Report Warns of Food Scarcity and Civil Conflict Due to Climate Change

Climate change is threatening life and livelihood across the planet according to a new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The latest in a series of reports from the U.N. panel, this is the first time the panel calls for adaptation to climate change and points to ways to prepare for the massive changes coming, including protecting against sea level rise, increasing crop yields, and beefing up disaster response. We’ll discuss the report with a few of its authors.

Here's the email that Michael wanted to read at the end of this show. We ran out of time, so we thought we would post it here.

Joseph wrote:

"Perhaps it's not quite seasonal, but I'm reminded of these lines that Scrooge speaks to the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come:

'Are these the shadows of the things that will be or are they shadows of things that may be, only? Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead, but if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it thus with what you show me!'

It's not unreasonable for the report to say 'here is the future that is in store for you, if you continue on the same course.' Would that life would imitate art in this case. It's true that our human ingenuity might save us, but not if we don't use it, both to conserve and to adapt."

• More: The IPCC Working Group II report
• More: Climate Change Projections for California’s Bay-Delta System (USGS.com)