The changing climate has had a big impact on the way we garden.
Today, people are no longer in denial about the advent of climate change and we now know that extreme weather events are the most here to stay and our politicians don't have the will to do what is necessary for humanity not to experience the likely life changing conditions that will be experienced by the entire globe. The impact of these events, such as flash flooding, warm winters in historically cold climes, and periods of drought, is likely to be compounded by increased housing pressure, meaning that gardens will become more critical in providing sustenance and services formerly delivered by the natural environment – services such as flood alleviation, carbon sequestration and the provision of habitats for wildlife – that is being lost to development.
The current global food shortages and pricing hikes highlights the importance of gardens in terms of their interaction with the natural environment and induces considerations on how gardeners can adapt to climate change needs through plant choice and garden design. The need for access to food in times when supply lines are threatened makes it essential gardeners find ways in which they can manage their garden to enhance carbon sequestration and flood alleviation. Higher average temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are causing plants to bloom earlier, creating unpredictable growing seasons. Plants have adapted over millennia to the conditions in which they grow. The abrupt differences due to changing climate forces plants to migrate or go extinct.
Increasing temperatures have brought about earlier bloom times for plants, creating a potential for timing mismatch between pollinators and plants. Pathogens and pests are often also more active in warmer temperatures. The extended growing season increases the pest populations’ ability to threaten the viability their target species. As many gardeners and backyard wildlife enthusiasts across the country have noticed, climate change is already having a significant impact on our backyard habitats but what do we do about it?
First of all we need to identify the lies our governments and big business want us to believe because no amount of recycling or going vegan or even changing lightbulbs will slow climate change. The only thing that will is to stop funding and using big oil, coal, and gas immediately. In fact the cost to provide free energy through solar wind and geothermal to the whole country for the next 100 years is less than the 1 year profit of one major oil company! the fact of the matter is many who get paid by us to legislate get paid more from dirty energy and would rather see the country engulfed in smog and your children suffer than lose those profits and million dollar perks from big oil!
Real world ways to solve the problem is very easy stop driving gas combustion vehicles and switch your home energy to 90 percent solar with battery storage!FYI 40% of all car sales in China are electric and China has the most advanced battery technology EVERYONE ELSE is far behind to their own detriment and the general public will suffer for it!
Volkswagon group is building two new mega battery factories in the USA but American companies with the exception of Tesla are miles behind the curve and their stock will soon show what adherence to old technology means in the marketplace.
Be that as it may for gardeners the solutions to our problems are as follows:
1.Removing invasive plants from your garden and choosing an array of native alternatives can minimize the threat of invasive species expansion. Native plants help to maintain important pollinator connections and ensure food sources for wildlife; nonnative plants can outcompete these important native species for habitat and food. Contact your local or state native plant society to find out what plants are native to your area.
2.There are a number of ways to reduce water consumption in your garden, which is particularly important during increased heat waves and droughts. These include mulching, installing rain barrels, adjusting your watering schedule, and using drip irrigation. Practices like mulching also provide nutrients to the soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers which take significant amounts of energy to produce. In poor areas around the globe fertilizer has been made from rotted citrus fruit culled from farms after picking season buried in a pit under loam for 6 months then retrieved as fertilizer. Sargasso seaweed can be soaked to remove salt dried and ground for use as fertilizer. Finally leaves soaked in watered down urine and left to compost for a year has been an effective fertilizer. But be sure to add plenty of carbon-rich materials, like dry leaves, sawdust, straw and cardboard. Thus the urine can act as a starter for a compost.
3.Trees can absorb and store as much as a ton of carbon pollution (CO2) from the atmosphere. If every one of America’s 85 million gardening households planted just one young shade, fruit or nut tree in their backyard or community, those trees would absorb more than 2 million tons of CO2 each year and add tons of free food annually to local communities. Trees planted near your home can also reduce energy used for cooling in the summer.
4.In addition to implementing solutions in your backyards and communities, gardeners can play an important role in moving America toward a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable future by contacting your elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels and urging them to implement a strong plan of action to combat climate change and safeguard people and wildlife from climate change impacts.
Contact your members of congress and let them know that you support policies and regulations that will curb climate change pollution and help wildlife and communities thrive.
Comments