Adaptation and mitigation of small island agricultural systems

Australia's Primary Industries Adaptation Research Network (PIARN) and National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility recently ran a webinar on adaptation, mitigation, and management of agricultural systems, focusing on the research work done on Tasmania. The webinar featured Professor Holger Meinke with the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture. He spoke on improving early warning systems and risk management of the increasing flood threat, which will enable farmers to adapt cropping systems, and produce methods that will have applications throughout Australia’s flood-prone farmland.

Professor Meinke gave a very informative presentation, which is available to view below. PIARN records the presentation and also allows the public to access the presentation remotely via the internet such that they can interact with the presenter from a distance. It's a great way for the information to be accessed more widely. The presentations so far have been geared towards audiences with a basic understanding of climate change and agriculture, but are not so technical that those not in the discipline cannot understand.

Adaptation, mitigation and the responsible management of agricultural systems - a 'small island' perspective from Climate & primary industries on Vimeo.

FAO Recycling water for agriculture

This FAO animation is awesome! It explains in simple and easy to understand graphics how cities can use water in alternative ways to grow agricultural goods. Check it out!

FAO Recycling Water animation in English (Flash required)

There's also a Spanish and French version of the animation too!

More information about the FAO Water Development and Management here

Biofuel from Food

This is something cool that I just came across. The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Europe's largest applied research center, announced that it will begin turning old produce into bio-gas at a pilot site in Stuttgart, Germany. The facility will use microorganisms to transform food scraps into methane gas, which can power a car once compressed and emits less carbon dioxide during combustion than gasoline. Although the process only takes several days to convert food to fuel, the challenge lies in dealing with the inconsistency of the raw materials—the acidity of a mound of food scraps can vary wildly. For example, oranges and other citric foods are acidic, but leafy greens aren't, so the pH of the system must be adjusted for the microorganisms.

This is a great way to make our waste production (of food, at least) more closed. When the waste can be reused for various purposes (compost to return nutrients to soil or conversion to biofuel), the system becomes more self sustaining. And we're all about sustainability nowadays!

PIARN seminar and webinar: Adapting agriculture management to cope with high intensity rainfall

Upcoming seminar on climate change adaptation for agriculture at University of Melbourne! Check it out or attend virtually.

PIARN Webinar and seminar: Adapting agriculture management to cope with high intensity rainfall

Presented by

Jim Salinger, Stanford University and NCCARF

and Holger Meinke, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture

on behalf PIARN and the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF).


Date: Thursday 15 March, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, followed by refreshments

Venue: Theatre 1, 207 Bouverie St (building 379), Parkville, University of Melbourne, and available remotely via live online webinar

Cost: Free

RSVP: To attend either the webinar or seminar please register online by 9 March


Although Australia is among the driest continents, global warming will manifest in more variable rainfall and increased extreme events.

This is already having massive impacts on agriculture. Three days of extreme rainfall events in Tasmania in 2011 destroyed vegetable crops and wine grapes, and spread disease.

In this seminar, Professors Salinger and Meinke outline a new project to improve early warning systems and risk management of the increasing flood threat. This will enable farmers to adapt cropping systems, and produce methods that will have applications throughout Australia’s flood-prone farmland.

For more information and to register visit the PIARN website.

PIARN webinar on sustainable intensification of agriculture

The Primary Industries Adaptation Research Network (PIARN) is offering the second of its free, online, interactive web seminar series next Thursday, November 10 at 2:30-3:30pm Melbourne time. Registration is currently open - check it out here.

Sustainable intensification of agriculture: Producing more with less

Presented by Professor Tim Reeves and Associate Professor Richard Eckard.

Sustainable intensification of means producing more food from less land, with less water and with less reliance on increasingly expensive inputs derived from fossil fuels – whilst simultaneously protecting and enhancing natural resources and ecosystems.

Experts suggest it might be the only way to feed a rapidly growing world population without the environmental degradation typically associated with increasing agricultural production.

Professor Tim Reeves and Associate Professor Richard Eckard will help frame the challenge of creating a sustainably intensive of Australian agriculture industry, discussing the implications for food security, the research and development investment required and the sorts of transformations needed to put sustainable intensification into action.

The presentations will be followed by an open Q&A session with both presenters.

Presenters

Professor Tim Reeves is Chair of the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre, and Director and Principal of Timothy G Reeves and Associates.

Tim has worked for 40 years in agricultural research, development and extension, focused on sustainable agriculture in Australia and overseas. His professional career includes positions in the Department of Agriculture Victoria, Foundation Professor of Sustainable Agricultural Production at the University of Adelaide and Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

Tim is a Senior Expert for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and was a member of the United Nations Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger.

Associate Professor Richard Eckard is the Acting Director of the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre.

Richard is a member of expert advisory panels on climate change research in agriculture for the Australian, New Zealand and United Kingdom governments. He is also a consultant on the effect of climate change on animal production and health for the joint FAO/IAEA Programme on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, and leads research programs in enteric methane, nitrous oxide and whole farm systems modelling.

