If you're a chocolate lover, this news may upset you terribly: according to some experts, chocolate as we know it could be a thing of the past. This could happen as early as 2050, they say! What could possibly cause something like this to occur? And why would chocolate disappear?
A news report suggests that by the year 2050, the cacao plant; the source of chocolate, could become extinct. The conditions required for the growth of the plant exist only in very narrow regions on either side of the equator, and even small changes in temperatures, humidity and so on could negatively impact cultivation.
Since the cacao plant is vulnerable even to slight changes in conditions, it could be susceptible to extinction. Rising temperatures, drier climate and increased incidence of fungal diseases could mean that chocolate may not be the thing we turn to for pleasure and comfort in just a few decades.
It used to be called global warming, but scientists have identified the problem to be much bigger. We have witnessed more extreme temperatures, increased incidents of flood or drought, rising sea levels, more severe storms and hurricanes. We now know that the impact of human activities is far more than mere warming of the earth.
Climate change deniers have their own self-serving arguments, but the scientific community agrees that human activities in the past hundred years or so have had catastrophic impacts on the earth.
One study has predicted that if temperatures rise just 2C above pre-industrial levels, about 30% of earth's surface could become arid. Incidents of drought and wildfires will increase, water supplies will run out and currently arable land will become parched.
You and I have seen how summers these days seem more severe than when we were kids. The shrinking of glaciers is measurable. Animal and plant ranges have shifted. Plants are flowering sooner.
The earth is hotter today by about 2.0 degrees F (about 1.1 degrees C) than it was largely because of increased CO2 in the air. We have experienced 16 of the 17 hottest years on record since 2001.
In the last century, global sea levels rose about 8 inches. The rate of increase of the past two decades, however, is double the rate of the last century. More global areas are inundated, storms are more severe and low-lying areas are particularly at risk.
Floods, droughts and violent cyclones have become more frequent and more destructive in recent times. The amount of damage to life and property as a result of these extreme events has also risen.
The increased acidification of the ocean means bleached and dying coral reefs, corrosion of shellfish, negative impacts on other marine organisms. This has a direct negative impact on tourism and industries such as fisheries.
As the climate continues to change, plant (other than cacao as well) and animal species will become extinct. Water sources will become polluted and shrink further, new diseases could emerge and more of the earth could become uninhabitable. Can the naysayers continue to deny the evidence that is staring them in the face?
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