Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7
THE FATE OF FARMING
We begin our review of economic impacts with farming. Of all major
sectors, farming is the most sensitive to climate and is therefore most
likely to feel the impacts of climate change. Most plants do not thrive in
the Sahara Desert, and we would naturally want to know how much
current farmland will turn to desert in a warmer world. Additionally,
other impacts of climate change are connected to agriculture. Two of
the major health impacts—malnourishment and diarrheal diseases,
discussed in Chapter 8—are usually caused by poor diets and poverty.
Some have worried about the impact of climate change on national secu-
rity because of potential confl icts caused by droughts and food shortages
and the resulting international mass migrations.
It turns out that the linkage between climate change and agricul-
ture is more subtle than just a simple effect of temperature changes on
crop yields, however. One important factor is that agriculture is a
heavily managed activity, particularly in technologically advanced,
information-rich economies. I discussed examples of management in
Chapter 6—how irrigation systems can offset the variability of rainfall,
or how sheds can protect cows from the desert sun. The potential for
human management of agriculture systems raises important questions:
How will different societies manage the changing climate? Will they
take adaptive steps that could even enhance productivity? And what
will farm technologies look like a century hence, with all the develop-
ments in genetically modifi ed seeds and new information systems?
 
 
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search