Good article TWP. Thanks.
Though (you expected that 'though' did you not?), I would urge a bit of caution in what I can only call 'jumping on the bandwagon' of orienting prepping toward continued and accelerated global warming. It does not matter if it is human caused or not, global warming has occurred. And has caused major problems. But expecting something to continue and never change, and basing preps on that, is simply asking for a major disaster for anyone that does it.
Yes, preps for high temperatures, drought, and high radiation levels must be made. But doing them to the exclusion of just about everything else is likely to backfire dramatically. I am not suggesting this simply because I believe we are heading into a prolonged period of much cooler climate around the world. It really does not matter. Because whichever way the climate pendulum is swinging, there are always variations during the cycle. Warm/hot weather during a cooler climate time. Cool/cold weather during a warmer climate time.
So it is my believe that both possibilities must be taken into account. It does make things a bit more complicated, and in some cases a bit more expensive to achieve the same results. But for me the risks are simply too high not to at least try. And from everything I have learned, it is rather easier to deal with hotter rather than colder in most cases.
Drought is the hardest to deal with unless adequate irrigation is readily available, hot or cold. And if one does the due diligence research, it becomes clear that cold climate times tend to be very dry times, in general. There simply is not as much moisture available, since it is tied up in snow and ice. Whereas, in hotter climatic times, things tend to be much more moist and rainy. Again, not to say there are not droughts during warm periods. Of course there are. But usually localized due to various factors. Most of the world will be having plenty of moisture to go around, simply because there is plenty of solar evaporation of the oceans' surface.
And another factor before I actually get to my point. Heat and cold are not two separate things. Not really even two sides of the same coin in my view. Heat is energy, cold is lack of energy. Heat/cold is simply the flow of energy, in the form of heat, to an area with less energy, warming that area that is colder. So insulation is the primary key to dealing with both. Plenty of insulation will keep a warm place warm, and a cool place cool, by preventing that energy from traveling from one area to the other. It will not matter if the 'problem' is too much heat, or too much cold, insulation is part of the answer for both.
Now, back to my point. If things continue to warm, and a local drought continues, AND irrigation is possible in the area, that heat can be dealt with in a few different ways. Mostly by blocking it, and partially by carrying it away from the plants. Neither of which is too terribly difficult or expensive, given a water source and a bit of labor.
On the other hand, if there is not enough energy, as in a cold spell or colder climate, it has to be created, which is time and resource consuming. There are a few ways to divert heat energy from natural sources to a growing area, but it is usually much more difficult than removing it effectively. And the point is? That it is as important, if not more important, to plan for cold weather crop production than it is for hot weather production. Again, as long as water is available.
Crops growing in a given growing zone that do well normally can much more easily be kept growing and producing during much warmer periods than can crops that do well in the given zone if temperatures drop and stay lower for extended periods. I have always planned to have plants at least one zone hardier than that in which I live. Possibly two zones for some plants. I believe that they will be much more tolerant to heat than plants suggested for the given zone will be tolerant to cold.
I am not sure I have made any sense, much less my point. I am sure that I will continue to plan for long term cold weather crop growing as well as hot weather crop growing.
Just, finally, my opinion.
2 Replies
701 Views