Stories from a Warming Planet: Crop Devastation by 1kiki

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Stories from a Warming Planet: Crop Devastation

POSTED BY: 1KIKI
UPDATED: Sunday, April 13, 2014 11:05
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Saturday, April 12, 2014 1:10 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/10/stories_from_a_warming_planet_crop_dev
astation/

Stories from a Warming Planet: Crop Devastation
Cherry Republic owner Bob Sutherland discusses the inconvenient truth about cherry trees

Life was just a bowl of cherries for Cherry Republic president and founder Bob Sutherland, until a recent string of heat waves wreaked havoc on a longtime industry.

The arrival of cherries is one of the first signs that summer has arrived; unfortunately sometimes too early. These luscious stone fruits tend to grow best in areas with cold winters, like northern Michigan, where cherry enthusiasts are especially passionate and proud suppliers of this seasonal treat despite ongoing challenges posed by climate change. Some 25 years ago, Bob Sutherland launched Cherry Republic as a homegrown T-shirt business from the back of his car; it has now blossomed into a line of some 170 cherry products. Headquartered in Sutherland’s hometown Glen Arbor, which has the honor of being the top cherry-growing county in the nation, Cherry Republic is more than just a retailer, it’s a business dedicated to preserving and celebrating the region, from lakeshore beaches to fresh-baked pies.

A champion of local cherry farmers, Cherry Republic has seen the havoc heat waves and unseasonably weather can cause firsthand. Says Sutherland, “In March 2012, we had a one-week heat wave that caused our cherry trees to bud six weeks early. The trees budded early in frost season, so by April, all the buds were killed and this killed our cherry crops too. Less than five percent of our cherry crop was harvested that year. It was devastating.” Likewise, excessive rain and high temps can also cause skin on ripening cherries to crack open and destroy crops. Faced with these conditions, Sutherland has had to improvise, “As marketers of cherries, we survived by purchasing all the cherries we could find from the 2011 crop, purchasing Polish cherries, and finally, selling a substitute dried cranberries.”

As a joke, one of his employees (who also happens to be his mom), would wear a T-shirt to work reading “The owner is a simpleton. Selling more than one fruit would be too complicated for him.” However, what started out in jest has now become a stark reality for the company. To deal with changing and unpredictable supplies, Cherry Republic has had to diversify. “We are selling more cranberries and grapes,” explains Sutherland. However, Sutherland is doing what he can to combat climate change. He says, “We have solar thermal hot water in our main storefront and high efficient radiant heat, but it’s still not enough. We’re building a LEED-rated plant this year.”

While he has managed to keep his business thriving in the Glen Arbor flagship and satellite stores in Traverse City, Charlevoix, and Ann Arbor, Cherry Republic has also donated more than $900,000 to good causes in northern Michigan. For him, along with selling his favorite fruit, he’s dedicated to preserving the tradition. “We used to say in the industry that we would have a crop wipeout every hundred years, but now it might be every decade. But it might be worse. If it is worse, I think many farmers will get out of cherries,” says Sutherland. However, there is also some hope. “Some might have to do some expensive frost protection plans like putting up plastic screening to cover the buds during a high frost.”

While some feel heat waves are cyclical, Sutherland is resolute: “Mankind has affected our climate. Through our wasteful activities, we have formed a blanket around the earth that holds the heat in and every year gets thicker.”

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Saturday, April 12, 2014 10:45 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Indeed. And only one of many examples.

HEY! I KNOW! Let's do fracking instead!

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Saturday, April 12, 2014 10:54 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:

“Mankind has affected our climate. Through our wasteful activities, we have formed a blanket around the earth that holds the heat in and every year gets thicker.”

In space, it is very cold.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Saturday, April 12, 2014 11:08 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

HEY rappy. You got your ass handed to you here... http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57811 ... and now you're crapping up THIS thread???

RAPPY: It's not ME! I didn't say it! It was that article! That no-account author of that ridiculous article (that I posted because I so clearly disagreed with!) Don't talk to ME! Talk to the AUTHOR!

Okay, we WON'T talk to you!

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Saturday, April 12, 2014 11:29 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

You don't read the article I post, and then you expect to reply to IT ( again, not me ) with totally unrelated articles ?

And you actually think you had some sort of 'win' ?

Cute.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Saturday, April 12, 2014 1:44 PM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
You don't read the article I post, and then you expect

Just shu-
err,
think before posting.

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Saturday, April 12, 2014 2:51 PM

WHOZIT

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Quote:

“Mankind has affected our climate. Through our wasteful activities, we have formed a blanket around the earth that holds the heat in and every year gets thicker.”

In space, it is very cold.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

In space, no one can hear you bitching a whining.

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Sunday, April 13, 2014 1:40 AM

OONJERAH

UN: 'Massive shift' needed on energy
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27007486

A UN report on climate change is expected to call for a trebling of
the planet's use of renewable energy sources such as solar and
wind power.

The report is also expected to argue that the trend of increased
carbon emissions can only be reversed if a "massive shift" in energy
use is made.

Scientists will also cautiously endorse a shift to natural gas an
alternative to carbon intensive sources.

The report will be released on Sunday at a press conference in Berlin. ...

It argued that the impacts of global warming are likely to be
"severe, pervasive and irreversible".

______________________

Climate Change Needs the Politics of the Impossible
~Jedediah Purdy
We keep learning more about the catastrophe in front of us,
but it isn’t helping us solve the problem.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/06/climate-change-needs-
the-politics-of-the-impossible.html

====================== :>

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Sunday, April 13, 2014 11:01 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
You don't read the article I post, and then you expect to reply to IT ( again, not me ) with totally unrelated articles ?

I did read the article. And the replies I made were perfectly relevant. Apparently, you either didn't READ my replies (did you?) or you couldn't figure out the connection. So as far as I can tell, you're either stupid or lying. Again. Why don't you go back, read my reply, and think about it a little bit (if such is possible) BEFORE you accuse me?

Oh, and BTW- reply in that thread, not this one.

------------
RAPPY: It's not ME! I didn't say it! It was that article! That no-account author of that ridiculous article (that I posted because I so clearly disagreed with!) Don't talk to ME! Talk to the AUTHOR!
...

OK, we WON'T talk to you!

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Sunday, April 13, 2014 11:05 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

The IPCC report says we have to stop doing "business as usual".
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27008352

In the meantime, I gotta say.... wow, our weather sure sucked this past winter. Talked to sis yesterday, it finally (FINALLY) got up to 70. According to the weather report, its been six months since they were last at that temperature. Five months of snow, and relentless polar vortices.

In the meantime, on the opposite side of the nation, no rain. 90 degrees in March and April, Red flag fire warnings. August in spring. No wonder I can't get my garden growing. All of those weather extremes that Geezer so fabulously posted weren't happening.

We can kiss off the Central Valley crops this year. And probably next and the next after that, since farmers are stumping their fruit and nut trees. It will be interesting to see where the jet stream decides to move next, and how the Corn Belt does.

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