Alexandra O’Keefe
11/15/19
Prof. Creaney
ENG 110
Climate Change on Food and Water Sustainability
Climate change is a heated topic frequently seen in the news, social media, even in films. It is talked about and debated on all platforms. The truth of the matter is that climate change affects all living organisms and ecosystems. There are many terrible effects from global warming that we can see happening today. One of the many problems is the threat to food and water sustainability. Climate change is negatively impacting humans by threatening the availability of food and water around the globe and as climate change continues, this issue will only get worse.
Scientists have confirmed that climate change is primarily human caused. Since the Industrial revolution, we have been producing greenhouse gasses, changing the Earth’s atmosphere. The increase in greenhouse gasses doesn’t allow heat to escape. The primary source of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere is from burning fossil fuels. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. All of these gasses occur naturally, but humans have caused the amount in the atmosphere to rise significantly. We release 30 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. CO2 concentrations have risen approximately 40% since before the Industrial Revolution. In the 18th century carbon dioxide concentrations were 280 ppmv. In 2015, it was over 400 ppmv. This is a record high in human history. The Earth is supposed to reflect some heat energy back into space to keep it from overheating. However, with the increase of these greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, too much heat is being absorbed and not enough is being released (Causes of Climate Change).
Water is necessary for all living organisms to survive. Climate change is threatening the access and quality of water available to humans. The water demand will go up and the water supply will go down as the temperatures continue to rise. Another issue is the increase in flooding and natural disasters. The most intense storms have increased over 30% in the Northeast, Midwest, and the Great Plains, in the United States. Places in the Southwest, however, have been facing severe droughts. Even in colder months, we are seeing more rain than snow. This is due to the unnaturally warm winters that make snow turn into rain. Not only does snow not fall as often, but it also does not stick for as long. This is why some areas experience drought in the summer, because there is no snow left to melt and hydrate the ground or be added to bodies of water. Unfortunately, summer is also the season where water tends to be in highest demand. The increase of rain is also hurting the water quality. More rain means more floods, which leads to more runoff going into the water. With the runoff there can be toxins that go with it. If there is too much rain, not all of it can be absorbed into the Earth so it has to turn to run off. This also disrupts the water cycle. Freshwater sources near the coast are threatened by the rising sea levels. As oceans rise, saltwater can flood into coastal cities and contaminate any bodies of freshwater. (Climate Impacts on Water Resources).
Agriculture is also greatly affected by climate change. The change in climate is moving planting zones, which farmers use to help them know when and where to grow their crops. Each plant can be grown in certain zones but now those zones are changing. Some places where crops used to thrive are no longer sustainable because plant zones are moving north due to the rise in temperatures. Crops that are already planted in these former hardy areas will die off. There are also shifts occurring in the seasons. Plants are starting to bud earlier than they used to and trees flower later since fall is arriving later than normal. The changes in precipitation is also affecting agriculture by changing soil moisture. In places with drought, crops do not have enough water grow. Other areas are being flooded out, so crop drown (National Research Council).
Plants aren’t the only species being affected by the harms of global warming; wildlife is also being impacted. Changes in temperatures and water supply have made some animal’s homes inhabitable. Salmon populations for example, are sensitive to warmer temperatures and water stream flow. Changes to the water and heat will make it hard for some population to survive. Other coastal creatures are being squeezed against land with the rise of sea level. This disrupts their lives and moves their habitats to more polluted areas. Some species need to move their location to adapt to the new world. However, not all species are able to do so. Some live in high elevations and have nowhere else to go. These critters will face a much more difficult challenge of surviving (National Research Council).
Food is also very important to human survival. There has been a significant decline in crop yields due to drought, floods, and heat. The heat has made wine production in France predicted to decline by 13% in 2019. In the American Midwest, corn and soy farms have been too wet to plant on. Billions of dollars have been lost from climate change destroying crops. This will give less people access to food, increasing world hunger. This issue affects everyone. The IPCC predicts that crop yields will decrease two to six percent each decade moving forward. Dairy and meat farms are also affected. These industries require a lot of water for the livestock and as mentioned earlier, global warming is currently threatening the water supply. Climate change is also making issues that already exist in the food production industry worse. For example, pesticides make it hard for bees to survive, which are important members of the ecosystem. Food waste is another major issue. A third of the global food supply grown is thrown out. Fertilizers are used to degrade the soil and waste. From this process, nitrous oxide is released into the air which is a major greenhouse gas (Little).
This impact will hit countries unequally. Studies show that Africa is facing the greatest threat towards food security. Quality of farmland is decreasing and shifting. Lower latitudes will see a decrease in sustainable land to grow crops in while higher latitude areas will see an increase in quality cropping land. Africa will face the biggest loss of cropland. As climate change continues to worsen, droughts and floods will occur more often at a more severe level. These are the most prominent causes of food shortages. This will especially affect semiarid and subhumid parts of the world, causing a reduction of crops and livestock. These areas are mainly in Africa and South Asia, which also happen to be some of the poorest places in the world. This land is also where most undernourished people live. These places riddled with poverty and hunger will see the most instability in food production. Climate change will make the developing world more dependent on the importation of food. It will also cause an increase in food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and slightly affect South Africa in the same way (Schmidhuber).
Climate change is a complicated topic. It affects all aspects of our world. If we let this issue get worse, research shows that it will affect our food and water supply immensely. This threatens our very existence, along with several other species. Rising temperatures are causing droughts, destroying crops and habitats. Changes in precipitation is causing flooding, changes to the water cycle, and harming the agriculture industry. Not only is the water supply being threatened, but water quality as well. We are letting toxins contaminate our water making it not safe for use. Climate change is also affecting our food supply. With crops dying, the food supply is immensely decreasing. This is threatening food security and it is doing so unequally. Third world countries who already struggle with feeding their population are at even more risk of starvation. Current issues that were not started by climate change will only get worse, such as food waste and the struggling bee population. We can see that there are many dangerous effects of climate change, we need to do something about this before it is too late.
Work Cited
“Causes of Climate Change.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Dec. 2016, https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-change-science/causes-climate-change_.html.
“Climate Impacts on Water Resources.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Dec. 2016, https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-water-resources_.html.
Little, Amanda. “What Climate Change Will Do to the Global Food Supply.” Time, Time, time.com/5663621/climate-change-food-supply/.
National Research Council, et al. “Ecological Impacts of Climate Change.” The National Academies Press, 27 Oct. 2008, https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12491/ecological-impacts-of-climate-change.
Schmidhuber, Josef, and Francesco N. Tubiello. “Global Food Security under Climate Change.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 11 Dec. 2007, https://www.pnas.org/content/104/50/19703.full.
