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Climate Change Threatens Our Food Supply

Published August 24. 2019 06:49AM

Dear Editor,

“Climate Change Threatens World Food Supply” was the lead story in recent newspapers. It was prompted by the release of a summary report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, staffed by more than 100 experts from 52 countries. The report details how climate change is threatening our world’s food and water supplies — turning arable land to desert, degrading soil and raising the frequency of devastating weather conditions.

It concludes that avoiding wholesale starvation and mass migrations requires fundamental changes in current animal agriculture and land management practices, which account for 23 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. The conclusions of the IPCC report match closely those by Oxford University in 2017 and by Chatham House in 2015.

A 2010 United Nations report blames animal agriculture for 19% of greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of freshwater use, and 38% of land use. All reports recommend a massive shift to plant-based eating.

In an environmentally sustainable world, meat and dairy products in our diet must be replaced by vegetables, fruits and grains, just as fossil fuels are replaced by wind, solar and other pollution-free energy sources. Our next visit to the supermarket provides a superb starting point.

Sincerely,

Eric Peters

Walnutport

Comments
Wind and solar are not "pollution-free" energy sources. They are just as polluting, if not more so, than fossil fuel energy.
Solar panels are manufactured, that requires lots energy. You must include the energy debt involved in acquiring all raw materials and converting them into the parts used to make panels or turbines. It's only fair to include all, when calculating payback too.
Be very careful where you get your information on these "Sustainable" energy sources, as there's much false reporting going on these days. Integrity is a thing of the past with many.
Yes, early on energy to manufacture renewable energy sources might be supplied from fossil fuels. But as any reasonable person would understand, future manufacture of renewable sources will more and more be replaced with other renewable sources. Pretty simple no?
We harvest less than 7% of our energy needs from renewable sources, so... well for some... pretty simple no?
Solar sucks, I own it, it's a novelty at most, and it's not reliable.
But thanks for you suckers who subsidized it. He He He
Did you ever see a star twinkle? Space is a vacuum with few atmospheric particles in it. Our atmosphere goes up to about 80,000 ft (roughly). Condensation nuclei, moisture and other atmospheric impurities reduce the solar efficiency of panels as sun-rays get refracted by the interfering particles. Solar panels are much more efficient on spacecraft. Solar panels on earth have a reduced efficiency. Cloud cover reduces solar panel efficiency to almost zero. The twinkling of a star is the visual observance of the changes in atmospheric density over the vast distance between the star and your viewpoint. Solar panel receptors undergo similar variations.
Accuracy is important with so much gaslighting.

Wind and solar make up a combined 14%, double your claim. Again, are you making up numbers or just lying?
So is the 7% a totally made up number, a lie or are you referencing some kind of bogus far right blog? Here is the real info, from the US Energy Information Administration. For the record, 17.1% of our electric need is from renewables.

