Iowa State Study - US Midwest May Get Crop Boost From More CO2, But Storms, Floods Likely To Worsen

[hatrack]

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jul 13, 2010 (IPS/IFEJ) - Climate change is expected to disrupt agriculture in the U.S. Midwest, with high carbon dioxide promoting crop growth but stronger storms, drought, floods and migrating yields dampening yields.

Overall, there are signs that crops will be stressed, and that weeds and insects will change their range. The Midwest climate has already become wetter and warmer, said Gene Takle, an atmospheric scientist at Iowa State University. That could mean a longer crop-growing season and savings on air conditioning, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee higher crop yields. Takle's model predicts that precipitation in the Midwest will increase by 21 percent by the 2040s, with stream flows climbing by 50 percent in the same period.

His findings are similar to those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the U.S. Global Change Research Programme. Leaders in the breadbasket states have debated how best to respond, from cutting back on coal power to boosting wind energy, which has grown sharply in places like Iowa.

"Climate change is happening at a much greater and accelerated pace than we ever expected 30 years ago," said Richard Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Huge floods in 2008, which left the state's second-biggest city, Cedar Rapids, with massive downtown destruction, intensified the debate, with a new set of recommendations coming from a state panel by the end of the year.

EDIT

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52139

[Odin2005]

1. And I bet Tornado Alley will shift up here into Fargo.

*SIGH* :(

[emmadoggy]

2. I can attest to the fact that the weather the past

few years here in my corner of Iowa have been wacky. The summers have mostly been much wetter than normal, with bursts of very heavy rain activity and flooding. In between, we seem to have mini-droughts. In August of 2007, we had a week or more of intense rainfall leading to flooding and mudslides. That was followed by a very long, cold, snowy winter with above normal snowfall (around 70-75"). In June of 2008, we were back to the intense rains that led to all the flooding that I'm sure everyone remembers. Cedar Rapids was the most high profile victim. But from mid/late June through July, the weather was VERY dry. Summer of 2009 was very odd with rain and MUCH cooler than normal temps. We had a day in JULY when the high temperature was 58 degrees!! That was beyond freaky.

This summer we have seen a very wet June, carrying over into July here in my town last week with over 6 inches of rain in about 2 1/2 days. Temps seem to be running fairly normal, though we really haven't had a lot of super hot days (temps and humidity have been pretty nice in my book).

Maybe my memories from childhood are not trustworthy - I certainly do remember the occasional big storms/floods/blizzards etc. - but the weather the past few years just seems to be so out of whack on a consistent basis. It seems to be "feast or famine" all the time - either we are getting a deluge or we are getting nothing. :shrug: