Monday 15 October 2018

Climate Change and the Rate of Change of Climate





Change is the only constant. This axiom holds true for climate change as well.

There is no reason to be anxious with gradually changing climate. This has been the case on this planet since the origin of life. However, what should be of concern is the rate at which climate changes.

Consider Earth as a kettle of water with living organisms swimming in it. If the kettle starts warming to reach boiling point asymptotically in time, the life forms will adapt and evolve to survive in warmer waters. However, if the kettle starts warming to reach boiling point in a short span of time, the medium (water) will get sterilized. (Relate with the concept of pasteurization of milk).
  
This uni-directional rate of change and its dependence on economic indicators is the matter of concern. The latter makes it more difficult to find a solution. 

Solar Husbandry: An Innovative Crop Rotation System




Agriculture is not a lucrative activity today. But still, people continue with it only to get entangled more in debts. This behavior defys basic logic. Why do people take a loan to run into a loss

Counter arguments will include; they have been doing it for generations, farmers are feeding the world, what else can they do, etc. No doubt these are all true but does not answer the above question. 

But for the farmer, many others have profitable careers in the name of agriculture. That is the strange way, economics works. Economic force is different from the other physical forces of nature and does not obey the basic laws (of nature)! (compare it with laws of motion).

Perched in the lowest deck, the farmer is always at the receiveing end (!) In the higher decks, the market man winnows the heavier sparkles and leaves the chaff for the farmer. Conventional economic theory stops here (the pyramid). 

A finer look at the structure, reveals that there also exists a class of people who hover around the (pyramid) theme of agriculture, without ever getting their foot soiled or hands tainted. 

In order to make farming profitable, the decks must be inverted. However, the decks are highly related to the level of education. Hence it is important that farmers are highly educated (quality education). 

A lot of educated youngsters have turned to farming as a profession. None of them, to the best of my knowledge, are entangled in the vicious debt cycle. Education liberates them. It empowers them. The may be smart enough to think that ‘solar farming’ may be more rewarding than crop husbandry. Two seasons of crop husbandry and one season; solar husbandry!