U.S. electricity generation by source, amount, and share of total in 2018:
Energy source Billion kWh Share of total
Total - all sources 4,178
Fossil fuels (total) 2,651 63.5%
Natural gas 1,468 35.1%
Coal 1,146 27.4%
Petroleum (total) 25 0.6%
Petroleum liquids 16 0.4%
Petroleum coke 9 0.2%
Other gases 12 0.3%
Nuclear 807 19.3%
Renewables (total) 713 17.1%
Hydropower 292
7.0%
Wind 275 6.6%
Biomass (total) 63 1.5%
Wood 41 1.0%
Landfill gas 11 0.3%
Municipal solid waste (biogenic) 7 0.2%
Other biomass waste 3 0.1%
Solar (total) 67
1.6%
Photovoltaic 63
1.5%
Solar thermal 4
0.1%
Geothermal 17 0.4%
Pumped storage hydropower3 -6 -0.1%
Other sources 13 0.3%
Eric, meet me at 5 Guys Burgers and we'll discus it. Burgers and fries on me.
Climate change is a hoax. Reference “The Climate Chronicles” by Joe Bastardi. Computer models are used to project future data on warming. If you use the wrong input you get the desired results. Universities were caught in e-mail communications requesting temperature probes be relocated to restaurant exhaust outlets in order to change data to more desired results. If warming would occur, schools would get desired funding $$. Also, there are hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, & seasonal temperature variations. This is normal. Four generations of human beings is only a fraction of a second on the cosmic cycle of years of analysis. Since the beginning of recorded time (a fraction of a second ago-cosmically) variations from sun-spot flare-ups, which are hydrogen gas pockets aflame, cause these minor variations in solar heating transmitted to earth, and elsewhere. Humans haven’t been here long enough to establish a trend either way. Did you ever wonder why Global Warmest's can not tell you whether it is going to rain tomorrow or not, yet they are sure in 12 years the world is going to end? This is a hoax to play upon the liberal sympathies and concerns. Incidentally, Oxford University was one of The schools that was caught up in the e-mail scam.
Joe Bastardi has been a leading Meteorologist with industry wide accolades for many years. He is accurate and truthful. The only negatives come from agenda driven climate advocacy people who throw insults on Bastardi to belittle him to undermine his credibility. Climate change is an agenda driven industry that has been developed into a political religion. When you expose the fallacy of a popular hoax, you become a target for ridicule.
The planet as we speak is being pockmarked with human activity, some of which are absolutely detrimental to the health of the planet. We as a species can no longer chose ignorance. Plastics never biodegrade, even on microscopic levels they will be around almost forever. Pollution in the environment is hurting insects like bees, and hurting us. I’m personally convinced there is a link in cancer rates to pollutants in the environment and food supplies. As the OP wrote, it’s time to act NOW
The climate change hoax has nothing to do with pollution. Of course humans need to be better stewards of our environment. Pollution is killing fish in the seas and animals in the land. Garbage dumps bulge with residual plastics and chemicals that are ruining our precious environment. The world needs to change. China, for instance, is now like us during the Industrial Revolution in the 1880’s. Smokestacks spew pollutants into the air as large areas of garbage swirl around in oceanic patterns. Very few areas of the world remain pure. Humans do have to act now to clean up toxins. The good news is that environmental scientists are making progress as emissions are reduced in America. Hydropower produces 7% of our energy. Pollution can be corrected. Climate variations are natural. Did you ever wonder why a weatherman can not tell you what temperature it will be tomorrow, but, a climate change advocate can tell you the world will end in 12 years? Climate change is such a hollow argument that deflection to pollution is the only way to gin up support.
Because they are two different areas of science. Predicting weather tomorrow on the basis of current observations has nothing to do with studying long term climate change.
Joe is quite right, we can measure climate trends over time. Weather varies a lot day to day, climate over time does change, and evidence shows humans are accelerating it here on earth. Consider the permafrost melts in the arctic right now, consider cities like Miami becoming un-insurable because of the rising seas. There is a lot of documentation illustrating the effects of Greenhouse gasses and pollution on the health of the planet. Luckily while it may be too late, we can still change, we can adapt and hopefully pass on a healthy planet to future generations of humans who will come after we are all gone.
The United States far exceeds any other country in the ways we battle this "Climate Change" hoax. Please include population, land mass, and energy consumption with your rebuttals. Comparing us with Switzerland will not work. Oh... we are a nation of liberty and freedom.
Be aware, the U.N. is not on our side.
Eric,
Be very careful what you read. The newspaper might be the worst source of information.
As for the United Nations? The U.N. should be disbanded, have its New York building torn down, and all putrid memory, discarded from our history.

Hello Levite and Rambo, I just want you to consider a thought, with regard to human activity actually changing natural processes. It’s easy to assume we are too pitiful and small to actually have an effect on the climate, however, consider Chernobyl, and the nuclear disaster there. Humans are a mere chromosome away from the chimpanzee yet we understand nuclear physics, but with respect to Chernobyl, the meltdown and disaster there was so prominent that, spiders for example, became incapable of spinning a proper web due to the heavy radiation. Our actions fundamentally effected our environment to the point we disturbed millions of years of evolution in spiders, now consider all that was infected with heavy radiation.
Contrast this with the climate change debate, there is a side of which Joe Bastardi is on, that insists man is incapable of causing changes in the climate and environment, and that’s just fundamentally inaccurate, especially when we consider other environmental impacts mankind had made, like, lead in the water, DDT, plastics in the oceans etc.

