In the twenty-first century, droughts have become more common and more prolonged in many areas around the world. Among other effects, droughts have a significant impact on the crops that feed us. This book explores the topics of drought and crop failure throughout history and in modern times. Through detailed photographs, sidebars, and Did You Know boxes, it presents a vivid overview of droughts and crop failure around the world, examines the causes of such events, and studies key people and organizations creating new technologies that battle droughts and crop failure. Finally, this book delves into the technologies themselves, exploring their usefulness today and considering how they might be improved upon in the future.

People around the globe are becoming increasingly aware that our use of the land has an effect on the environment in which we live. Global warming is seen as a major threat to the well-being of the world's communities. Fear abounds, but does anyone really know what is going on? Will human activity make things worse? In this 1994 book, the author examines the relationship between society and climate change. With contributions from colleagues in the worst hit areas of the world, the author shows how some patterns of land use can make the problems worse; increasing the risk of droughts and associated food shortages. This book will help scientists and researchers assess our impact on the planet and consider our ability to respond to the consequences of future environmental change.

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture worldwide. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture. The report complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.

Recognizing drought as a characteristic feature of the North American climate, the contributors to this volume seek to organize available evidence of both prehistoric and modern drought events and to provide information on the severity of droughts, especially those which have occurred since weather records have been kept. The impacts of modern-era droughts on production and the potential impact of future droughts on the productivity of North American agriculture are examined. The authors explore the effeats of past droughts on the social, cultural, and political life of the population; the possible effects of drought on today's energy- and techno logy-intensive society; and the ramifications of drought for the national economy. The social and political strategies that local, state, and federal governments may use to meliorate the effects of drought are also considered, as are some possible technological defenses against drought—weather modification, expanded irrigation, new techniques of water harvesting and storage, and new agronomic adaptations. Finally, the critical question of whether future droughts can be forecast is examined.

Summarizes the science of climate change and impacts on the United States, for the public and policymakers.