CONTENTS
- Shortages of Arable Land
- Land Degradation
- Loss of Agricultural Land to Urbanization
- Water Shortages
- Irrigation Problems
- Collapsing Fishieries
- Disappearing Genetic Diversity
- Climate Change
- Overcoming Constraints
HIGHLIGHTS
Population Reports is published by the Population Information Program, Center for Communication Programs, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 111 Market Place, Suite 310, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012, USA
December, 1997
Scientists and journalists have focused attention on global warming, popularly called the "greenhouse effect." The scientific community generally accepts that heat-trapping gases mostly carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and methane have been building up in the lower atmosphere, trapping rising heat and causing temperatures on the earth's surface to rise (97). The projected effects of such climate change on agricultural production vary depending on the particular model used. Most models project a drop in corn production, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (119). Human activities are chiefly responsible for the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (124). The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere closely parallels the increased use of fossil fuels by a growing global population (33). If current trends in energy production and use continue, population growth alone will contribute half of the increase in carbon dioxide emissions between 1985 and 2025 (5).
International efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions often lead to disagreements between developing countries and developed countries over responsibility for causing such problems and for solving them (126). Unless emissions are eventually reduced, however, it is likely that the world's climate will continue to become warmer, with largely unknown but potentially serious effects on world food production (97).
 | The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere closely parallels the increased use of fossil fuels by a growing global population. Unless emissions are reduced, the world's climate could become warmer, with serious effects on world food production. |
