[Rantman] The end of chocolate !?!? OK - this global warming has GOT to STOP

[rPauli]

Figure a few decades of chocolate left.    The cocoa plant is sensitive 
to heat increases.

Carpe Diem, Carpe Dove Bar.

    The cocoa report predicts a one-degree Celsius temperature rise by
    2030, increasing to 2.3 degrees Celsius by 2050. This is enough to
    inhibit the development of cocoa pods, which could send yields
    crashing and prices soaring.


The study is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
http://ciatnews.cgiar.org/en/index.php/2011/09/too-hot-for-chocolate/

Lots of graphics in the report:
http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/Newsroom/Documents/news_release_africas_chocolate_meltdown_climate_change_threatens_cocoa_farmers.pdf
http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/Newsroom/Documents/ghana_ivory_coast_climate_change_and_cocoa.pdf


/Global warming threatens heat-sensitive cocoa trees, a Gates Foundation 
study finds/
 From Climate Progress:


  Too Hot for Chocolate? Climate Change Could Decimate the $9 Billion
  Cocoa Industry, Study Finds
  <http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/30/332951/chocolate-climate-change-cocoa-industry-study/>

Half of the world's cocoa supply comes from the West African countries 
of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. But in the coming decades, climate change 
could severely limit production in the region --- disrupting local 
farmers and squeezing global chocolate supply.

A new report out from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture 
<http://ciatnews.cgiar.org/en/index.php/2011/09/too-hot-for-chocolate/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CiatBlog_en+%28CIAT+Blog%29>finds 
that between 2030 and 2050, land area suitable for cocoa production will 
fall dramatically. While rising temperatures and changing rainfall 
pattern may shift cocoa production to land currently not suitable, the 
net impact to this $9 billion-per-year industry could be severe.

The news release 
<http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/Newsroom/Documents/news_release_africas_chocolate_meltdown_climate_change_threatens_cocoa_farmers.pdf> 
makes clear that climate change is already having an impact on cocoa crops:

    "Many of these farmers use their cocoa trees like ATM machines,"
    said CIAT's Dr. Peter Laderach, the report's lead author. "They pick
    some pods and sell them to quickly raise cash for school fees or
    medical expenses. The trees play an absolutely critical role in
    rural life.

    "Already we're seeing the effects of rising temperatures on cocoa
    crops currently produced in marginal areas, and with climate change
    these areas are certain to spread. At a time when global demand for
    chocolate is rising fast, particularly in China, there is already
    upward pressure on prices. It's not inconceivable that this,
    combined with the impact of climate change, could cause chocolate
    prices to increase sharply."

    The report predicts that the ideal cocoa growing areas will shift to
    higher altitudes, to compensate for the higher temperatures. "The
    problem is that much of West Africa is relatively flat and there is
    no 'uphill'. This is a major cause of the potentially drastic
    decreases in cocoa suitability in the region," continued Laderach.




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