Interesting article about how drought is affecting the forests:

http://www.takepart.com/articl...

Interesting article, Becky. It's hard to believe that there are still people who don't believe we're in danger from climate changes due to global warming. We may not like the message, but we shouldn't ignore it either.

Well, on another forum, I was informed the other day that I am now in zone 10a instead of 9b. Ha! Now if that doesn't signify global warming, then I don't know what does ..... for me at least. Guess I need to change the info on my posts?

Honestly, this is scary stuff. Climate change is happening faster than what the scientists and researchers thought it would. When people on this planet continue to practice deforestation, life as we know is going to be affected and it may be pretty drastic! :

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/f...

Mary and Becky, I remember well that sometime back in the 70's, climate scientists and the media, near and far, predicted that we were entering a mini-ice age. We certainly were in the midst of a cooling trend, just another climate cycle cycles that has gone on for millions of years. That's not to say that we are in a warming trend, which we seem to be.

Ken - There ARE cycles in weather and temps, but the deforestation of the planet is not a cycle. It's a disaster in the making! Which is probably why they keep sending space probes up to find another planet we could move to! I laugh because I won't be around to see it, but it really isn't funny for my children or grandchildren....

If people destroy what helps sustain our planet, then people will destroy themselves in the long run. Seems the stockholders are all about the short term profits, not long term repercussions. I love trees! Every time I see a large, noble tree being cut down ... I feel sick to my stomach.

beckygardener said:Well, on another forum, I was informed the other day that I am now in zone 10a instead of 9b. Ha! Now if that doesn't signify global warming, then I don't know what does ..... for me at least. Guess I need to change the info on my posts?

Honestly, this is scary stuff. Climate change is happening faster than what the scientists and researchers thought it would. When people on this planet continue to practice deforestation, life as we know is going to be affected and it may be pretty drastic! :

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/f...

Yes that is what worries me is my children and grand babies. Even if I was not sure it was true I still would prefer to error on the side of believing and trying to do what I can to prevent them from suffering in the event that it is true. For my child and grand babies I will do anything.

Forgive me, haven't read the article yet, but I will!
You'll be hard pressed to find many folks that like trees more than I do, but the fact is, they're losing!
They've been losing for about 5 million years... Thanks grass!
This won't change, were on the cusp of one of the fastest changes our earth has seen, we are a HUGE contributing factor ourselves, don't get me wrong... But change is enevitable.
If I understand correctly, we are actually in an ice age as we speak!
They work in cycles, 100000 years of frigid cold, 10000 years or realities warmth, we're currently coming to the end of a period of relative warmth. At the end of the warm cycles, the ice ages either return to frigid, or the ice age breaks.
Personally I think it's safe to say that humans have insured that the ice age is over!
There's good news (not for us of course!)though!
It really doesn't matter!
Life will persist, just as it has for all these eons!
It's all very natural, just the same as a birds nest is natural, so is everything we do!
Fret for your children ( and mine) if you like( I do), and all the species that will perish, just know that the end of our miserable existence here won't mean much for Mother Earth, she's lived through much harsher times than we can dish out!
Grass alone has lead to the extinction of tens of thousands of species in the past 5 million years, it's also given rise to many as well.

Rest his soul George Carlin said it best...... I have removed the bad words but... He said....."The planet isn't going anywhere. WE are!"

I love it as Carlin said "We are the mistake" because we think the earth will be here and we will be able to live on it when we can no longer breath, and the soil is so depleted we cannot grow anything to eat. But we think everything will be okay. We do not need to breath or eat because the planet is still here.

This is his skit............
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles … hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages … And we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isn't going anywhere. WE are!

We're going away. Pack your s???, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Maybe a little Styrofoam … The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas.

I loved George Carlin, too! He GOT IT! He was an observer and a thinker. He would stand back and watch what was really going on and then use it in his comedy act. He educated us using humor!

Yes I miss his brand of humor. IMO The closest now is Jon Stewart.

Have no fear the planet will be here but man as we know are the next dinosaur. We can get to packing.

I would have to agree that Jon Stewart does the same by educating us and making us really think with his humor, too!

More trees need to be planted to help balance out the destruction humans are doing to the earth! That would probably help with the climate warming issue. Here in the USA we have the fairly new TAP financial aid:
http://www.farmanddairy.com/co...

