Russia is in the middle of the worst heat wave in its recorded history. The droughts have destroyed millions of acres of wheat. Russian farmers will harvest about 70 million metric tons of grain this year, down an astonishing 27 million tons. Yesterday, as the New York Times reported, Russia banned all exports of wheat.
According to the Times, Russian exports represent 17 percent of the global grain trade. Wheat prices have already leapt 90 percent since June, and this sudden restriction in supply won't help.
When I think about the forces making the pursuit of sustainability unavoidable, I often try to categorize or separate them to get a handle on what's going on. I think about climate change, water issues, natural resource constraints, greening the supply chain, and on and on, as problems in and of themselves. But this story from Russia shows how they're all inextricably linked.
The United States has been unable to pass a climate bill and factions of this country are in deep denial about the reality of climate change and how it will impact business, society and our day-to-day lives. These real-life impacts in Russia are a stark reminder that nature, and the physics and chemistry of planetary change, don't care about our political battles.
But how do we draw these connections for everyone? The environmental movement, and even the growing business lobby that's behind climate legislation and action, have not done a great job showing people how our prosperity is threatened by inaction.
I know it's difficult for the average person to believe, but how we use energy and what we drive actually connects directly to the price of bread. And it doesn't really take that many "degrees of Kevin Bacon" to connect the dots.
We drive energy-inefficient vehicles which spew carbon dioxide...which captures heat in the atmosphere... which greatly increases the odds of record droughts and heat waves... which destroys crops and reduces grain supply... which raises the price of wheat and thus bread.
Part of the problem with the discussion on climate change is that it doesn't feel as tangible as other environmental challenges such as water and air pollution. It feels remote and not part of our daily lives. Somehow we need to make these seemingly bizarre connections between what we drive to the store and what's available once we get there.
If we don't start seeing the systematic challenges and tackling them, the system will come crashing down on us.
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Bob Ostertag: Russia "Gets" Climate Change
There is no precedent in human experience for global warming. No human has dealt with this before. But everyone has to deal with it now. In this sense Medvedev is right, Russia is not alone. We are all is in this together.
Edward P. Kohn: "We're Having a Heat Wave"
Heat is this country's number one disaster killer, on average killing more Americans than floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined.
FT.com / Commodities - Russia grain export ban sparks price fears
A Closer Look At The Impact Of The Wheat Crisis | zero hedge
Russia Bans Wheat Exports Amid Drought Crisis - Yahoo! News UK
Has Russia's Heat Wave Changed Stance on Climate Change? - Yahoo! News
It thought after the coldest Northeast winter in long time the use of regional heating events was no longer viable. No. As I understand it, new rules: heating regions=proof of "global" warming. Cooler regions=natural variability to be expected even anthropogenic CO2 causes global surface temps increases, and do not dare point out the Waxman bill will do nothing about that except enrich Wall Street carbon traders and rip off everyone else.
What concerns me is that Russia is the world's third largest grain exporter (not this year) and China has gone from being sustainable in their wheat production to the world's largest importer. There are a lot of loaves of bread that China will be bidding on from elsewhere. So I think the 7 cents is just the beginning and the ones who will pay that CBOT bid up price are the ones in some other part of the world that are not going to get that loaf of bread at all, it 'only' being 7 cents too much.
the fact that those billions including those more afluent and westerised still don' t get anywhere near the consumption and waste of the usa and canada, and of course after that australia and europe is neither here nor there.
stop them breeding and using so you don't have to cut back on your overconsumption even a tiny bit.