from a late spring snow storm.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #984 on: June 11, 2017, 04:48:40 PM »
3-D printed.  "Currently made mostly of gelatin."  Given what's happening to food crops, it just might be gelatin in the future, too. :o

High-tech pasta ships flat but looks beautiful on your plate
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/culture/2017/06/02/high-tech-pasta-ships-flat-but-looks-beautiful-on-your-plate.cnnmoney/index.html
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Paddy

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #985 on: June 11, 2017, 08:43:35 PM »
Nothing too dramatic in the latest food price outlook (FAO's biennial publication on the state of markets in food worldwide):http://www.fao.org/giews/reports/food-outlook/en/

EDIT: In particular, the wheat production issue that Archimid flagged up doesn't look too worrying in the broader context yet. But time will tell. Also worth looking at the food price index, which is currently ok,  although I'd be cautious about it being this high at a time of cheap oil http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/
« Last Edit: June 12, 2017, 01:17:55 AM by Paddy »

Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #986 on: June 22, 2017, 02:46:57 AM »
Millet.

Birdseed Turned Superfood May Help Curb India's Diabetes Scourge
Quote
...
Byregowda is spearheading a campaign involving chefs, nutritionists, doctors and food businesses to bolster demand for a grain he grew up eating as “ragi mudde” — finger-millet flour cooked and shaped into soft mounds and served with leafy greens in a spiced gravy.

His farmer-ancestors grew it not just for its nutritional benefits: the crop needs a third of the rainfall of rice. Yet, millet and sorghum production have declined by a combined 51 percent in India and rice and wheat output has almost quadrupled since the 1960s, when a Green Revolution introduced modern seeds, chemicals and irrigation to boost harvests and stave off hunger.

Drought-induced crop failures in recent years in southern India have convinced the 44-year-old American University graduate of the need to return to growing millet.

“In these times of climate change, it made sense to encourage farmers to switch to climate-smart crops rather than cultivate the water-intensive rice,” Byregowda said in an interview. “The post-Green Revolution planning left millet farmers, like my family, in the lurch.”
...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-21/birdseed-turned-superfood-may-help-curb-india-s-diabetes-scourge
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Sailaway

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #987 on: June 22, 2017, 12:05:07 PM »
SRI Method (System of Rice Intensification) is already in use in parts of India and many other countries. This system reduces the consumption of water in rice production, increases yields and significantly reduces methane emissions. I came across it trying to help a Thai family whom i am closely associated with ;D

I don't know why it is not more widely promoted - maybe because the family now produces more rice on less land, does not buy fertilizer, reduced pesticide use by 95% and they use traditional seed from last years crop - vested interest maybe?  >:(   

What is nice is that some of the neighbors are using the SRI method now. Whats not so good is that the frogs are back - and on the menu :'(

A good start point http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/conferences/IRC2014/booth/SRI_climate_smart_rice_production_%20handout_2014.pdf

Neven

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #988 on: June 22, 2017, 01:49:40 PM »
Welcome, Sailaway. Your profile has been released, so you can post freely now.
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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #989 on: June 25, 2017, 09:46:00 AM »
Belgian government is to decide this week if the current drought affected growing season should be treated as a natural disaster.
A very dry start in this area of Europe so far, topped off with a record heat wave the past weeks has expectations for crops such as peas or spinach etc to be very poor also in the Netherlands.
French wheat production affected similar to the US situation as well.

Another drought/heat wave may well follow, but perhaps prolonged periods of rain can cause other problems yet such as root disease and rotting.
With climate affecting other parts of the world too, one can notice availability of produce diminishing in daily life and shopping now.
More empty spaces in the supermarket or big price increases...

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #990 on: June 25, 2017, 04:30:43 PM »

More empty spaces in the supermarket and big price increases...

Friendly edit.

