Climate Change Impacts: Agriculture and the Built Environment

OFFSITE EVENT: at the MV Agricultural Society hall.

The public will have an opportunity to learn about the developing climate that is bringing changes to our weather with serious implications for food production and for our coastal structures and infrastructure in the near future. The speaker will be Eric Walberg, the Senior Climate Services Program Leader at Manomet science center in Plymouth. Eric will discuss the likely changes to weather patterns and extremes that have serious implications for our farming community as well as the projected rising sea level, increased coastal storms and the risks that they pose to the built coastal environment. We have all seen reports of declining sea ice cover in the Arctic and the threat that condition poses to polar bear and Inuit alike. The warmer global temperatures are likely to impact farming with reduced water availability and increased drought frequency, new weeds and pests as well as the challenge of selecting crop varieties that can tolerate the changing seasonal weather that may bring a longer growing season but extreme summer heat with it. Perennial crops that need the winter insulation from snow may suffer from decreased snow cover as well as ice damage.

Extreme precipitation events have increased by 67% in New England during the last 50 years. That trend is expected to continue and with it, the frequency and severity of extreme summer heat will also increase. Higher sea level raises the threat to shoreline community’s roads and harbors from coastal storms due to storm surge and erosion of the shore. What should we expect and how can we prepare for the likely challenges?

In addition to the Conservation District, the program is sponsored by the Polly Hill Arboretum, the MV Agricultural Society and the Island Grown Initiative. It is free and open to the public.