Climate Projections 09 and Peak Food

June 23, 2009 · Filed Under Uncategorized, climate change · Comment 
Climate change is just one of the factors that condemn future generations to having much less food per person then we have, so the latest projections should be a massive wake up call for us all.

Dr Vickey Pope, head of climate advice at the Met office described these projections as the most comprehensive analysis to date.

Whatever we do now, we are bound to have average the temperature rise by almost 2C compared to pre-industrial levels, but robust measures now could prevent rises above that level, which is where many scientists fear dangerous feedback effects will start to kick in.

The projections are that rainfall will stay about the same in the UK, but more will fall in winter with summer rainfall down by anything between 20% and 80%. The temperature on the hottest days could hit 41C by 2080.

This is exactly the opposite of what is good for food production. We need regular spring and early summer rainfall and moderate temperature to obtain the huge crop yields we now have in the UK.

Hilary Benn, commenting on these projections said they make very sobering reading and that climate change is the greatest challenge we face.

He said that we need to plan how to cope and protect people. He considers that the meeting in Copenhagen in December is the most important one in humankind’s history.

That’s quite a statement and does show that some government ministers do fully understand the situation. The problem is that the years are going by without the huge and far reaching measures being taken that would prevent warming going above the crucial 2C.

 

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