susceptible

Bananas and climate change

April 17, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Bananas are one of the most widely produced fruits globally, with more than 100 million tons grown every year. They are a key export crop worth approximately $11 billion annually. Bananas are also a staple food in many tropical countries, playing a vital role in both the economies of these nations and in global food security.

The Cavendish variety of banana dominates commercial exports, accounting for nearly 47% of global production. However, the Cavendish banana is highly susceptible to diseases like Panama disease, prompting ongoing efforts to develop disease-resistant alternatives. The spread of these diseases is exacerbated by climate change, which alters growing conditions and weakens banana plants. Additionally, climate change poses further threats to the banana industry by impacting crop yields and distribution patterns.

In fact, a new study led by researchers from the University of Exeter in the U.K. has found that by 2080, rising temperatures will make growing bananas for export economically unsustainable in many regions of Latin America and the Caribbean. Colombia and Costa Rica will be among the countries most negatively impacted as they are expected to become too hot for optimal banana cultivation.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, found that 60% of the regions currently producing bananas around the world will struggle to grow the fruit unless there are urgent interventions to tackle climate change. The researchers propose several adaptation strategies, including expanding irrigation systems, developing heat- and drought-resistant banana varieties, and helping banana producers manage climate-related risks.

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Climate change threatens future of banana export industry

Photo, posted June 26, 2024, courtesy of JJ Musgrove via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Soaring coffee prices

February 20, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Wholesale coffee prices hit record highs in the midst of the Trump administration’s deportation and tariff dispute with Colombia. But coffee prices have already been trading near 50-year highs for a while as a result of shortages related to extreme weather and increased global demand.

In recent years, repeated droughts and flooding have put pressure on the global supply of coffee. These climate swings have caused prices to soar, much as they have for other staples like cocoa, olive oil, and orange juice. All the while, the global demand for coffee has kept rising.

Coffee is one of the world’s most consumed beverages, but it can be grown only under very specific conditions, namely in misty, humid, and tropical climates, and in rich soil free of disease. The United States imports nearly all of its coffee – there is only a small amount grown in Hawaii. Otherwise, the US is the world’s largest coffee importer. With a limited number of sources for the beans, global coffee prices are very susceptible to the effects of extreme weather.

More than half of the world’s coffee production comes from arabica beans, and Brazil is the largest exporter. A severe drought there this summer devastated the harvest that typically runs from May to September. In Vietnam, a severe drought followed by heavy rains harmed the world’s largest source of robusta, the second most popular coffee variety.

People tend to think of coffee as a commodity and not so much as an agricultural product, subject to the vagaries of weather and having prices that fluctuate accordingly. The bottom line is that drinking coffee is likely to become a bigger strain on one’s own bottom line.

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Why Coffee Prices Are Soaring (Again)

Photo, posted October 13, 2023, courtesy of Pete via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate change and an iconic Florida bird

December 31, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The Florida scrub-jay is a medium-sized bird native to Florida, known for its striking blue plumage and distinctive call. It is the only bird species that is entirely endemic to Florida, found mainly in the scrubby, sandy habitats of the central and southern part of the Sunshine State.

But extensive development, habitat fragmentation, and habitat degradation have caused the scrub-jay population to decline significantly over the past century.

Another threat facing the Florida scrub-jay is climate change. According to a new study by researchers from the Archbold Biological Station and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, warmer winters driven by climate change are causing Florida scrub-jays to nest one week earlier than they did in 1981. This seemingly innocuous change has reduced the number of offspring raised annually by 25% since 1981.

The research team examined 37 years of data to assess the impacts of warming on reproductive efforts. From 1981 to 2018, the average winter temperature at Archbold Biological Station in Florida increased by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite increases in the number of nests built and eggs laid over the longer breeding season, Florida scrub-jays are not producing more young.

The researchers hypothesize that warmer temperatures make the nests susceptible to predation by snakes for a longer period of the Florida spring than in the past. The findings, which were recently published in the journal Ornithology, suggest that climate change could dampen the success of conservation efforts for this threatened species.

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Long-term study reveals warming climates threaten Florida scrub-jay

Florida Scrub-Jay

Photo, posted October 15, 2018, courtesy of Judy Gallagher via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Why Are Insect Populations Declining? | Earth Wise

June 16, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The world is experiencing a decline in overall insect populations as well as a collapse in insect diversity. A recent special issue of the journal Biology Letters discusses the major causes of this alarming trend.

According to the study, the primary causes of the worldwide decline in insect biomass are land-use intensification in the form of greater utilization for agriculture and building development, climate change, and the spread of invasive animal species as a result of human trade.

The study concludes that it is not just these factors that are driving the global disappearance of insects, but also that these three factors are interacting with each other. For example, ecosystems that are deteriorated by humans are more susceptible to climate change and so are their insect communities. Similarly, invasive species can establish themselves more easily in habitats damaged by human land-use and displace native species. Many native insect species decline or go extinct while others – often invasive species – thrive and increase, leading to decreasing insect diversity. Warming temperatures are making many locations undesirable for various insect species and they often cannot migrate to anyplace better.

Declining insect populations and diversity results in concomitant declines in plant species that depend on pollinators. This in turn threatens the stability of entire ecosystems.

The researchers advocate for continued monitoring of insect diversity across many habitats and countries and propose the creation of a network of interconnected nature reserves such that species can move from one to another.

We often think of insects as pests, but they are a crucial part of the world’s ecosystems.

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The reasons why insect numbers are decreasing

Photo, posted April 17, 2011, courtesy of Dean Morley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Disease On Coral Reefs

February 19, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The warming oceans have led to bleaching events in coral reefs around the world, but bleaching is not the only problem corals face. Disease outbreaks are also becoming more frequent, severe, and widespread.

Many factors are contributing to the problem, including pollution and nitrogen runoff from fertilizers and coastal sewer and septic systems. However, the key culprit is likely the steadily increasing ocean temperatures, which are the cause of coral bleaching. Elevated water temperatures can cause coral polyps to expel the algae that sustains them and gives them color.

According to scientists, bleaching makes corals more susceptible to illness. In the Caribbean, a coral disease hotspot, about 80% of coral cover has disappeared, largely from outbreaks of “white band disease”, so called because of a white band of dead tissue that forms in affected corals. Two crucial reef-building species, elkhorn and staghorn coral, are now nearing extinction in the regions. The reef extending along the Florida coastline is the third largest reef ecosystem in the world and nearly 35% of it has been lost to disease.

Estimates are that disease outbreaks have wiped out at least 6% of the corals on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In that region, diseases are more prevalent in areas where corals were damaged by fishing and other human activity because wounded coral provides an entry point for pathogens and bacteria.

In the face of climate change and mounting disease outbreaks, scientists are scrambling for solutions to stave off catastrophe. Assisting the migration of hardier coral species and breeding so-called “super corals” are among the strategies being pursued. It is unknown whether these and other forms of intervention can be used on a wide enough scale to really make a difference.

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