The Golden Triangle Point One: Climate Change

By Jami Scholl | June 29, 2011 | 8:05 pm | Comments (0) |

This was a fairly commonplace sight - I began to wonder if Bloomington would be running short of orange cones and yellow caution tape.

It is Sunday. Dusk is falling as grey drizzle. A fly has found its way into the house and is now crawling across the window screen. As I take a bite of cold pizza I wonder if people really want to know truth. Sometimes I think folks mostly do have open minds, but then there are times like I am feeling now where I do not think people care to embrace the negative as well as the positive. Whether it is the choice to see an entire person which includes a side of the personality that is light as well as that which is dark, or if it is in regard to portions of the Golden Triangle such as peak oil, economic collapse or climate change. Faces become stone and heads turn away before feet carry them in the opposite direction.

On June 21st National Public Radio gave this report on Morning Edition (it can be read or listened to):

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/21/137309964/climate-change-public-skeptical-scientists-sure

Fourth Street after what was first termed "straight line winds," but in my mind was very evident of a tornado. It could quite easily be tracked through the wake of destruction from western Monroe County to approximately five blocks south of the courthouse, through campus and headed northeast.

A few weeks ago I had a book recalled from my local university library, the fourth edition of Global Warming: The Complete Briefing, a textbook by John Houghton. The first edition of this book was printed in 1994, this latest edition in 2009 and is dedicated to his grandchildren and their generation where each grandchild is listed by name. My friend Ed, an entomologist and organic farmer, recommended I read this book a few years ago. This past winter I again became interested in reading this latest edition spurred by the deep gut feeling that lingered after the cold bit into my plans to finish a client’s patio, completion delayed by the extremely lengthy drought south-central Indiana experienced.

I donned my alter persona, Indiana Jami in my own internal theatre production of the Temple of Discovery, where I dive into the depths of research and the creation of questions in a quest for knowledge and truth about climate change and edible plants. I was armed with a few key questions in hopes to determine what plants were growing at times of transition between glacial and interglacial periods, hoping this would inform me in regard to what would be the most adaptive food sources in my geographic area as the climate changed, whichever way it swung. What follows is a table which I think a good quick look at what it appears we are currently experiencing, and what is predicted.

Below is the table I have recreated from Global Warming: The Complete Briefing (page 230) as best I could to fit in the allotted space. I am not a technology wizard, so bear with me on this point. In this overview are predictions in regard to climate change.

I ask you, how many of these events listed in the table are currently happening or have happened in the continental United States in the past 3 months?

As the NPR article states, this is not an issue that is contested in other countries. Why is it contested here in the US?!?

Businessman with briefcase staring at the downed 150+ year old tree in Seminary Park in Bloomington.

The table, above, gives an indication of what issues we are facing and where these may likely occur. As I read this table what I deduce is that water storage will be important. There will be more water in the ocean than is there currently, which will affect how much we have for drinking, bathing, irrigation, manufacturing, etc. as water is a limited supply worldwide. There will likely continue to be a build up of contaminated water, which means even less to drink. And finally, with heat increasing, the need for more fluids also increases. Droughts will occur in summer as temperatures increase, with winters being wetter. In regard to food, it needs water, too, especially during the times of drought. Food prices go up as fuel prices increase, and with the contamination to our food supplies, which keep occurring, it makes sense to grow our own and to buy local. It appears that water storage is critical.

In the “very likely” column, it also appears that there will be more insect problems due to warmer temperatures not keeping these populations in check through a certain number of freeze days. And it also means that insects that would not normally be living with us will be migrating, to us. Oh, and some fruits that we now grow and produce in abundance, we will no longer be able to. Such as tree fruits which need a certain number of freeze days necessary for production, yet other fruits may adapt and thrive with the changes as long as they can tolerate how the “rainy season” and “dry season” works with the soil so as to not develop root rot or diseases from stress. As I go through these columns and move into the “very likely,” I notice that some of these things are already happening. How far along are we in all of this?

One of the things I have been doing to prepare is to plant perennial fruits and grow my vegetables in raised beds. Perennial fruits will become more expensive as transportation costs increase, and in regard to vegetables, I can plant much earlier than farmers as I do not need to worry so much about waterlogged soil, and with living in an urban environment my micro-climate is warmer. (In future posts I will address issues in regard to growing and preservation as I have thus far. If you have ANYTHING to add to the discussion, please do so as we will all benefit from your knowledge!) For crops such as wheat, large areas outside of town make the most sense as locations for growing. As most of the population also eats meat products, this should also be something to plan for with smaller animals to be allowed for city and peri-urban areas and all sizes of animals for rural areas.

If you have access to purchasing or checking this book out of a library, I highly recommend you do so in order to have an opinion that is not coloured and conflicted by politics or advertising here in the United States. The conflicts that are heard in U.S. media IS NOT representative of the opinions of scientists or individuals from around the world.  I am working on adding this book in my recommended reads in the amazon.com box to the right of the page, as for now you may click on the image to order new or used versions. I will be continually adding books that I have read and think will be helpful for you, and this is one of those books to buy, read understand and pass around.

The reason I am writing this blog, recommending books and providing hands on information is so that we can prepare ourselves, our families and our communities for these changes that are already happening around us. Am I prepared? Goodness, no. My home is a far cry from being in a state of preparation, which worries me. Although one benefit of living in community is that we can call on one another for specific skills for which we are most talented and gifted. It is with my talent and gift of writing and research that I hope to be of service to you through this blog. We all have a purpose or calling in life, and this is what I feel mine to be. It is my hope that you, too, share your gifts to the world, because as you can see, you are needed!

Comments (0) | | Categories: Community Food Security,Gardens,Permaculture,Plants,the golden triangle,Uncategorized,Urban Agriculture,Wild Edibles | Tags: Climate Change, Food Preservation, Food Security, Gardens, Golden Triangle, Permaculture, Urban Agriculture