That’s the title of an article in this morning’s NY Times about the release of a new report by the Union of Concerned Sciences. According to the Times:
The impact on New York State’s $3.5 billion-a-year agricultural industry could be devastating, said David W. Wolfe, a professor of plant ecology in the Department of Horticulture at Cornell University and one of the scientists who contributed to the report.
While higher temperatures might at first be welcomed because they would extend the growing season, they would bring new plant and insect pests like the corn earworm that could ravage crops.
Unless emissions are reduced, the scientists warned, Long Island lobsters would disappear or move to cooler waters up north. Without a hard frost to set buds, New York apple trees would not produce as much fruit as before. Under stress from invasive species, maple, beech and birch trees could disappear from certain regions of the state, including the Adirondacks.
And since it would often be hotter than dairy cows like, milk production could decline by 15 percent or more in late summer months.
[Full disclosure: David’s office is just down the hall from me. He’s a smart guy, serious scientist and a talented writer.]
I find this graphic representation (above) from the report the most powerful representation of what we’re in for if we don’t respond. It’s like all of us here in Upstate New York are going to be gardening like Pam — or at least our kids will.