Richard has published over 90 scientific publications, holds a number of national and international science leadership roles, and has been a keynote speaker at numerous industry and international science conferences over the past few years

DPI Climate Dogs

The Australian Department of Primary Industries made these really cute, but informative videos about the interactions of El Nino and La Nina affecting the weather patterns in Australia. They're one of the reasons why Melbourne had a cold and rainy year. Check them out! More information can be found here at the DPI website

Politicizing climate science is ultimately deterimental to the world

Recent news about politicians such as Texas Governor Rick Perry and his views on climate science makes me so frustrated. Perry’s comments that climate scientists "manipulate" their data to keep "dollars rolling into their projects" are completely contrary to what scientists actually do and frankly, by that logic, every scientific field would be subject to the same incentive to manipulate data for funding. Climate scientists are after the factual truth about climate change, not some political agenda. I agree with Andrew Dessler of the Texas A&M Department of Atmospheric Sciences:

I would add that the governor has it exactly backwards. There is evidence that climate skeptics are working off a political agenda. See [University of Alabama-Huntsville scientist and climate change skeptic] Roy Spencer’s statement, "I view my job a little like a legislator, supported by the taxpayer, to protect the interests of the taxpayer and to minimize the role of government." There’s no way that you can reach that conclusion by looking at data, and it is typical of the political views of skeptics. It’s a pre-determined political goal.

That is the most disconcerting part to me – scientists should always be critical about their work and that of their peers, but not for political reasons. To jump from climate data to minimizing the role of government seems to me something that is completely driven by political ideology and it has no place in science.

Another interesting article I came across recently was this describing how white conservative males tend to doubt climate change more than the general population. Again, it’s pointing to how climate science gets politicized from the right in the US, from those in organizations with outspoken views and resources to publicize them. It doesn’t surprise me that the trend towards climate skepticism is increasing in this group from the way the issue is so vehemently denied and associated with extreme anti-Americanism or anti-business in conservative networks. Interestingly, social conservatism isn’t always linked with disbelief in climate change – the UK and Germany were cited as examples – which makes me wonder why the US alone is so set against climate change.

My thoughts from all this is that American politicians are holding too much to their ideologies and not paying attention to facts. When people are unwilling to be flexible with their views, they cannot do what is best for the whole community. It doesn’t matter if the first ones to be hit aren’t going to well-off Americans; there are already people suffering from rising sea levels, prolonged drought, and poor agricultural yields. We as human beings have a responsibility to take care of each other and this planet. This isn’t about who’s right or who’s wrong or what political party is in charge – this is about everyone’s well-being in the present, as in NOW. We are in a point in time when action needs to be taken by community leaders on environmental issues like climate change and unless the political right gets their heads out of the sand, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble.

There are things the everyday person can do, however, and the first and foremost is to get informed on the issue. For credible sources of information on climate science, here are some resources provided by the Australian Primary Industries Adaptation Research Network (PIARN):

Climate Change Guide for the Perplexed New Scientist magazine

Skeptical Science 'Getting skeptical about global warming skepticism'

Facts and Fictions About Climate Change The Royal Society UK

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007

Meat eater's guide, supermarket access, and vertical farming

Meat Eater's Guide ranks foods by environmental, health effects. Lamb, beef, cheese, and farmed salmon generate the most greenhouse gases of 20 popular meat, fish, dairy and vegetable proteins, according to a new study from the Environmental Working Group. This study looked primarily at the ecological footprint via life cycle analysis based on CO2 output from farm to table. A useful parameter, especially considering climate change, though I would argue not the only factor (how accessible alternative options and can those alternatives be mass produced?). Still, it's a useful reminder that eating less meat (even just one meal per week) and more organic produce is better for the environment and human health.

Access to supermarkets doesn't improve diets, study finds. The study found that people didn't eat more fruits and vegetables when they had supermarkets available in their neighborhoods. Instead, income — and proximity to fast-food restaurants — were the strongest factors in food choice. Not surprising. Even if people are aware of the nutritional cons, if produce costs more upfront and you don't have the time to cook it, then fast food is the way to go. I do agree with the article on the point that not all grocery markets are created equal (having more expensive health food options at stores in low income areas). The problem is figuring out what's the root of the problem - lack of access to (cheaper) healthy food, lack of income, lack of knowledge, or combination of factors.

Vertical farming: Can urban agriculture feed a hungry world?: Another article on growing food in high rise buildings designed to simulate outdoor farm environments. Experts say that vertical farming could feed up to 10 billion people and make agriculture independent of the weather and the need for land. But such urban farms need huge amounts of energy, to the point where it becomes way too energy intensive to bring to the scale needed for feeding a city or country. The article reports that there has been progress with ThePlantLab in the Netherlands, a 10yr company that has grown many different plant species 3 stories underground without natural sunlight. I'd like to know more on how they're accomplishing this (genetic selection, energy efficient light technology?), but the crux is still the energy factor. If it's not energy efficient on large scale, maybe this is something that can only be accomplished on the small scale and maybe that's the direction that needs to be taken in the long run (individual gardens).