In Florida, the citrus industry has been ravaged by "greening" disease. Many grove owners are considering the TAP funding which the state hopes will help remove abandoned citrus groves that are harboring this disease:

http://southeastfarmpress.com/...

There is an abandoned citrus grove just a few blocks from my home. I hope they remove those trees and do something worthwhile with that land. I would plant a citrus tree in my own yard, but with all those diseased trees nearby, it is pointless. Once those trees are removed, I would love to plant a navel orange tree in my yard.

The destruction of vast areas of forest around the world is surely causing some acceleration in global warming?

My area was changed from 5a to 6a. -20 to -10. Now nurseries are selling plants for the warmer zone. Last winter we had several days at -20sF and 2 dates @ -25F. Lots of people are frustrated that their new plants died. I'm sticking with zone 5.

We can hope that this climate warming goes back to what we know as "normal". Not sure when that might happen if it ever does? The drought conditions are what worry me the most. Very few living things can survive severe drought .... just look at the Sahara desert. I hope California doesn't become desert!

I am doing my part in the tree area. I have about 100 trees on my property. I had to drop 11 of them about 3 yrs ago because they were dying and to close to the house to risk them falling on the house. They were 40 yrs old and at least 50' tall.

I try to recycle the styrofoam packing from TV and Appliance deliveries, I make flower pots out of them keeping them out of the landfill.

I make metal flowers for garden decor from the aluminum cans.

I know from all the garbage I still generate it is only a small donation toward saving the planet but if everyone just do a little it will be like saving pennies adding up to make thousands of dollars.

I'm sure that land will be "reclaimed"
Planted with row after row of seed from a certain group of corporations, then sprayed excessively with chems, from that same gang... Careful what you wish for!!!

I used to fear that Kentucky was turning into a desert, drought seems all too common anymore, extreme weather all round has increased here, no doubt of that! Surprisingly though, the NWS predicts INCREASED rainfall over the next 50 years and beyond for the eastern U.S., that sounds good! Right?
I'm 6th generation farmer and rancher on the same 100 acres, my grandfather was the forth, and he had a saying that seemed doubious...
Drought will worry a farmer to death, but too much rain will starve us all to death! Boy was he right!
We had a spell of rain here this year, in 23 days, we had 5 that were dry, and 3 that the sun shined... And you know what? Every single crop we grow...perished!
2000 row foot of beans... Rotted at the base, 1200 tomato plants... Yielded 2 golf ball sized fruits... 2 acres of melons... We can't even find where they were!
Of course with warm wet conditions, weeds germinated like crazy, it's a jungle... A fruitless jungle!

We'd better start learning to adjust, or we'll starve before can even pack our bags!

Swayback - Oh my! I am so sorry to hear about your crop loss. That's terrible. I can't seem to grow edibles here because of the pests and diseases. You are right ... we could all starve to death if we have too many bad years. I had not heard of that saying before "Drought will worry a farmer to death, but too much rain will starve us all to death!" So true!

Swayback I love your grandfather's analogy.

Sorry your crop was taken down that is awful. It explains why the price of melons are eight dollars this year. I have never seen them this expensive.

A few bad years?!?
Lol
We as a nation are one serious crop failure away from total breakdown!

What would happen if you went to the store, and couldn't get a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, or a pound of ground beef?

There used to be enough grain in the national grain storage system to feed folks for 5-7 years, sure it would just be a loaf of bread a day, but that would get us by... I haven't heard how low it is now, but it was well under a year... Only a few weeks last I heard, that info has been impossible for me to find as of late.

Honestly, I'm scared!

Farmers are well aware of the danger. Us city folks think grocery stores grow food in the back room. The grocery store stays at a perfect temp to grow all that food we drop in to buy. There is endless fields of food in the back room of them grocery store. Climate change does not effect us at all.

Well we are a nation of ostriches, hide our heads in the sand..... or should I say future dinosaurs. They were supposedly dumb animals we are suppose to be smart.

The dinosaurs did not know the earth would flick them off it's back like a flea by starving them to death. We are educated and suppose to be able to understand no food we die. Pack your stuff folks the planet is flicking us off.