It could be just what climate change naysayers need to be convinced of the true impact global warming is having. Newsweek is reporting in its current issue that wheat crops are facing major challenges as a result of the planet's rising temperatures.

Attention coffee lovers: You might want to sip that cuppa just a little bit more slowly than normal as there's news that the beloved wild Arabica coffee plant is facing an almost certain extinction by the year 2080.

As the nation scrambles to grasp the magnitude of Hurricane Sandy's devastation all along the Northeast, the USDA has issued a food safety warning in hopes of helping those stranded without power or dealing with flooding to avoid foodborne illnesses.

To combat the issues brought about by global warming, 11 African countries are now building what's being called 'The Great Green Wall'—a 4,300 mile long and 9 mile wide stretch of trees across the continent from Senegal to Djibouti, reports the Guardian.

“Warning! General Mills Destroys Rainforests.” 

This text recently appeared on a 30’ x 70’ banner (above) held outside the company’s Minneapolis headquarters by 42 activists who say the company is irresponsibly sourcing palm oil. 

More than 100 General Mills products, including brands like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper and Toaster Strudel, contain palm oil or its derivatives, according to the Rainforest Action Network (RAN). 

Demand for the oil has steadily increased worldwide in recent years, and palm-oil plantations are expanding rapidly into tropical forests, RAN notes—growth that contributes to climate change, species extinction, and the displacement of indigenous and local communities.

“Palm oil is a leading cause of rainforest destruction in places like Indonesia,” says RAN representative Ashley Schaeffer. “As long as General Mills is using irresponsibly sourced palm oil, their customers will have to worry that they are contributing money to rainforest destruction.”

Notes RAN: 

“Worldwide, the degradation and destruction of tropical rainforests is responsible for 15% of all annual greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon emissions resulting from Indonesia’s rapid deforestation account for around 8% of global emissions—more than the combined emissions from all the cars, planes, trucks, buses and trains in the United States. This huge carbon footprint from forest destruction has made nonindustrialized Indonesia the third-largest global greenhouse-gas emitter, behind only the U.S. and China.” 

But General Mills is defending the way it sources palm oil. A prepared statement reads, in part:

 “We have analyzed our use of palm oil,” said Gene Kahn, General Mills’ global sustainability officer. “General Mills does not purchase any palm oil directly.  However, we do purchase ingredients produced from palm oil from suppliers.  Overall, we calculate that General Mills’ use of palm oil and palm derivatives is modest—approximately .0004% of world exports.”

Click here to sign the General Mills petition.

Click here to watch the video “Does Your Breakfast Cause Rainforest Destruction?”

Photo by Mercury Miller/RAN

If you’re plugged into the climate-change debate, you know:

1. Most scientists agree that global warming is primarily man-made.
2. A skeptical minority blames Mother Nature’s normal cycles.

In truth, both sides agree on several core ideas, according to the Dec. 22 issue of Chemical & Engineering News:

• The Earth’s atmospheric load of carbon dioxide has increased since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution (late 1700s).
• This increase largely results from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.
• Average global temperatures have been rising since 1850, with most of the warming occurring since 1970.

“But here is where the cordial agreements stop,” writes Senior Editor Stephen K. Ritter. “At the heart of the global warming debate is whether warming is directly the result of increasing anthropogenic [man-made] CO₂ levels, or if it is simply part of Earth’s natural climatic variation.”

Click here to read the full article, which presents both sides of the increasingly contentious issue.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: Global Warming: The Complete Briefing

The overwhelming majority of Americans support action to limit carbon pollution and move the United States toward a clean energy future, according to 1,000 registered voters polled in December by the National Wildlife Federation.

“The American people can’t be more clear when it comes to solving global warming: They want the U.S. to be Rudolph out in front of the sleigh, leading the world toward a clean energy future,” says NWF Senior Vice President Jeremy Symons. “There is overwhelming public support for the Senate to pass legislation with firm limits on carbon pollution that will stimulate massive new investments in clean energy technologies.”

The poll’s results show:

• 82% of voters support a federal investment in clean energy sources.
• 67% support limits on carbon pollution and other gases that may cause global warming.
• 91% of Democrats believe global warming is happening; 8% don’t.
• 43% of Republications believe global warming is happening; 54% don’t.
• 64% of Independents believe global warming is happening; 32% don’t.

A new report from the Wildlife Conservation Society reveals that more than a dozen animals are facing new risks related to global warming, including:

• Changing land and sea temperatures
• Shifting rain patterns
• Exposure to new pathogens and disease
• Increased threats from predators
• Deforestation

“The image of a forlorn-looking polar bear on a tiny ice floe has become the public’s image of climate change in nature, but the impact reaches species in nearly every habitat in the world’s wild places,” says President and CEO Steven E. Sanderson, PhD. “In fact, our own researchers are observing direct impacts on a wide range of species across the world.”

The affected wildlife includes:

• Flamingos. Climate change reduces the availability and quality of wetland habitats in the Caribbean, South America, Asia and Africa.
• Irrawaddy dolphins. This coastal species relies on the flow of fresh water from estuaries in Bangladesh and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Changes in flow and salinity may have an impact on the species’ long-term survival.
• Hawksbill turtles. Higher temperatures result in more female hatchlings, which could impact the species’ long-term survival by skewing sex ratios.

“Aside from all of the current political disagreements on meteorological data, we can say with certainty that climate change is threatening our planet with significant losses to wildlife and wild places,” Dr. Sanderson says.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: Saving Wildlife: A Century of Conservation

When the United Nations Climate Change Conference ended Dec. 19 in Copenhagen, world leaders had reached an agreement to cap the global temperature rise by significantly reducing emissions and financing environmental efforts in developing countries. 

The end result, however, is much weaker than many environmentalists would have liked, and the international blame game is heating up. 

While most countries supported the Copenhagen Accord, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon admitted it “cannot be everything that everyone hoped for, but it is an essential beginning.” 

The Accord recognizes the scientific view that an increase in global temperature below 2° is required to stave off global warming’s worst effects. Mitigation requires industrialized countries to commit to implementing, individually or jointly, quantified emissions targets by 2020. 

The deadline for countries to sign the Accord is Jan. 31, and President Obama is trying to remain optimistic. 

“After extremely difficult and complex negotiations, this important breakthrough lays the foundation for international action in the years to come,” he said. “This progress did not come easily, and we know that progress on this particular aspect of climate-change negotiations is not enough. Going forward, we’re going to have to build on the momentum that we established in Copenhagen to ensure that international action to significantly reduce emissions is sustained and sufficient over time.

“At home,” he continued, “that means continuing our efforts to build a clean energy economy that has the potential to create millions of new jobs and new industries. And it means passing legislation that will create the incentives necessary to spark this clean energy revolution.

“So, even though we have a long way to go, there’s no question that we’ve accomplished a great deal over the last few days. And I want America to continue to lead on this journey, because if America leads in developing clean energy, we will lead in growing our economy and putting our people back to work, and leaving a stronger and more secure country to our children.”

Photo courtesy of the White House