Is climate change consuming your favorite foods?

Coffee: Whether or not you try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world’s coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice.     1     America, Africa, Asia and Hawaii are all being threatened by rising air temperatures and unstable rainfall patterns, which invite disease and     2     species to live on the coffee plant and ripening beans. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield and less coffee in your cup. It is estimated that, if current climate patterns continue, half of the areas     3     suitable for coffee production won't be by the year 2050.

Tea: When it comes to tea, warmer climates and erratic precipitation aren't only     4     the world's tea-growing regions, they're also messing with its distinct flavor. For example, in India, researchers have already discovered that the Indian Monsoon has brought more intense rainfall, making tea flavor weaker. Recent research coming out of the University of Southampton suggests that tea-producing areas in some places,     5     East Africa, could decline by as much as 55 percent by 2050 as precipitation and temperatures change. Tea pickers are also feeling the     6     of climate change. During harvest season, increased air temperatures are creating an increased risk of heatstroke for field workers.

Seafood: Climate change is affecting the world's aquaculture as much as its agriculture. As air temperatures rise, oceans and waterways absorb some of the heat and     7     warming of their own. The result is a decline in fish population, including in lobsters (who are cold-blooded creatures), and salmon (whose eggs find it hard to survive in higher water temps). Warmer waters also     8     toxic marine bacteria, like Vibrio, to grow and cause illness in humans whenever ingested with raw seafood, like oysters or sashimi.

And that     9     "crack" you get when eating crab and lobster? It could be silenced as shellfish struggle to build their calcium(碳) carbonate shells, a result of ocean acidification (absorb carbon dioxide from the air). According to a study, scientists predicted that if over-fishing and rising temperature trends continued at their present rate, the world's seafood     10     would run out by the year 2050.

Is Climate Change Consuming Your Favorite Foods?

Due to climate change, the world’s endangered lists are no longer just for animals. We may not only need to adapt ourselves to living in a warmer world but a     1     (tasty) one as well.

As the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the air linked to global warming     2     (continue) to affect weather, we often forget that they are also impacting the quantity, the quality, and the growing locations of our food. Some foods have already felt the impact while     3     may even become scarce within the next 30 years.

Whether or not you try to limit yourself     4     one cup of coffee a day, the effects of climate change on the world's coffee-growing regions may leave you little choice.

Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns are reported to have been threatening coffee plantations in South America, Africa, Asia, and Hawaii. The result? Significant cuts in coffee yield.

According to organizations like Australia's Climate Institute, half of the present coffee-producing areas     5     (estimate) not to be suitable by the year 2050, if current climate patterns continue.

With temperatures continuously rising, oceans are absorbing some of the heat and undergoing warming of their own,     6     (cause) a decline in fish population, including in lobsters that are cold-blooded creatures, and in salmons (鲑鱼)     7     eggs find it hard to survive in higher water temperatures. Warmer waters also encourage some poisonous marine bacteria to grow and lead to illness in humans whenever     8     (take) with raw seafood, like oysters.

And how about that satisfying “crack” which you get when you are eating crabs and lobsters? It could be silenced     9     shellfish have been struggling to build their calcium carbonate (碳酸钙) shells, which is a result of ocean acidification.

Even worse is the possibility     10     we will have no seafood to enjoy at all. In a 2006 Dalhousie University study, scientists predicted that if over-fishing and rising temperature trends continued at their present rate, the world's seafood stocks would run out by the year 2050.

7 . The Paris climate agreement finalised in December last year indicated a new era for climate action. For the first time, the world’s nations agreed to keep global warming well below 2℃.

This is vital for climate-vulnerable nations. Fewer than 4% of countries are responsible for more than half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In a study published in Nature Scientific Reports, we reveal just how deep this injustice runs.

Developed nations such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and European countries are essentially climate “free-riders”: causing the majority of the problems through high greenhouse gas emissions, while paying few of the costs such as climate changes impact on food and water. In other words, a few countries are benefiting enormously from the consumption of fossil fuels, while at the same time contributing disproportionately to the global burden of climate change.

On the other hand, there are many “forced riders”, who are suffering from the climate change impacts despite having scarcely contributed to the problem. Many of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, the majority of which are African or small island states, produce a very small quantity of emissions. This is much like a non-smoker getting cancer from second-hand smoke, while the heavy smoker is fortunate enough to smoke in good health.

The Paris agreement has been widely considered as a positive step forward in addressing climate change for all, although the details on addressing “climate justice” can be best described as incomplete.

The goal of keeping global temperature rise “well below” 2℃ deserves to be praised but the emissions reduction promises submitted by countries leading up to the Paris talks are very unlikely to deliver on this.

More than $100 billion in funding has been put on the table for supporting developing nations to reduce emissions. However, the agreement specifies that there is no formal distinction between developed and developing nations in their responsibility to cut emissions, effectively ignoring historical emissions. There is also very little detail on who will provide the funds or, importantly, who is responsible for their provision. Securing these funds and establishing who is responsible for raising them will also be vital for the future of climate-vulnerable countries.

The most climate-vulnerable countries in the world have contributed very little to creating the global disease from which they now suffer the most. There must urgently be a meaningful mobilization of the policies outlined in the agreement if we are to achieve national emissions reductions while helping the most vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.

And it is clearly up to the current generation of leaders from high-emitting nations to decide whether they want to be remembered as climate change tyrants (暴君) or pioneers.

8 . Keeping The Taps Running in Thirsty Cities

Water covers 71% of Earth’s surface yet only 2% of it is accessible as a source of fresh water. ______ on this limited resources is rising, a trend likely to continue.

It is important to recognize that it is not just city residents who ______ water. Agriculture, industry and tourism often require more water than the municipal water supply. Globally, 70% of fresh water is ______ for agriculture, but locally in heavily irrigated(灌溉)areas this can increate to 90%. A healthy environment also requires fresh water, and the quality of available water is as important as its ______.

Water stress is not always caused by physical shortages in dry areas. ______ for water resources between different users within river catchments or basins can also be a cause.

Every thirsty city operates within its own context, _____ to the challenge of providing adequate water supplies. Cape Town, ______, has faced three years of drought during which winter rains failed to materialize. At the end of the 2017 rainy season the city faced the ______ of its dams running dry during 2018. The dams were only 37% full—in the same week four years before they were full to the top. In January 2018, it was ______ that Cape Town would reach Day Zero, when it would be forced to turn off the taps, in April. This was despite the city reducing its water use by more than half, from 1.2 billion litres a day in 2015 to fewer than 600 million litres, and working ______ with industry and agriculture to reduce demand.

On February 1, the authorities put in place a strict limit of 50 litres of water per person per day. ______, in Britain this is considered enough for a five-minute shower of half a washing machine cycle on full load.

In addition, a ban was placed on using ______ water for gardens, water management devices were installed at household with a high water use and the water pressure was reduced to cut demand and leaks. At the same, the city launched a media ______ to change habits and introduced higher duties. This is not without its costs; agriculture and tourism, both significant areas of employment, have ______. It is a classic example of the problem of water economics-the cost of water is low but the cost of a lack of water is very high.

Crises such as the Cape Town drought are in danger of becoming the new norm. The ______ of Day Zero must serve as a wake-up call for cities across the world to develop cost-effective water management strategies to cope with an uncertain future.