Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Climate Change and Agriculture

A few weeks back, Katie and I had the opportunity to attend the Northeast Biochar Symposium in Amherst. The day yielded tremendous hope for the future of agriculture and its potential role in addressing climate change through carbon sequestration.

Tonight, at 5PM at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, David Orr will be presenting at SEEAL's annual meeting. In anticipation of that event I've put together a list of resources for folks looking into the impact of climate change on agriculture and agriculture's role in future solutions. Check out the November 2009 - Brix Bounty - Climate Change and Agriculture Resource Sheet.

There are so many profound ways that climate change will impact global agriculture, but I thought I would hilight one that has been on my mind lately, thanks to Lester Brown's Plan B 4.o. As glaciers in the high himalayas continue to retreat this will have a big effect on agriculture production in Asia. Many of the rivers in India and China that are used for irrigation of farmland are fed by snowmelt from these glaciers, as the flows associated with this snowmelt become less reliable we may find agricultural lands unable to rely on irrigation waters, thus lowering potential yields. Without shouting fire too loudly, I would direct folks to consider the writing on the Market Skeptics blog - as they address some of the potential impacts of global food shortages...

We can play a role in mitigating climate change, by moving toward increasing our local sources of food. Join us for a free Roots Down - New Bedford: Wintertime Garden Planning Workshop Series held in January/February 2010. Dates and Times to be announced in mid-December.

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