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #991 on: June 25, 2017, 10:26:29 PM »
Thanks for that news, Forest Dweller. Do you have any links on it, by any chance?
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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #992 on: June 27, 2017, 03:58:04 PM »
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #993 on: June 27, 2017, 09:30:35 PM »
California's triple-digit heat slows milk production, threatens crops and livestock
- Dairy farmers are using fans to help keep cows comfortable but milk production may still take hit.
- Some chicken producers sent birds to market early to beat the heat but may pay for it with lighter weights.
- Nut and citrus growers took urgent measures to avoid crop loss.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/27/californias-triple-digit-heat-slows-milk-production-threatens-crops.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #994 on: June 29, 2017, 07:10:57 PM »
Eric Holthaus: 
Quote
Fairly large expansion of the upper midwest drought in today’s monitor.
Continued hot + dry for next 6-10 days.

Important because: [Montana and North Dakota] is now the most important U.S. wheat-producing region—current crop is worst in 26 yrs.
http://www.tristateneighbor.com/news/markets/market-forecaster-spring-wheat-condition-rated-lowest-in-years/article_5c994072-5a7d-11e7-8d29-3ba4c2a7bd51.html

In response, the price of wheat—the most important grain food source for humans—has gone up about 10% in the past few weeks.

Just something to keep an eye on for now. But a lot of countries around the world are counting on North Dakota wheat that may never arrive.
https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/880468585537167360

https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/880469581155794944

https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/880469858395111424
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #995 on: June 29, 2017, 07:43:44 PM »
More on the midwest drought:

Quote
There's a quickly worsening drought right now in the upper Midwest. In just the last week, "extreme" drought expanded from 7.7 percent to 25.1 percent of North Dakota, the hardest-hit state. And next week, a multi-day heat wave is on the way. It's expected to reach as high as 107 degrees Fahrenheit [41.7°C] in parts of the Dakotas, more than 20 degrees above normal.
...
As with every weather event in a world where human influence now entirely dominates the atmosphere, there's a climate change story here. For decades, Kansas has been America's wheat state. That title recently shifted to North Dakota, as better growing conditions have moved north due to warming temperatures. As this year shows, North Dakota isn't exactly immune to hot weather and droughts, either.
http://tinyletter.com/sciencebyericholthaus/letters/today-in-weather-climate-north-dakota-drought-edition-thursday-june-29th
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #996 on: July 04, 2017, 01:36:36 AM »
Wheat and oat futures soar as commercial buyers scramble amid supply worries
• Drought in Dakotas and Montana is seen intensifying; there are also unfavorable crop conditions and growing wildfire concerns.
• Analysts say short-covering by funds in wheat also is supporting prices.
• Minneapolis-traded spring wheat futures rose nearly 6 percent while Chicago oat futures were up as much as 8 percent during the session.
Quote
As for the outlook on spring wheat, Reilly said it could reach "maybe even the $10 [a bushel] area if the weather doesn't improve. It's not just U.S. and Canada weather." Reilly explained that there have been downgrades to the Australian wheat crop and to the European crop. For example, he said Ukraine's wheat crop is having weather problems and parts of Russia are seeing similar challenges.

Analysts point out global supplies of wheat are ample, but the high-protein wheat grown in the U.S. northern Plains and Canadian prairie provinces is the big question mark.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/03/wheat-and-oat-futures-soar-amid-supply-worries.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #997 on: July 10, 2017, 03:41:30 AM »
Thousands of cows die in California heat wave; disposing them becomes a problem
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-cattle-deaths-20170708-story.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #998 on: July 17, 2017, 06:32:46 PM »
Addressing a major cause of food waste in the U.S.
Voluntary for now, because... well, you know.

Industry is tackling one of the biggest contributors to food waste — confusing expiration labels
Two big groups have agreed to overhaul expiration labels, which create confusion and add to food waste.
https://thinkprogress.org/food-waste-expiration-date-label-guidelines-960f79a2de73
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Climate change, the ocean, agriculture, and FOOD
« Reply #999 on: July 25, 2017, 12:42:14 AM »
U.S.:  Drought in High Plains the worst some farmers have ever seen
Quote
Drought in North Dakota is laying waste to fields of normally bountiful food and hay crops and searing pastures that typically would be home to multitudes of grazing cattle.

Some longtime farmers and ranchers say it's the worst conditions they've seen in decades — possibly their lifetimes — and simple survival has become their goal as a dry summer drags on without a raincloud in sight....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/drought-high-plains-worst-farmers-48656344
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