Severe weather threatens world food supply

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: climate change, food supply, health news

(NaturalNews) Extreme weather conditions across the globe are destroying crops, cattle and land, as nations struggle through things like droughts, floods and other natural phenomena. And while some say that these occurrences are natural, cyclic effects from variations in solar activity, others point to climate change as the culprit.

Russian wheat crop failures, Kansas cattle deaths and flooding in Pakistan are among the many struggles currently being faced by nations around the world, but why are these extreme weather conditions occurring in the first place? This is a question many are asking as they work to cope with the destruction and seek a solution.

Weather extremes have put a heavy strain on food production, which could lead to skyrocketing food prices like the ones seen back in 2007 and 2008 when food was in short supply due to similar events. And according to a recent Reuters article, many are calling for further talks and agreements to be made about climate change legislation as a solution to the problem.

According to Neville Nicholls, a climate scientist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from vehicles and human industrial activity is leading to "more and more hot extremes and worse unprecedented extremes." He and others believe global talks must continue to address practical ways to deal with CO2 emissions, and that the time is now to push for climate legislation.

Still others, though, point to the sun's normal cyclic rise and fall in activity as the instigator of alleged global warming, and say that climate legislation will only serve to further erode personal freedom and national sovereignty.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNe...