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Do increasing temperatures lower crop yields?

Willis Eschenbach
Watts Up With That?
Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:36 UTC
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Figure 1. Changes in global grain yields and global temperatures 1961-2011
Data Sources: FAO, BEST, Photo


I keep reading these claims that we're all going to starve because of global warming. People say it's going to be the death of agriculture, that increasing temperatures will cause significant drops in crop yields. Here's a typical bit of alarmism (emphasis mine):
A study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), indicates that climate change would hit developing countries the hardest, leading to massive decline in crop yields and production.
Whoa, a massive decline in crop yields due to increasing temperatures, sounds scary. So I thought I'd review the facts. Here is the global situation, showing the global yields of rice, corn, and wheat, along with the change in global temperature.
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Evil Rays

Dead robins found in Northeast Portland

Lynne Terry
The Oregonian
Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:45 UTC
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© Lynne Terry/The OregonianA few berry-studded bushes sit near the intersection of Northeast Russell and Rodney, where more than 30 dead robins have been found in recent days. The question is: Did they die of berry binge drinking?
The dead robins are back.

More than 30 carcasses have been found on the ground in Northeast Portland in the past week. Wildlife experts don't know for sure what killed them but one possible cause is a berry binge -- just like in February 2008.

That month, the carcasses of more than 50 American robins were found around Mount Tabor in Southeast Portland. When scientists opened them up, they found their bellies full of holly berries.

"They had gorged themselves on fermenting berries," said Bob Sallinger, conservation director at the Audubon Society of Portland.

The robins had died of alcohol poisoning.
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Cloud Lightning

2 dead after storms rake U.S. South, take aim at East

Kate Brumback
Yahoo News / Associated Press
Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:37 UTC
Kandi Cash trudged in rain through the splintered debris of her grandparents' home, hoping to salvage photos and other keepsakes after violent storms and tornadoes scoured the Southeast, leaving two people dead before the system advanced on the Northeast. The demolished home was one of many in the Georgia city of Adairsville splintered by a massive storm front as it punched across the Southeast on Wednesday and then headed across the densely populated Eastern seaboard on Thursday.
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© AP Photo/David GoldmanA vehicle lies on a road after a tornado moved through Adairsville, Ga. on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013. A fierce storm system that roared across northwest Georgia has left at least one person dead and a trail of damage that included demolished buildings in downtown Adairsville and vehicles overturned on Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta.
The vast storm front stretching on a slanting north-south arc for hundreds of miles shattered homes and businesses around the Midwest and South with tornadoes and high winds earlier in the week. By Thursday, it had spread power outages from the Carolinas to Connecticut, triggered flash floods and forced water rescues in areas outside Washington, D.C.

In the Northeast, utilities reported power outages affecting 74,000 users in Connecticut, nearly 25,000 others in Rhode Island and some 24,000 in upstate New York. Authorities in Rhode Island said gusting winds blew the roof off a building in Central Falls. A wind gust of 63 mph was recorded in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York as temperatures plunged with the cold air mass creeping up behind the front. Forecasters said snowfall was possible from the Great Lakes to the Northeast - some of it lake-effect snow.
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Bizarro Earth

Indonesia's Mount Lokon volcano shaken by double eruptions


The Extinction Protocol
Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:57 UTC
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Mount Lokon in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, erupted twice throughout Thursday (31/01/2013) afternoon. Head Volcano Observation Post Lokon and Mahawu, Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) Bandung Geological Agency, Ruskanda Farid Bina, said the first explosion occurred at 6:54 pm and was followed by a second explosion at 10:44 pm, and that was followed by a boom that sounded up to the settlements located around the crater.

"We could not observe the height of the eruption of dust because of the condition of the fog around the crater. At first eruption eruption dust altitude of about eight hundred yards," said Farid. He said the series of eruptions occurred after an increase in seismicity that occurred on Wednesday (30/1) at 22:54 pm. "Until now the status is still at alert level three," he said. - Inilah translated
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Bizarro Earth

Russian scientists voice concerns about dangers of a supervolcano erupting in Italy


The Extinction Protocol
Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:54 UTC
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It looks like we may be in for an earth-shattering explosion. A dormant super volcano appears to be stirring under the Phlegraen Fields of Naples in Italy. Rising soil temperatures and surface deformation in the area have alarmed seismologists. In the distant past, volcanic super eruptions caused global climate change responsible for mass extinctions of plant and animal species. So far, scientists are unable to model the potential consequences of an awakening supervolcano. Latest studies show that the Phlegraen Fields have actually been swelling above sea level at a rate of 3 cm per month. Micro quakes and large amounts of gases accumulated in soil indicate that the volcano may be preparing to erupt, says Vladimir Kiryanov, Assistant Professor of Geology at the St. Petersburg University.

