People (including Starbucks) have worried for several years about the potential effects of climate change on coffee crops. There is now a report suggesting that the popular Arabica coffee bean will be decimated in many of its current locations by the effects of global warming (http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-effects-coffee-production-how-hotter-weather-killing-global-arabica-1905151). This is especially the case in areas where the plants cannot be moved to a higher altitude. There is now speculation that the only way of maintaining production of this bean might involve genetic modification to produce coffee plants resistant to the effects of elevated temperature and restricted water supply.
This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Saturday, 2 May 2015
Wake Up and Smell the Absence?
People (including Starbucks) have worried for several years about the potential effects of climate change on coffee crops. There is now a report suggesting that the popular Arabica coffee bean will be decimated in many of its current locations by the effects of global warming (http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-effects-coffee-production-how-hotter-weather-killing-global-arabica-1905151). This is especially the case in areas where the plants cannot be moved to a higher altitude. There is now speculation that the only way of maintaining production of this bean might involve genetic modification to produce coffee plants resistant to the effects of elevated temperature and restricted water supply.
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2 comments:
No morning coffee for me is a first world problem, for the bean and the people dependant on it's cultivation it's catastrophic. This is why so few people appreciate the effects of climate change, they would maybe think oh I'll drink something else then not appreciating the truly devastating effects we are all having on our planet of carrying on in our priveledged mindset.
As a species we don't seem to have evolved much from treating symptoms and not the causes.
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