Climate Change, Mexico, Crops
The article I read talked about the specific effects of global warming on Mexico’s agriculture. Mexicans have been planting corn for as far back as 9,000 years but the current climate changes have forced them to move away from corn and towards crops more adapted to the different climate. For example, pistachio nuts and cactuses have been the new go-to as they require less water and can thus withstand the longer and more frequent droughts. Mexico’s location, between two oceans and straddling the Tropic of Cancer, exposes it to weather volatility. Sol Ortiz-Garcia, director of the agriculture ministry's climate change group, predicts the temperature in some regions of Mexico such as Tehuacan could rise more than the global average and affect rain patterns, agriculture, and food security. The decline in the production of corn is difficult for the Mexican population where the traditional cuisine is built around corn: tortillas, tamales, etc. Mexicans are asking themselves: "Our lives center on corn, so what do we do without it?".
The frustration with farming corn has caused many farmers to move on from corn or quit farming altogether. In hopes of preserving the shrinking agricultural industry, local authorities have worked to develop native corn seeds that are more resistant to pests and require less water. The government has also taken measures to help farmers adapt to and to minimize the severity of the effects of climate change, for example, agricultural insurance, alternative crops and campaigns to reduce agricultural burning. Ortiz-Garcia claims that it is difficult to reverse the tendency to increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so we must adapt instead.
I thought this article was interesting because it discussed the negative cultural impact of climate change, something that isn’t what is typically thought of in relation to this issue. I don’t know if I fully agree with the idea that all that we can do is adapt to the growing climate issues. I understand climate change is not reversible and we will need to find ways to adapt but I do think that we can control to some degree our carbon dioxide emissions and should also work to mitigate the issue and not just deal with it after it has happened.
The frustration with farming corn has caused many farmers to move on from corn or quit farming altogether. In hopes of preserving the shrinking agricultural industry, local authorities have worked to develop native corn seeds that are more resistant to pests and require less water. The government has also taken measures to help farmers adapt to and to minimize the severity of the effects of climate change, for example, agricultural insurance, alternative crops and campaigns to reduce agricultural burning. Ortiz-Garcia claims that it is difficult to reverse the tendency to increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so we must adapt instead.
I thought this article was interesting because it discussed the negative cultural impact of climate change, something that isn’t what is typically thought of in relation to this issue. I don’t know if I fully agree with the idea that all that we can do is adapt to the growing climate issues. I understand climate change is not reversible and we will need to find ways to adapt but I do think that we can control to some degree our carbon dioxide emissions and should also work to mitigate the issue and not just deal with it after it has happened.
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