Crops & Food Supply

By Deborah on June 15th, 2008

EU to Take Steps to Avoid Soil Degradation in the Face of Climate Change

The European Commission recently hosted a high-level conference on the relationship between soil and climate change, and the role of soil management in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Organic matter plays a fundamental role supporting soil fertility, retaining water, sustaining biodiversity and regulating the global carbon cycle. But organic matter is in decline, and the […]

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By Deborah on May 30th, 2008

Reports Paint Pictures of the Future of US Food and Water Supply

A congressional field hearing convened on May 27 in Seattle heard about threats to American food and water supplies through the release of a new scientific report. The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States presents the likely effects of climate change on the United States’ […]

Crops & Food Supply • Water Governance

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By Deborah on May 15th, 2008

Firms Look to Patent Climate-Ready Crops

Several of the world’s largest agricultural biotechnology companies are seeking hundreds of patents on gene-altered crops designed to withstand drought and other environmental stresses, part of a race for dominance in the potentially lucrative market for crops that can handle global warming, according to a report produced by the ETC Group, Patenting the “Climate Genes” […]

Crops & Food Supply • New Technologies

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By Deborah on May 12th, 2008

Vineyards in Spain Embrace Adaptation

Climate change poses significant threats to the wine industry, but a clutch of producers in one of Spain’s hardest-hit regions say they have found a way to survive and even profit from it.Raising temperatures result in grapes containing more sugar and thus more alcohol, but higher alcohol content wines have become less popular. Drought can […]

Crops & Food Supply • Extreme Weather

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