No More Coffee?

Do you think you could survive the rest of your life if you could never have coffee again? Well, this idea is still not going to be a problem in the near future, but there is a concern about the amount of coffee in the world and how it could affect all of us. In the news if you haven’t heard, there is a shortage of coffee beans being produced in South America.

What is causing this problem? Well as hard as it might be to believe this, it is because of climate change. The reason climate change is playing such a big role is because places in Brazil haven’t seen rain since December. For those who don’t know how coffee is grown, it requires a lot of water. A local farm in eastern Brazil is one of the many places that helps make up the world’s biggest coffee producing nation.

CHC Middle School English teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Sharp, was not aware of the problem. When asked how she would react if prices went up, she stated, “If prices doubled, I would not buy that anymore. I’m not a Starbucks person; instead, I like Keurig.”

Vincent Van Iwaarden, Class of 2017, stated, “If prices went up, I would just stop drinking it.”

Now for everyone, it might not be as easy as just hopping off the coffee train when prices start creeping up, but the idea of prices increasing is a real possibility. An October 2016 article from NPR claims, “Hotter weather and changes in rainfall patterns are projected to cut the area suitable for coffee in half by 2050” which will make the problem of the price that much closer to becoming a reality.

In addition, farmers are starting to say that they are leaving the business since there is not enough product to make a profit. With these alarming numbers still seen as the likelihood for the future of coffee, is there any way to prevent this problem from continuing in its downward spiral?

As of right now to fix this problem, it would mean to fix climate change and global warming, and since countries like the United States have been trying to do that for the past 50 years with some success, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will reverse our actions if it still even can be.

For all the coffee lovers out there, this topic might be one to keep up with and maybe start thinking about stocking up now.

To read more:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/12/497578413/coffee-and-climate-change-in-brazil-a-disaster-is-brewing

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/impacts-of-climate-on-coffee.html#.WAi6fBSAY1U