To Slow Global Warming, U.N. Warns Agriculture Must Change

Humans must drastically alter food production in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of global warming, according to a new report from the United Nations panel on climate change. The panel of scientists looked at the climate change effects of agriculture, forestry and other land use, such as harvesting peat and managing grasslands and wetlands. Together, those activities generate about a third of human greenhouse gas emissions, including more than 40 percent of methane. That's important because methane is particularly good at trapping heat in the atmosphere. And the problem is only getting more severe. "Emissions from agricultural production are projected to increase," the authors warn. "Delaying action" on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they continue, "could result in some irreversible impacts on some ecosystems."...In order to meet that temperature target, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to fall by 40 to 50 percent in the next decade. Scientists say the only way to achieve that reduction is to significantly increase the amount of land that's covered in trees and other vegetation, and significantly reduce the amount of methane and other greenhouse gasses that come from raising livestock like cows, sheep and goats...MORE