At the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released the US Department of Agriculture report on the estimated effects of climate change on agriculture over the next 25 to 50 years.
The report examined more than a 1,000 publications in considering the effects of climate change on agriculture, according to the USDA report, titled Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Ecosystems. Marketable yields of horticultural crops, the report said, are more vulnerable to climate change than grains and oilseeds because of the high economic correlation to quality and appearance factors.
In addition, the report said tree fruit may experience fewer chilling hours in the winter, which could limit yields over the long term.
Climate change poses significant threats and challenges for farmers, ranchers, and those who make a living off the land, which will have a serious impact on our ability to feed the people of the United States and the world,” said Vilsack. “President Obama has made climate change one of his top domestic priorities and under his Administration, the United States has done more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than at any other time in history, both by supporting domestic policies that advance clean energy, climate security, and economic recovery; and by vigorously engaging in international climate negotiations.
The report provides an accessible summary of findings contained in a U.S. scientific assessment project released in May 2008. New information has been added to provide additional detail on the original findings.
Click to read the full Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Ecosystems.
Of course, predictably, the climate change deniers will charge the USDA is full of liberal, brain washed scientists who don’t know what they are talking about. They will keep on denying until there is a scarcity of food to put on their dinner tables.
The Pentagon and CIA probably don’t know what they are talking about either when they call climate change a “threat to national security.”
USDA: Specialty Crops Vulnerable To Climate Change
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