More Pests and Less Produce

            As the threat of global warming looms over our planet, groups across the country have taken to raising awareness about the dangers of unchecked burning of fossil fuels. One of these groups is Focus the Nation, whose educational symposium on January 31^st reached over 1450 colleges across the country. Thanks to the diligent planning of the Empower Poly Coalition, Cal Poly’s alliance of sustainability proponents, our university was one of the many schools to hold an all day event aimed at spreading the word about climate change. When I walked into Chumash Auditorium on that fine Thursday afternoon, I became instantly aware of the massive scope of the nation’s largest teach in. Though not full by any means, the dimly lit theater was playing host to hundreds of students, professors, and San Luis Obispo residents. All of these spectators were jabbering gleefully when I entered the auditorium, but as 1:10 rolled around and the presenters took the stage, the cacophony of voices quieted down to make way for a presentation about global warming’s impact on agriculture. A video camera near the stage captured all of the action while Dr. David Headrick, Dr. Stuart Styles, and Ryan Rich were introduced by the event organizers. When the presentation finally began, the audience had quieted to a respectful silence, ready for the startling account of the changing climate’s effect on pest populations, irrigation systems, and organic farms.

            Not all of the tolls global warming takes on the environment are as well documented as the shrinking of arctic shelves. When Dr. Headrick began his discourse about the effects of global warming on insect populations, I was shocked to learn that a warmer climate will also increase the number of invasive insect populations. Insects such as mosquitoes and cucumber beetles breed during warm seasons, so if temperatures rise enough, these bugs will be able to breed year round. Since pests are the second major cause of damage to agricultural systems, this population boom means that the agriculture industry will receive a blow that cannot be ignored. The blows will continue to rain down on the industry as climate changes affect California’s water resources. As the presentation shifted to its second speaker, Dr. Styles enumerated global warming’s effects on the water supply. The most prominent and frightening effect of warmer temperatures is the threat of damage to the delta system. The delta supplies approximately two thirds of our state’s drinking water, so destruction of the current levees would be detrimental to Californians. Dr. Styles continued his lecture by explaining the reduction in the snowpack, which fuels many of the Central Valley’s irrigation systems. If snowpack levels are allowed to fall at their current rate, we will begin to experience longer, more extreme droughts than ever before. If these droughts are allowed to become a reality, organic farmers like Ryan Rich will be devastated. Even now, the unpredictable climate has made Rich’s life incredibly difficult. Previously, farmers were able to rely on weather predictions like those from the Farmer’s Almanac, but these predictions can no longer be trusted. As a result, Rich has been forced to diversify his crops and vary his techniques in the hopes that some of his crops will survive the erratic weather patterns. These impacts on the planet’s farms may not be mentioned in documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth, but the consequences of a weaker agriculture industry will soon be obvious as our tables see less produce.

            Although I have never felt personally threatened by global warming, Focus the Nation has showed me that I can no longer ignore potential changes in the climate. As a warm weather person, I thought that an increase in temperature of a couple degrees might even be a pleasant change. Now I realize that those couple degrees might come with a high cost to the farmers that provide me with my sustenance. I am no longer resigned to an inevitable warming of the planet; instead I realize that we have the power to avert catastrophe by passing preventative legislation, changing our lifestyles, and decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels. Reducing our carbon footprints will make life easier for our farmers, signaling a return to the large, ripe tomatoes that add flavor to our meals. These changes will not occur over night, but if the millions of attendants to Focus the Nation events across the country are all affected as I am, we will soon find ourselves facing a future that is not shrouded in “doom and gloom.”