Energy Citizens

Farmer from Texas

Story from Texas submitted by Oil F

I want to be a farmer but climate change is threatening my JOB.

A recent U.S. Global Change Research Program report produced by NASA, the departments of defense and energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Research Council and 8 other government agencies are predicting double the number of 90 degree plus days in the Southeast (Including Texas and the gulf coast region.)

To make matters worse the report predicts that by 2080 we will see up to a 10 degree temperature increase with even more droughts. Can Texas survive the increase? I don’t know if we can. At those temperatures our cattle industry certainly cannot.

Global Climate Change is going to be really bad for farmers. Droughts, pests, reduced effectiveness of herbicides and pesticides with additional CO2 in the atmosphere, longer yet less productive growing seasons, increased severity and frequency storm events including tornadoes, hail and hurricanes, and smaller livestock. Massive food shortages are predicted to result from global climate change.

We are going to have to be strategic and knowledgeable about global warming if the agricultural industry and our way of life is to succeed. There are many simple steps that the agricultural industry can take to reduce the burden from greenhouse gases including becoming more self sufficient with energy production including wind, solar electric, bio gas dig esters (a great use of agricultural and animal waste) and bio diesel (especially from non food crops rich in oils with low water needs such as jojoba.) Cattle ranchers can shift their herd to a pasture based diet which results in less methane production (literally less gas from the animals,)less water use for feed production and a healthier cut of beef. We can also integrate more soil conservation techniques like those introduced after the dust bowl, and do more to reduce soil erosion with ground cover that enrich the soil and low impact tilling techniques.

Texas needs a fighting chance to deal with global climate change. We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water use however possible while ensuring job growth and productivity for the future, and for that to happen we need to make sure that we have a future.