New study predicts concerning impending change for America's heartland: 'Few understand the implicat

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

implications this will have’

The United States’ 100th meridian, which marks the divide between the drier West and the more humid East, is slowly moving eastward due to the planet’s changing temperatures.

This shift could have serious impacts on how food systems work and could cause water shortages for millions of Americans.

The line has moved about 140 miles since 1980, researchers say. Climate scientist Richard Seager, who led two 2018 studies appearing in the journal “Earth Interactions,” predicted that as this drying trend continues, farms further east will need to combine and grow to survive. Farmers would need to adapt or use irrigation, or change crops.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the growth of farm size associated with consolidation leads to landscape simplification. This can lead to monocultures (fields of one plant species) replacing natural vegetation. Larger farms also require more fertilizers and pesticides.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/new-study-predicts-concerning-impending-change-for-america-s-heartland-few-understand-the-implications-this-will-have/ar-AA19W1mO

[Scrivener7]

1. Climate change is like a snowball rolling down a snowy hill, getting bigger and bigger.

And that snowball is beginning to pick up speed.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. That "dry" shift is interesting

in that it might also be corresponding to the shift east and south of what was traditionally "tornado alley", where the (relatively cooler) "dry lines" meet the warm "humid zones" and spin up convection.

In fact, I just found this and yup - https://weather.com/science/environment/video/tornado-alley-and-deserts-have-shifted-east-in-us

[Fullduplexxx]

3. it'll become the great american desert

[hunter]

4. We're not pressed into the corner yet...

...land that now grows feed for factory farm meat and dairy products, or biofuels, can grow food directly for people.

Be that as it may, I throw any mail I get from the Union of Concerned Scientists directly into the recycling bin before it even enters my house, and their emails into the spam folder.

I've got friends in low places.