Ecology

 WhoWhatWhy - If we want more US residents to raise their voices about climate change, focusing on fossil fuels won’t get us there. We need to talk about something much more tangible, immediate, and universal to all: food. Right now, Americans are highly concerned about their skyrocketing grocery bills. We witnessed a staggering 5.8 percent surge in food prices last year, with another 2.9 percent increase projected for 2024, despite a strong economy and a slowdown of inflation rates. Armed conflicts, wars, and the lingering effects of inflation are all contributors to this inflation, but the one constant and increasing factor is climate change. Many people are not yet connecting the dots. The reality is that rising food prices should be our constant reminder of the havoc that climate change is causing. In 2023, extreme weather, such as heat waves, droughts, and floods, was the main disrupter of food prices, causing widespread damage to crops and livestock globally.  Corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes — staples of our diets — are among the crops most susceptible to changes in weather patterns. Rice, for example, cannot get efficiently self-pollinated in hotter temperatures, degrading the grain quality and reducing its yield. Scientists expect that we will start feeling the effects of the weather on rice in the next 15 years, with rice yields decreasing up to 40 percent by the end of the century. According to NASA climate projections, by 2030, increases in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will cause significant reductions in the nutritional quality of wheat and a 24 percent reduction in maize yield.