Monday, October 17, 2016

Global Warming be Damned: Record Corn, Soybeans, Wheat

Global Warming be Damned: Record Corn, Soybeans, Wheat « Roy Spencer, PhD
"For many years we have been warned that climate change is creating a “climate crisis”, with heat and drought reducing agricultural yields to the point that humanity will suffer. 
Every time there’s a drought, we are told that this is just one more example of human-caused climate change.
But droughts have always occurred. 
The question is: 
Are they getting worse? 
And, has modest warming had any effects on grain yields?
We have yet to experience anything like the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s, or the mega-droughts the western U.S. tree ring record suggests occurred in centuries past.
And even if they do occur, how do we know they were not caused by the same natural factors that cause those previous droughts? 
While “global warming” must cause more precipitation overall (because there is more evaporation), whether this means increased drought conditions anywhere is pretty difficult to predict because it would require predicting an average change in weather patterns, which climate models so far have essentially no skill at.
So, here we are with yet another year (2016) experiencing either record or near-record yields in corn, soybeans, and wheat. 
Even La Nina, which was widely feared would cause reduced crop yields this year, did not materialize.
How can this be?
How has Climate Changed in the U.S. Corn Belt?...
Read on!

No comments: