tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post1754470557520786069..comments2024-03-04T05:51:28.885-08:00Comments on Applied Mythology: The Livelihood of Small Coffee Growers Is Threatened By A Plant DiseaseSteve Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04408822620071396633noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-42132396358363298532013-04-17T11:12:02.272-07:002013-04-17T11:12:02.272-07:00Anonymous,
First of all, I'm not a "libe...Anonymous,<br /><br />First of all, I'm not a "liberal environmentalist" and an usually on the opposite side from them on science issues with regard to pesticides and GMOs.<br /><br />The historic destruction of the coffee industries in Asia in the 1800s was a classic case where a crop was moved from its center of origin (in this case Ethiopia) but for a time, the rust pathogen was not present. The same thing happened with potatoes when they were brought from Peru to Europe in the 1500s. Eventually the pathogen gets to the new growing area where in both of these cases, the normal weather was very conducive to the disease. <br /><br />The reason I said that the current situation in the Americas was "probably due to climate change" is that we only really get to know when we can look back over decades. Of course these small farmers will either make it or not long before we know that. You are probably in a situation where the question is strictly academic. For them it is about having enough income to feed their family.Steve Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04408822620071396633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4541703279082624205.post-76915725813760716712013-04-17T10:49:12.402-07:002013-04-17T10:49:12.402-07:00"Recently these regions have experienced heav..."Recently these regions have experienced heavier rainfall. This is probably due to climate change . . ."<br /><br />"This disease has a long history of disrupting coffee production around the world. One reason the English drink tea is that the Ceylonese and Javan coffee plantations which once supplied them were devastated by this same fungus in the late 1800s."<br /><br />Q: So, was 'climate change' responsible for the heavy rainfall that brought on the fungus devastation in the late 1800s?<br /><br />Liberal environmentalists . . . they just can't help themselves, can they.<br /> <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com