Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 1 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 1

Unit 2 - Lesson 5:

Our Changing Climate

Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 2 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 2

Weather vs. Climate

The temperature in New York City averaged 82 degrees Fahrenheit on July 20, 2010. The temperature in New York City averaged 77 degrees Fahrenheit for the month of July between 1981 and 2010.

Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 3 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 3

Adapted from: "The Greenhouse Effect." US EPA (December 2012), Climate Change Indicators in the United States, 2nd edition, Washington, DC, USA: US EPA, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/download.html, p.3. EPA 430-R-12-004.  

Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 4 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 4

Sources of Greenhouse Gases

Decomposition of food waste in landfills

Use of nitrogen-based fertilizer on crops

Transporting food products

Bacterial decomposition in rice paddies

Livestock waste left on fields

Clearing forests for farmland

Digestion of organic material by livestock

Running agricultural machinery

Methane

Nitrous oxide

Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide &

methane

Methane

Methane & nitrous oxide

Carbon dioxide

Methane & nitrous oxide

Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide &

methane

Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 5 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 5

Photo  credit  :  Bob  Nichols,  USDA,  2013.  Some  rights  reserved  .  

Drought

Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 6 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 6

Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture

•  Loss of topsoil

•  Fungus invasion in corn crop

•  Saltwater contamination of freshwater supply

•  Increased cost to fight weeds

•  Increase in a crop’s water needs

•  Higher food prices

•  Depletion of freshwater sources for irrigation

Photo  credit:  Brendan  Cox,  Oxfam  InternaEonal,  2004.  Some  rights  reserved.  

Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 7 Unit 2 - Lesson 5: Our Changing Climate // P. 7

Food System Greenhouse Gas Emissions

GHG emissions by food type

GHG emissions by supply chain stage