Monday, May 16, 2011

This Just In - Farmers in Corn Belt "Lucky" Not To Be Affected By Global Warming


"The climate science is still unclear about why summers in the Corn Belt haven't been warming. But most explanations suggest that warming in the future is just as likely there as elsewhere in the world," Lobell said.

"In other words, farmers in the Corn Belt seem to have been lucky so far."

Wow. I didn't know you could use luck as part of scientific research. Where was that knowledge when I was in 5th grade?

"Ben, how did you come to this conclusion about cirrus clouds?"
"I was lucky."

I've read this article three times trying to make sense of it. Basically, they're saying that global warming doesn't seem to be affecting our yields. Yet. But watch out!

"Lobell and his colleagues examined temperature and precipitation records since 1980 for major crop-growing countries in the places and times of year when crops are grown. They then used crop models to estimate what worldwide crop yields would have been if temperature and precipitation had typical fluctuations around 1980 levels." - The article doesn't make mention of the fact that farming practices have changed quite a bit in the last 30 years. Genetics in seed have changed, soil sampling and nutrient placement are more intense, irrigation methods have become more efficient, no-till has become more accepted and practiced, etc. 

The reason our yields haven't dropped, and have actually gone up? Because we were "lucky" to dodge global warming. 

Are you kidding me? Are people really that desperate to prove global warming? Look, I don't care one way or the other. Either it's true or it's not. There's not a whole lot we can do about it either way. I think God knew what he was doing when he created this place. If you want to prove global warming exists, fine. Don't be giving me this bullshit about being lucky. If you can't prove something, keep your mouth shut.

1 comment:

  1. In my view, the only answer to all of this is to simply do what God said to do: be stewards of the land and take care of His animals. If you do that, then His design will keep working just fine.

    Also, I think people are more inclined to just throw in the towel and do whatever they want when they keep hearing about how bad everything is.

    I'd talk more, but I've got some compost to turn...

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