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Brits Ready Crops For Global Warming

Posted by Hemos on from the gearing-up-for-a-brave-new-world dept.

Anonymous Coward writes "Not wanting to come up short at the dinner table, British researchers are developing new crops for a dryer, hotter UK. Starting with barley, they're turning genes on and off to help plants overcome their affinity for the country's cool, wet summers."

3 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Thats good... by aug24 · · Score: 5, Funny
    AIUI the current prediction is freezing winters due to lack of North Atlantic Drift and hot summers caused by high pressure belts extending from the blazing dustbowl that will be Europe, separated by wet springs and autumns

    This being perfect grape growing conditions, and the south downs being big chalky farmland, I for one, welcome our new champagne growing... ah, fuck it.

    Justin.

    --
    You're only jealous cos the little penguins are talking to me.
  2. Re:Now hang on a minute... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    Well, it doesn't have to be one or the other. The original article states:

    If British summers get hotter and drier we will need types of wheat, barley and other crops that flower earlier, like Mediterranean varieties, to beat summer droughts.


    So they are developing crops for summer conditions. The (corrected) link about the effect on the gulf stream, OTOH, states:

    "We know that if the current slows down, it will lead to a drop in temperatures in Britain and northern Europe of a few degrees, but the effect isn't even over the seasons. Most of the cooling would be in the winter, so the biggest impact would be much colder winters,"...

    The final impact of any cooling effect will depend on whether it outweighs the global warming that, paradoxically, is driving it. According to climate modellers, the drop in temperature caused by a slowing of the Atlantic current will, in the long term, be swamped by a more general warming of the atmosphere.


    So, while an interuption in the gulf stream may result in colder UK winters, it may have less of an effect on the summers, which then may be warmer due to general global warming. Lower water temperatures in the north atlantic will also mean less moisture in the air, and a drier climate. So, if you actually take the time to read both of these articles (the original and the second one liked by the AC), you'll find that they are not in conflict at all.

    --

    Debunk the Monk!
  3. Re:Thats good... by maarten_delft · · Score: 5, Informative

    Weather != local climate != global warming!

    Weather is something that cannot be predicted.

    Local climate change, for example in the northern atlantic, is subject of interesting research and interesting scenario's, but a final verdict is stil out.

    Global warming is a fact. The debate is about the amount of warming and the rate of change, not the mechanisms itself anymore. The mechanisms are really well understood. (People still denying the well-documented mechanisms are not scientists)

    What global warming precisely means for different countries is partly a surprise, but some things that are probably at least partly influenced by global warming
    * shift of sea currents
    * shifting patterns of precipitation
    * possibly local cooling effects, certainly if gulf stream slows

    What is certainly a consequence of global warming:
    * rising sea level
    * break up of sea ice
    * shift of climate zones towards the poles

    --
    --[rosso bright]--