Another Reason to Hate Global Warming: Lousy Coffee

[marmar]

Another Reason to Hate Global Warming: Lousy Coffee
By Caroline Winter on November 15, 2012


(Bloomberg Businessweek) Is the world’s coffee supply threatened by global warming? A recently published scientific study concludes that as much as 99.7 percent of wild Arabica coffee—the bean that accounts for 70 percent of the global market—may fall victim to rising temperatures by 2080. Farmers will still be able to cultivate Arabica coffee—at least for a while—but the bean’s genetic pool will be severely reduced.

The study, conducted by scientists at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, in collaboration with Ethiopia’s Environment and Coffee Forum, focuses primarily on Ethiopia, considered to be the birthplace of coffee. Temperatures there have been going up by an average of almost 0.3 degrees per decade since 1960, according to Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens and one of the study’s authors. Soon, he says, ancient Arabica plants may not be able to survive. “It doesn’t take a scientist to realize: Hang on a minute, if coffee can only produce a good crop in a sort of 4 to 5 degree range, [steadily rising temperatures] could have a significant impact,” he says. The optimal temperature range for growing Arabica is 18C to 21C (64F to 70F).

The Kew study shows that wild Arabica beans in South Sudan and Kenya, which exist in smaller numbers than in Ethiopia, will also be impacted. In fact, Davis says the plants in South Sudan, which have been around for thousands of years, may be gone “in the next 10 to 20 years.”

In recent days, some alarmist news articles have interpreted the Kew study to mean devastation for all the world’s coffee beans, as well as the imminent extinction of all lattes and cappuccinos. Davis is careful to point out that this is not the case. Farmers around the world will likely find ways to keep growing the strains of Arabica they already have. What’s at stake is Ethiopia’s wild Arabica, which Davis says is home to anywhere from 80 percent to 98.8 percent of the species’s gene pool. Preserving and transplanting those wild Arabica strains to other locales in mass quantities would be no small task. .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-15/the-coffee-beans-endangered-gene-pool

[HopeHoops]

1. I don't drink coffee anymore, but I used to do 2+ pots (yes, pots) per day.

It was the basic office coffee crap, but I would drink it all day and night. And yes, 24 hour shifts weren't uncommon (my choice - couldn't stop doing that "one last compile&quot . As long as the spoon didn't stand up in the cup, it was drinkable.

[hobbit709]

2. Grow at higher altitude will lower temps.