"The Phlegraen Fields is a supervolcano. Yellowstone in the United States and Toba in Indonesia are also supervolcanoes capable of spewing more than 1,000 cubic km of magma. These are catastrophic eruptions. There was a huge volcanic eruption in the Phlegraen Fields some 30,000-40,000 years ago. Volcanic ash from that eruption is still found in the Mediterranean, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and even in Russia. We are now seeing the expansion of a magma pocket, which means that there might be an eruption at a certain time."
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.0 - 101km W of Craig, Alaska


US Geological Survey
Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:43 UTC
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© USGS
Event Time:
2013-01-31 09:53:43 UTC
2013-01-31 00:53:43 UTC-09:00 at epicenter

Location:
55.584°N 134.745°W depth=9.7km (6.0mi)

Nearby Cities:
101km (63mi) W of Craig, Alaska
303km (188mi) S of Juneau, Alaska
316km (196mi) WNW of Prince Rupert, Canada
409km (254mi) WNW of Terrace, Canada
571km (355mi) S of Whitehorse, Canada
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Ice Cube

Wikipedia climate fiddler William Connolley part of IPCC "short list" team?

Anthony Watts
Wattsupwiththat.com
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:00 UTC
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Apparently Mr. Connolley has edited 5428 Wikipedia articles, most about climate. Die Kalte Sonne:
Unbelievable but true: The Wikipedia umpire on Climate Change was a member of the UK Green Party and openly sympathized with the views of the controversial IPCC. So it was not a referee, but the 12th Man of the IPCC team.
I'm not sure how accurate the translation is, but it suggests he was somehow part of the IPCC "short list" team. See it here at Die Kalte Sonne via this Google Translate link.

With over 5000 articles he's edited, it makes you wonder if Mr. Connolley was employed by someone or some organization specifically for the task.

Comment: A 2009 report revealed that a British scientist and Wikipedia administrator rewrote climate history, editing more than 5,000 unique articles in the online encyclopedia to cover traces of a medieval warming period - something Climategate scientists saw as a major roadblock in the effort to spread the global warming message. Connolley, one man in the nine-member team who is a U.K. scientist, a software engineer and Green Party activist, took control of Wikipedia's entries to see that any trace of the true climate history would be erased.
Wikipedia History of climate gets 'erased' online

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Bizarro Earth

Earthquake Magnitude 6.2 - ENE of Lata, Solomon Islands


US Geological Survey
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:05 UTC
Solomon Quake_300113
© USGS
Event Time
2013-01-30 23:03:45 UTC
2013-01-31 10:03:45 UTC+11:00 at epicenter

Location

10.518°S 166.486°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)

Nearby Cities
74km (46mi) ENE of Lata, Solomon Islands
559km (347mi) N of Luganville, Vanuatu
726km (451mi) E of Honiara, Solomon Islands
822km (511mi) NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
1153km (716mi) N of We, New Caledonia
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Windsock

Tornadoes tear through four states in the U.S., killing at least two


Guardian
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:25 UTC
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© Photograph: Butch Dill/APResidents search through debris after a suspected tornado ripped Coble, Tennessee, destroying several homes and businesses.
Tornadoes were reported in Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee, an unusual development in January

Tornadoes ripped through four states on Tuesday night and Wednesday, killing at least two people, as an Arctic cold front clashed with warm air to produce severe weather over a wide swath of the nation.

Tornadoes were reported in Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee, an unusual development in January when the focus is more likely to be on snow and ice.

The National Weather Service said twisters touched down in Sardis, Mississippi, and heavily damaged homes in Solsberry, Indiana, wiping out power in the surrounding areas. Three twisters were confirmed in Tennessee and a possible tornado hit southeastern Arkansas.

In Georgia, a man was killed when a tornado hit his mobile home late Wednesday morning, said Bartow County administrator Pete Olson.

In north Nashville, a man died when a tree fell on his garage apartment, according to Jeremy Heidt, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.8 - 43km N of Vallenar, Chile


US Geological Survey
Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:55 UTC
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© USGS
Event Time:
2013-01-30 20:15:43 UTC
2013-01-30 17:15:43 UTC-03:00 at epicenter

Location:
28.181°S 70.800°W depth=45.7km (28.4mi)

Nearby Cities:
43km (27mi) N of Vallenar, Chile
101km (63mi) SSW of Copiapo, Chile
196km (122mi) NNE of La Serena, Chile
203km (126mi) NNE of Coquimbo, Chile
585km (364mi) N of Santiago, Chile
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