Seattle,
WA— Global warming could cost corn growers in Washington $2.3 million a year,
according to a new report by Environment Washington. Nationwide the damages to America’s #1 crop total more than
$1.4 billion annually. Environment Washington expects these costs to go up
unless Congress and the president take decisive action to repower America with
clean energy and reduce global warming pollution.
“Corn
likes it cool, but global warming is raising temperatures in Washington and
across the nation,” said Environment Washington Field Associate Kristin
Anderson “Hotter fields will mean lower yields for corn, and eventually, the
rest of agriculture.”
Despite
conventional wisdom that global warming is good for agriculture in the United
States, scientists expect that temperature increases due to global warming will
hurt corn production. In fact, research from the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory and the Carnegie Institution shows that temperature changes
consistent with global warming are already harming corn production worldwide
relative to a world without global warming.
Added
Anderson, “And corn is just the canary in the coal mine. Some of Washington’s most important
agricultural products are heat-sensitive, and we could also see decreased
yields of milk, wheat and potatoes with increased temperatures.
Environment
Washington and other groups pointed out that transitioning to a clean energy
economy will help rebuild our economy and stop the worst effects of global
warming.
“With
clean energy such as wind and solar, agriculture has a huge opportunity to be
part of the solution to global warming,” said American Corn Growers Association
President Keith Bolin.
Clean
energy sources, including wind turbines and distributed generation such as
on-site solar panels, can provide farmers an independent source of electricity
or income while reducing global warming pollution. Wind developers, for
example, are offering $4,000 to $8,000 a year per turbine to farmers that allow
them to be installed on their land.
With the
report, Hotter Fields, Lower Yields, Environment Washington analyzed the expected future
impacts of global warming on America’s corn growers. The analysis draws on a
2008 study by the United States Climate Change Science Program, a joint project
of the United States Department of Agriculture and 12 other federal agencies.
The report pairs the government estimates of the relative loss in corn
productivity in major U.S. corn-producing areas due to global warming with USDA
data on the size of the corn industry to estimate the financial impact from
global warming. The analysis considers the combined effect of increasing
temperatures and increasing levels of carbon dioxide but assumes that crops get
sufficient water and does not include other negative effects of global warming,
such as more frequent extreme storms, higher levels of ozone, and the spreading
of diseases, pests and weeds.
This
spring, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will consider a bill answering
President Obama’s call for comprehensive clean energy and global warming
legislation, and the full House is expected to consider the bill this summer.
In addition to capping global warming pollution at science-based levels, the
American Clean Energy and Security Act would require that the nation obtain 25
percent of its electricity from renewable sources, like wind and solar power,
by 2025. An analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that such a
renewable electricity standard would generate $13.5 billion in new income for
farmers, ranchers, and rural landowners.
Anderson
said, “Big Oil, Dirty Coal, and other polluters are fighting to maintain the
status quo, but now is the time for change. We need to unleash the power of
clean energy to rebuild our economy and solve global warming. Environment Washington urges the
committee to pass a strong bill that maintains science-based pollution
reduction targets and speeds the transition to a clean energy economy.”
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Environment Washington is a
statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization.
