Over the course of the 1990s, the number of starving individuals in the world actually went down. Through that unbelievable period of prosperity, many people got out of poverty and onto lives that gave them the ability to feed themselves and their families.
Sadly, all that progress may be lost in the coming decades. Currently, about one billion people in the world are hungry. That comes to about one out of six people on Earth. However, by 2100, the number of hungry people will be one in two, with as much as five billion people starving. Obviously, this is a serious problem that needs to be remedied before it is too late.
Why is this happening? Why the sudden loss in progress over the next nine decades? There is only one answer and it is global warming.
According to a new report, if things are not done now to adapt to rising global temperatures, which are nearly assured even if we cut out CO2 emissions now, half the world will be facing food shortages by 2100. This is because the rising temperatures will effect both crop yields and how much water falls to fill supplies. Places like the American Midwest and other large farming areas could find themselves suffering through droughts that are worse than anything Australia is suffering through right now. With those droughts, less food will be produced and more people will go hungry.
It is estimated that crop yields could be cut by as much as 40 percent by 2100, especially in mid and equatorial latitudes. Crops like corn in the tropics will be severely effected. A great example of what the future may hold in store for us is the massive heat wave that hit France in 2003, which cut yields by 33 percent. This type of heat wave will become commonplace by 2100, causing many people to go hungry and possibly drastically cutting down the population of the human race.
It seems there is nothing but bad news with global warming these days. One thing is certain, the 21st century will be very different from the 20th century and could be the downfall of our species, or a new age of enlightenment based on the decisions we make now.
