Climate Change Is Here

Maui in 2009: my memory is of a lush Garden of Eden. My thoughts are with the people of the island.

(Photo © 2009 mae sander)

Every day I read more stories of the consequences of a warming world, especially consequences to the more and more fragile global food supply. I read about much irresponsible neglect and bad choices by authorities and big agriculture, and about looming disasters. 

“A combination of calamities — extreme weather, Russia’s targeting of grain supplies in Ukraine and some countries’ growing willingness to erect protectionist barriers to food trade — has left food supplies more vulnerable and less prepared to absorb any one disruption, analysts say.”  (source)

Throughout the world, there are such disruptions. People in many countries are suffering from heat waves, and experiencing crop failures for lack of rain or for vastly too much rain. Large numbers of refugees, especially from third-world countries, are fleeing hunger-stricken areas. A variety of food scarcities make good nutrition unaffordable for many people, including the disruptions caused by the Russian war on Ukraine as well those caused by climate issues. According to Time Magazine: 

“The fingerprints of climate change are all over the intense heat waves gripping the globe this month, a new study finds. Researchers say the deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have happened without the continuing buildup of warming gases in the air.”

Worst of all are the unprecedented disasters such as the fire in Maui, events that result from years of drought and heat waves. In Maui, specifically, after the long lack of rainfall and after the neglectful abandonment of former agricultural fields to noxious, fire-prone weeds, it seems in retrospect that such a conflagration was almost inevitable.  The Washington Post reports:

“Maui is facing a compound disaster, where many different agents acted together to make the fires so horrific. As human influences on the climate and environment grow, the risk of these disasters is escalating.”

Many more consequences of global warming — signaled by this, the hottest summer every recorded — appear to be inevitable as well. I try to picture the world as it is and as it will be, and the long term is very depressing. Some people, it's true, do prefer to focus on the short term, and on a few places where a hotter planet provides a few positive effects on agriculture; for example, 

“Countries in the Northern Hemisphere, especially Scandinavian countries, are currently experiencing some positive effects from climate change in terms of crop yields. This is due partly to the CO2 fertilisation effect where increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere aid plant growth, but mostly because low levels of warming extend the growth duration of mainly perennial crops such as grass pastures, but reduce the duration of the staple annual crops, such as wheat, maize and rice. However, these effects are not permanent and will not balance the global negative effects of climate change. There is no doubt in the evidence and conclusions of more than 1,000 global and regional studies, that a temperature rise of 1 to 2 degrees Celsius will generally mean a loss in yield of a number of crop varieties, both in the tropical and the temperate regions. An increase of 3 to 4 degrees later on in this century will have very severe consequences for global food security and supply. However, it is remarkable to see that the rice plant is coping a lot better with the changes than other crops.” (source)

Concrete Examples 

Will things continue to deteriorate? Unfortunately, that seems to be the most probable future. It’s a gloomy endeavor, but here are some current facts about very specific results of a changing climate:

• Oranges and other citrus crops are being devastated by weather-related disasters, for which a warming planet is a major contributor. Florida, which supplies 90% of orange juice to US consumers, is especially hard-hit: “Orange juice prices are expected to rise further in the US after a bacterial disease and extreme weather intensified by global heating ravaged this season’s crop of the citrus fruit.” Hurricanes, temperature extremes including freezing, and crop diseases resulting from the heat waves have reduced the size of the crop drastically. Brazil, California, and other citrus-growing regions have been similarly affected. (Source)

In the 1920s, oranges were a miracle, as shown by this orange crate label.
Maybe oranges will be a miracle again!

• The problem is everywhere: “A healthy diet in the UK will be put at risk by climate breakdown as European droughts shrink fresh fruit and vegetable supplies, experts have said. Fresh produce from the Mediterranean, upon which the UK is reliant, will become more expensive and harder to obtain as extreme heat causes yields to reduce, putting a healthy diet out of reach of the poorest in society.” (source) 
  
  
• Field crops are affected by heavy rainfall in many agricultural regions. This change in precipitation is one of the disruptions of normal weather from a changing climate. One consequence to agricultural areas is erosion and loss of topsoil. The washed-away soil is polluting lakes, rivers, and coastal waters. Pollution and loss of oxygen in bodies of water means a negative impact on fishing, another threatened food source for humankind.
  
  
• Within a century, if unchecked, climate change will be devastating to wildlife as well as to agriculture. For example, a study by the Audubon Society predicts that two thirds (389 of 604) of North American bird species are threatened with extinction from climate change as it is currently predicted to proceed. In the Hawaiian Islands, several native species have already been almost driven to extinction as the warming climate has enabled mosquitos to live at higher altitudes, and thus transmit avian malaria to the small surviving native bird populations. Four species are particularly at risk. (source)

This Florida Scrub Jay is one of the US bird species considered to be most at risk.
Climate change and many other factors play a role in the endangerment of bird species.
We saw this bird at Merritt Island NWR, Florida, in 2015.

Conclusions? Actions?

Despair, I hope, is not an option here. Unfortunately, however, effective action is limited, and personal action without a collective will is virtually useless. Perhaps if governments and institutions reacted purposefully, some of the worst consequences of global warming could be mitigated. Perhaps at least people could be prepared for what's coming. I see little chance that our governments and institutions are in any way capable of leading collective action that would work. Democracies are in many cases dominated by people with short-term and probably selfish goals, who would sacrifice nothing for a future that they prefer to deny. I guess that it's no use expecting miracles -- not even from oranges.

As far as I am concerned, all we can do is try to help the victims as the consequences occur. In particular, I think there are some organizations that can be trusted to help the Maui victims. It's important to realize that most of the Hawaiian people displaced by the total destruction of Lahaina are workers, mainly in the tourist industry, and many didn't own the homes they lived in, or if they did, were uninsured against the loss. Even the local homeless shelter was destroyed in the Lahaina fire.

Residents of Lahaina were already struggling before the fire took everything they owned, and now they have the challenge of rebuilding their lives in an economy that caters more to millionaires and tourists than to hotel employees. So if you do decide to donate, please be sure you find an organization that can be trusted to support the victims in a way that is appropriate and won't end up further disadvantaging them. Also, beware of scams on the internet that claim they are collecting money for the victims, but might just be pocketing what you send them (or worse, misusing your financial information).

Here is an article from Food and Wine Magazine that suggests ways to donate if you choose to do so: "How to Help Hawaiian Islanders Affected by Maui's Wildfires: These charities are giving direct aid to locals. Here's how to donate."  I also recommend the organization World Central Kitchen which is working with local chefs to feed those displaced by the fire.

There's not much more I can say!

Blog post © 2023 mae sander