Maybe this will get crazy Uncle Bob to wake up before he can’t smell the coffee anymore.
… climate change, which is expected to fall hardest in the very region where coffee thrives, the tropics. Coffea Arabica—which accounts for 70 percent of the coffee grown globally, including your morning joe—requires the cool year-round temperatures and ample rainfall found in tropical highlands. Robusta (Coffea Canephora)—source of the low-grade joe that supplies the instant market—also requires a tropical climate, but can tolerate warmer, drier conditions.
It gets worse (of course). Those of us who already rely on this beloved liquid (don’t even think of talking to me before my first cup) are already starting to mourn.
Follow me below the boring page break (I miss the orange squiggly).
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Not only is it expected that land suitable for coffee production will decrease by half in the next 3 decades, but planetary warming has also increased the range for pests and pathogens that severely damage coffee plants. That range will continue to increase as the planet continues to warm.
Additionally, climate change will have a serious effect on wild coffee plants, expected to be extinct in 70 years. Those plants could be used to develop drought and disease resistant coffee plants and help mitigate a few of the effects of warming on coffee production.
It’s not only that your morning cup of joe is about to get more and more expensive as time passes and less coffee beans are available (don’t even get me started on price gouging), but there are an estimated 120 million people in 70 countries whose entire livelihood is based on coffee.
It isn’t a matter of moving the coffee plantations higher in elevation since that will inevitably cause deforestation and will be impossible for the smaller farmers.
So what can coffee-quaffing northern-hemisphere consumers do? Look for brands that that pay extra to support small coffee growers and help them adapt to climate change, the report suggests. But the authors make clear that averting a coming coffee dystopia will require more than enlightened consumerism: We can't save coffee or protect the millions of people who produce it without cutting back greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Please feel free to pass this along to Fox (not) News loving Uncle Bob.
And now for what you really came for: Top Comments, Top Mojo, and Jotters’ amazing Picture Quilt.
TOP COMMENTS October 22, 2016
Thanks to tonight's Top Comments contributors! Let us hear from YOU when you find that proficient comment.
Please note that I format the comments to open in the same window so you can come right back for the next one.
From Catte Nappe:
who found this jewel from Major Kong. From Trump Jr. says his Father's Hot Mic Remarks Inappropriately Grabbing Women are just a 'Fact of Life' by First Amendment.
From peregrine kate submitting TWO Top Comments:
I have two comments to nominate today.
One came from rugbymom, about the problem with term limits, in connection with Meteor Blades' post this afternoon on Trump's speech at Gettysburg. From From what he calls the 'hollowed ground' of Gettysburg, Trump pledges revenge on his accusers by Meteor Blades.
The other came from koosah late last night on the opportunity we may have in talking with women of faith at this particular moment. From The Magis - or a Lesson from Hilary Clinton in How to Talk to People of Faith Last Night by Kascade Kat.
From my Top Comments colleague, BeninSC:
I am submitting this thoughtful, compassionate comment from first-time Daily Kos commenter, margretminette, in amadon's terrific diary on the death of a young woman named Susan because of an unsafe abortion. From Her Name Was Susan by amadon.
Another first comment is also deserving of attention, this one from first-time commenter, doceanus, with a terrible story of a young woman who died while they tried to get her emergency care after a desperate, self-administered abortion attempt, in the same diary.
TOP MOJO from October 21, 2016
(excluding Tip Jars and first comments) *Got mik!*
How incredible is this? For an explanation of How Top Mojo Works, see mik's FAQing Top Mojo
TOP PHOTOS October 21, 2016
Enjoy jotter's wonderful *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
Thank you jotter for the awesome image magic!
Finally, enough pooties to satisfy me.