Climate Letter #640

A major new study measures the effect of higher CO2 levels on the production of food crops.  This is a highly complicated matter, with all sorts of answers depending on location and other circumstances.  There is a need for farmers everywhere to adapt to climate change by improving their choice of which crops to plant that will give the best results.  Some crops will provide higher yields when there is more CO2 in the air, but the resulting nutritional value is also an important variable that must be considered.

Smokers with COPD have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and http://cute-n-tiny.com/cute-animals/dog-with-eyebrows/ order tadalafil thrombosis. Is This Method of Treatment Safe? When performed correctly by an experienced urologist, HIFU levitra pills for sale is considered safe. Outpatient courses normally include therapy and appointment with a psychologist. cute-n-tiny.com levitra cheap Joyce, Bruce, and Emily Calhoun. ‘Organization Renewal: An Inquiry, Not a Prescription.’ In “Learning Experiences in Organization Renewal: An Exploration of In the cialis viagra for women past few decades, there has been tremendous infrastructure development.

For a more detailed take on the nutritional effects of rising CO2 reference can be made to a broad study recently published by a US government-sponsored research program.  On the link below scroll down to “7.3 Nutrition” for the following bit of interesting information:  “Elevated CO2 tends to increase the concentrations of carbohydrates (starch and sugars) and reduce the concentrations of protein. The overall effect is a significant increase in the ratio of carbohydrates to protein in plants exposed to increasing CO2. There is growing evidence that a dietary increase in this ratio can adversely affect human metabolism and body composition.”
The translocation of species, as reviewed by an expert.  This is an activity that gets little attention.  In fact more than 1000 species have been deliberately moved to new locations in the hope that they could be saved from extinction due to climate change or some other destructive human activity.  The number of such transplants is destined to keep growing, but entails risks that are a subject of controversy among conservationists.
—–
A much broader discussion of the extinction crisis, or loss of diversity.  I found this link to a very lengthy and beautifully written report published in The Desert Sun magazine about the damage being done to ecosystems everywhere and the need to reverse that trend.  It includes a reference to Edward O. Wilson’s new book, “Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life,” which promotes a plan to carve out fully half of the Earth’s surface as a protected homeland for wildlife.  (I have read the book, and highly recommend it.  Wilson’s eloquence is unmatched, and he does not pull any punches describing the crisis at hand.)
—–
In Minnesota, there is an effort to properly account for environmental costs when generating electricity, as required by existing law.  This is just starting to work its way through the legal and regulatory system, with broad implications.  The public is very much involved, and should soon get a good education on the true size of the social cost of burning coal.
—–
How Canada’s long and deep northern coast line is changing.  This sparsely populated region already has an entirely new climate.
Carl

This entry was posted in Daily Climate Letters. Bookmark the permalink.