Coffee And Climate Change: A Disaster Is Brewing

Coffee lovers, alert! A new report says that the world's coffee supply may be in danger owing to climate change. In the world's biggest coffee-producing nation, Brazil, the effects of warming temperatures are already being felt in some communities.

In fact, it's been three years of drought here in Sao Gabriel da Palha. This region is part of Brazil's coffee belt. Farmers here have been growing robusta — a coffee bean used in espressos and instant coffee — since the 1950s.

"Coffee depends on a lot of water," says an agronomist with the local coffee cooperative. And coffee plants are already sensitive to temperature. "Climate change is happening," he tells me, "we can see it. Add to that deforestation, which means the ground can't retain water when it rains."

But it's not just robusta. A new report from Australia's Climate Institute says coffee production worldwide is in danger because of climate change. It cites a study that says "hotter weather and changes in rainfall patterns are projected to cut the area suitable for coffee in half by 2050."

Many fears that in the near future, unless something drastically changes, coffee will disappear from this region of Brazil.

Comments

Weather /climate change and your coffee

Weather unpredictability/climate change is a leading factor in future coffee prices. Making the small coffee grower looking to expand their land used to cultivate coffee. Felling of rain forests will accelerate current trends in a changing climate. adding even more unpredictability to coffee supplies and future prices. With the current world price at 90 cents a pound is making profitability in many countries nearly impossible With production cost at about $1.50 per pound. The shortest answer is to grow more coffee witch takes more land, ,fewer trees, more c02, additional climate effects . Climate change and general weather unpredictability are one of the driving forces in the roller coaster ride coffee prices are having and will likely continue to have in the foreseeable future. Perhaps second only to the never ending political unrest in many coffee growing regions.

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Used coffee grounds can help stop global warming.

With the environment in the news lately. Here is one you didn't see coming. Used coffee grounds are very good at storing Methane. Methane is a global warming gas many times more potent that carbon dioxide.With Methane having one advantage over Carbon Dioxide. That is Methane can be used as a fuel. The process to make this work is relative simple with the moist used coffee grounds being heated with potassium hydroxide. So who cares you may be asking yourself. While It's not likely your local power company will be digging around in your trash ben for your used coffee grounds in order to capture and store their Methane emissions. Some smaller producers of Methane emissions may have some interest. Many oil wells also produce small amounts of natural gas. The volume of gas is so small that it's uneconomical to lay the needed pipe in order to place this gas into the natural gas lines that heat your home. So this g...

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