Rambo, Levite, you may not want to believe in manmade climate change, and I will never convince either of you, but please do not dismiss the science, the history of things we’ve done in the past, and let’s not pass on a planet that is toxic to the next generation. Earth is the only home we know, let’s keep it clean, and healthy for all.
Tony, Rambo and Levite worship at the alter of trump and that means supporting a guy who bails on a meeting to discuss the climate than lying about it. Save your breath.
Joe, you are a fraud that wants to “take on everyone.” Who are you? You ignore sources that would answer questions you ask, but, do not want to hear the answers. You are a self-proclaimed genius that exhibits large gaps in intellect and understanding. You are a CPA that has been advised by a citizen to take a basic course in accounting so you can understand simple accounting rules. That makes you an incompetent accountant because you would rather nose around for hateful info on President Trump. You hate President Trump so much it ruins your judgement. You, Joe, are a pious individual that weaponizes religion against others as you ignore any chance to show integrity. You are a fake arbiter of the truth, unless it is your mistaken version of it. You are dogmatic in the face of evidence fully countering your viewpoint. You hate Trump so much you would do anything to ruin Trump or any of his supporters...just to get even. Some nice church going Sunday School teacher that is a know-it-all. How about the “ level of education” challenge you posed to me based upon your arrogance. That turned out to be a flop since I have more credentials than you. Then, you attempted to do “opposition research” on me to “find me out”. I know how you liberals are and I gave a misleading Doctorate Degree since I figured that you could track me down since not many have a Doctorate Degree. You were in denial about that too. In Texas they say of guys like you, that “ you are a big hat and no cattle.” Never make the mistake of thinking you are better than someone when you have a different viewpoint. Tony is a big boy that can handle himself. It is a welcome change to share ideas with someone that is respectful, educated, and nice. You should be more like Tony.
Well thank you Rambo for the kind words, we don’t agree but I won’t stoop to a level of insults, we are adults and can agree and disagree agreeably. It’s my aim to stay on topic and hopefully debate facts. I’m imperfect but I’ll try my best.
"Joe" What's his name... Taking on the world.
Now I'm just a ham-n-Egger, but, here's a link to what NASA personnel have to say.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=nasa+says+global+warming+hoax&view=detail&mid=419343514E9B13D055DB419343514E9B13D055DB&FORM=VIRE
As for me? Al Gore and the likes who, politicized environmental concerns, have gotten me to the point of burning tires in the back yard, just to see which way the wind is blowing.
It's been well documented that "global warming" and "climate change" has been lied about, and misrepresented. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Climategate scientists choose to put forth false information, and climate realities, they choose to hide. As a result of this style of science corruption, I do not believe this branch of science any longer. Congress should defund climate science research for now, as it's mostly baloney, but what do I know besides wind direction?
The 8 year old video you posted was really impressive (not).

Try this

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/19/james-hansen-nasa-scientist-climate-change-warning?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
James Taylor, who directs the Arthur B. Robinson Center for Climate and Environmental Policy at the Heartland Institute, recently noted, that there's "also good reason to believe U.S. temperatures have not warmed at all since the 1930s."
There's a system that assesses surface temperatures established in 2005 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA) which debunks the belief that mankind is catastrophically impacting the global climate. If man has an influence, it's on the method of data collection, and that influence will be ignored if the resulting data follows the expectation. No warming going on Eric
Oh Levite. This same Heartland Institute got tons of money from big tobacco and set out to discredit the link between tobacco and lung cancer. Anderson himself is a GOP politician with a bastardized idea of libertarianism. Do some research on your sources.
Know it all Joe...AL is right. You are a condescending know it all. I washed a few of your type out of flight training. You are dogmatic. As you say, “do some research on your sources.” You have an extreme dislike for President Trump that taints your judgement severely. Keep it up. Remember that just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t make them stupid. You are too argumentative also. You willfully ignore credible sources plopped in your lap. You hate Trump, and would do anything to have him removed. How did that collusion hoax work out for you. Epic failure in the Mueller Report also. Now we are on to fake white supremacy. Orange Man Win! Too bad...for you!
Remember - disagree with Rambo and he will begin calling you names.

Like a small child, he expects you to be intimidated by his manly name-calling ability.

Rambo shows so much disrespect on these comment boards that I am surprised he has not been asked to refrain from posting.
RP, I am a Patriot that is not afraid to take on any bully in defense of America. This site is for polite social discourse. When someone comes on here and insults the President of the United States with vulgar language, that is wrong, and I am going to call them out on it. I reply at the same level of the haters to give them a taste of their own medicine. Someone began posting on here using a very similar name, and, serving as an imposter, tried to use vulgar language to impersonate me. Someone else tried to do some opposition research on me to try to “hunt me down.” That effort was a total failure since I put up barriers in anticipation of this since I know the liberal way of “ends justify the means” politics. Just as you have the right to say what you want, I have the same right. I am not going to sit down and watch America get attacked. Liberals like you are going to get your words stuffed right back down your throat when you are insulting to America. I remember you calling me Hitler once or twice before. You liberals are all the same. You can dish it out, but, you can’t take it.

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