Despite Recent Protests, Farm Industry’s Best Interest is to Regulate Emissions

Articles — By forcechange on December 30, 2008 11:49 am

While we understand why most businesses are automatically opposed to an emissions tax for financial reasons, there are certain industries that really should think twice about their opposition.  We’ve previously identified the skiing industry as a business sector that has a direct interest in fighting climate change.  Another sector, which is only slightly less obvious, is the farming industry.

A recent study by Stanford researchers found that global warming will likely put an enormous strain on California’s agricultural industry.  More frequent heat waves, rising temperatures and a drier climate, will put extreme strains on the state’s water supplies and energy systems, both of which are essential to growing. 

The study, which used climate scenarios developed by the IPCC, predicted that in the second half of this century, average temperatures will increase approximately 4 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

The researchers warn that extreme heat waves that currently are expected only once every 100 years in the state, are projected to appear as frequently as once a year by the second half of the century.

This combination of extreme climate changes and a reduction in water resources (due to the melting Sierra Nevada snow pack), will dramatically effect the agricultural industry.  The researchers identified key California crops such as cherries, peaches, and grapes as being particularly vulnerable to these projected changes.

Now the farming industry just needs to realize that it is in their own best interest to lead the fight against greenhouse gas emissions.  Otherwise, they are no different than the automobile industry, which for years, instead of figuring out how to make more efficient cars, fought against fuel efficiency standards– only to find that their success in the battle against regulation led directly to the failure of their business model as the world changed.

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