Sustainable Urban Living: Green Solar Energy for Food and Biofuels Production - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 418

TABLE 24.2
Climate Chaos Impacts o n Food and Biofuel Production

Factor Description

Heat Increased temperatures cause heat stress in food crops which can significantly

diminish their productivity and lead to plant death and crop failure.

Hot winds Increased temperatures and dry winds evaporate soil moisture and increase the

need for freshwater irrigation.

Water scarcity Water, the critical resource for sustainable food production, has passed its tipping

point as global warming causes food crops to need more water but water in many
growing areas' water sources have been degraded, depleted, or diverted.

Rising sea levels Oceans will consume millions of acres of prime cropland on coasts and river deltas

and tidal and storm surges will destroy millions of acres of cropland from sea salt
invasion.

Ocean acidity Dissolved CO 2 in the oceans diminish fisheries, destroy shellfish, and dissolve

coral reefs that protect coasts and estuaries.

Higher ocean surface
temperatures

Heat creates the energy that intensifies storms, hurricanes, and typhoons. Heat
also changes the rainfall patterns and leads to drought and severe forest fires
experienced in the western United States.

Extended spring and fall Spring is starting a week earlier and fall lasts an extra week, enabling pest

vectors—bugs, fungi, molds, mildews, viruses, and weeds—to multiply earlier
and sometimes survive the winter.

Rain patterns Shifts in rain patterns will cause huge losses of cropland that lack the

infrastructure for irrigation.

Wildires Range lands and forests are especially vulnerable to heat and drought, and winds

drive catastrophic wildfires such as those in California in 2008 and 2009.

Loss of snow pack and
glaciers

Snow packs are down 50% which means faster runoff and heavy flooding in the
spring. Reservoirs, creeks, and rivers may be only half full when irrigation is
needed later in the growing season. Melting snow packs and glaciers mean less
river water for irrigation and human use. California announced a net zero
irrigation water allocation for many farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.

Blowing dust While the U.S. Midwest experienced severe flooding in 2008, Texas and Oklahoma

lost millions of acres of crops to drought and blowing dust. Dust decimates crops,
amplifies drought by removing soil moisture, and erodes thin topsoil.

they can be cultivated year-round. Algaculture produces pure O 2 while sequestering CO 2 ,
so it provides a positive atmospheric footprint while conserving scarce fossil resources.
Green solar provides a portable energy source and grows biomass with solar energy
stored in forms that may be used for a variety of purposes:

People —organic protein in food
Animals —organic protein in fodder
Fowl —natural protein for birds
Fish —natural protein in fish feed
Land plants —organic nitrogen fertilizer
Fire —high energy algal oil for cooking and heating
Cars —carbohydrates refined to gasoline/ethanol for transportation
Trucks and tractors —high energy clean, green diesel
Trains, boats, and ships —high energy clean diesel
Planes —high energy, clean aviation gas and jet fuel