Food Systems Thinker
Lesson 3.2 Climate Change and Biodiversity
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to discuss ways to mitigate climate change and understand the concept of delays.
In the previous lessons, the causes of climate change were discussed through greenhouse gas emissions. This lesson will also focus on the definition and the effects of climate change on the food systems. Before moving forward with this lesson, download and review the worksheet.
Activity 1: Understanding climate change.
Weather = Temperature, precipitation, clouds, and wind that people experience throughout the course of a day at a given place. The weather can change in minutes or hours.
Climate = The long-term average of the weather which includes the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of weather events. The change in climate develops over longer periods of decades to centuries.
"Weather influences what clothes you wear on a given day, while the climate where you live influences the entire wardrobe you buy."
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Climate Change Indicators
Rising global average temperature is associated with widespread changes in weather patterns. Scientific studies indicate that extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change.
Signs of climate change include heavy precipitation, unusually hot and cold temperatures, river flooding, and drought.
Why does it matter?
Long-term changes in climate can directly or indirectly affect many aspects of society in potentially disruptive ways.
For example, warmer average temperatures could increase air conditioning costs and affect the spread of diseases like Lyme disease, but could also improve conditions for growing some crops.
More frequent and intense extreme heat events can increase illnesses and deaths, especially among vulnerable populations, and damage some crops.
While increased precipitation can replenish water supplies and support agriculture, intense storms can damage property, cause loss of life and population displacement, and temporarily disrupt essential services such as transportation, telecommunications, energy, and water supplies.
Activity 2: Understanding time delays.
Delay = The amount of time between an action and its consequence that can take longer than expected or planned.
A simple example is adjusting the temperature of your water in the shower. You cannot get the true immediate effect because of the “delay”. This example is a short-term consequence of an action.
Often people don’t wait long enough to see the long-term consequences of their actions. In systems analysis, awareness of delays is critical to understanding the dynamics of the system.
The link from greenhouse gas emissions to climate change is long and full of delays. The emissions have been growing exponentially since the beginning of the industrial age to this day. As a result, concentrations of greenhouse gases have been growing exponentially and raising global average temperature which leads to climate change.
Even if tomorrow we totally eliminated all greenhouse gas emissions from human sources, the average temperature of the globe would continue to increase for a while, just from all the greenhouse gases that society has already emitted.
We are not yet experiencing the full consequences of past emissions. Even after taking strong and effective action, we can expect to see climate-related problems persist for many decades.
Complete the worksheet.
We need to act now to fight the climate crisis starting from
REDUCING EMISSIONS IN OUR FOOD SYSTEM.
Activity 3: Learn about how John Sherck uses biodiversity on his farm to support a variety of food grown in his region which reduces greenhouse gas emissions during food transportation and distribution. He also uses biodiversity to reduce the impact of climate change.
"The most important point is that more people should learn to grow at least a portion of their own food."
- John Sherck
Say hi to John Sherck on Sherck Seeds facebook page
*Click CC button on the lower right corner for closed captions and subtitles.
HIGHLIGHTS
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John grows staple crops such as grains (corn, wheat, rice) and legumes (peanut, soybean, snap pea). He looks for varieties that may not be grown in Indiana traditionally but taste good and are disease resistant.
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Biodiversity refers to the variety of life. Growing different varieties and types of crops gives John a diverse and more nutritious foods to eat. Biodiversity also helps John deal with the issues of climate change on his farm.
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Climate change increases the chance of extreme weather conditions including heavy rain and causes other problems. For example:
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The water comes too fast for the ground to absorb and washes the topsoil into the lower area. This is called erosion.
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The field is flooded.
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The heavy rain knocks the crops over, making it difficult to harvest. This is called lodging.
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The hot and humid conditions cause the insects and diseases to thrive.
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John uses perennial strips to slow down the water and let the soil absorb it. He plants different varieties and species of crops which can prevent diseases from spreading to the whole field unlike monocropping.
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John plant disease resistant crops and makes seed available to others in his region. He uses a variety that is more tolerant to flood including upland rice.
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Seed saving helps farmers select the best of that year to replant. Crops adapt to soil type and changing weather pattern on the farmers' farm and keep improving. No need to rely on others for seeds.
Complete the worksheet.
CONCLUSION
You learned about the danger of climate change and the delayed consequences of greenhouse gases emissions. You also learned about biodiversity that helps provide a variety of food in the region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time, reducing the negative impact of climate change on a farm.
Quote
I can't imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy, and biodiversity.
These are the things that keep us alive.
- David Suzuki
References
Booth Sweeney, L., Meadows, D., & Mehers, G. M. (2011). The systems thinking playbook for climate change: A toolkit for interactive
learning. Retrieved from https://www.laos-proceed.com/la/images/literature/giz_playbook-cc_2011.pdf
https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate
Ponto, C. F., & Linder, N. P. (2011). Sustainable tomorrow: A teachers’ guidebook for applying systems thinking to environmental
education curricula. Retrieved from https://www.fishwildlife.org/application/files/1715/1373/1187/ConEd-Sustainable-
Tomorrow-Systems-Thinking-Guidebook.pdf