It seems unlikely that humankind can halt or reverse the oncoming global heat wave and weather disruptions predicted by climate change models. So it’s time for Plan B.
The Peruvian potato breeding achievement is a good example of how organizations accept the inevitable and then take action to mitigate the negative impact of the heat wave.
The CIP-Matilde potato is Plan B in action. The potato breeders are preparing for the wave because they know it’s going to be a big one. Groups like the International Potato Center, Crop Trust and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources accept the future reality of a warmer planet and are bracing for it. They understand the necessity of Plan B.
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For decades our Plan A has been carbon reduction or elimination, a carbon-free Earth by mid-century.
Steven Koonin calls that “a practical impossibility.” Koonin is a theoretical physicist and professor at New York University and former undersecretary for science in the United States Energy Department.
His recent book is called Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t and Why It Matters.
“We understand the importance of contingency planning in other areas of our lives. It’s why we buy insurance.
“Given the enormous challenges of effectively reducing human emissions… it seems all but certain that our efforts to reduce emissions will be… overshadowed by adaptation to a changing climate.”
That’s why Plan B potato breeding projects like that in Peru may be the most important contributions to survival of the human race.
Troy Media columnist Pat Murphy sums it up saying, “humans have been adapting to climate change for millennia, often without any idea of what might be causing it. If climate change prognostications are right, we at least have the advantage of being forewarned and thus able to get a head start.
“It’s not enough for Canada, the United States and Europe to sign up and deliver. Everyone, the developing world included, has to do the same.
“We’re talking about wrenching decisions in a world where large numbers of people are still energy-deprived. Prohibiting the use of fossil fuels denies them access to the most affordable and reliable energy source.
“Adaptation, on the other hand, can be pursued without the need for global consensus.”
