Central Oklahoma Climate Change Impacts

Central Oklahoma Climate Change  Impacts

Shahbaz Khan

Amberlee Nicoulin Clark

Introduction to Environmental Science

CRN:10503

3/5/2017

Due: 4/13/17

        Oklahoma is a very geographically diverse south central U.S State.  The landscape includes the great plains, hills, lakes, and forests. The plains of Oklahoma produce lots of wheat, hay, cotton and peanuts.  Oil, natural gas, and different minerals have made Oklahoma a rich state. This state is very prone to natural disasters like tornados due to being in the center of tornado alley.  Many of the towns have storm shelters, tornado sirens, and media coverage of weather is always a top priority. The large amount of tornados every year can contribute to the states low population of almost four million, making it the 28th most populated state. In the 1930s during the great depression Oklahoma suffered from droughts, and high winds which destroyed large majority of farms and is now referred to the Dust bowl. The recurring severe weather wrecked havoc on farm, killed farm animals, and drove more than 60 percent of the population to leave the state.  This was a terrible event and its possible if there was a sudden increase of global temperatures that the dust bowl could happen again but at a much larger, deadlier scale.  The local community in Oklahoma depends heavily on farming  and gets its water from a reservoir for crop irrigation and livestock watering. The population of this community is only 2000 and the town is 100 miles from the nearest urban center. In a 25-50 year period if global temperatures rose it would make the majority of Oklahoma a very dangerous due to the rise of natural disasters, and it would be near impossible to grow food or get water so living there would be very challenging.

        In the coming decades global temperatures will rise, drastically changing temperature and precipitation patterns all over Oklahoma. The climate is changing because carbon dioxide in the air has increased by 40% and other heat trapping greenhouse gases are becoming more present in the atmosphere. Evaporation increases as the atmosphere warms, increasing humidity and rainfall in many places, but also contributes to droughts. The demand for water will grow as the temperature rises but water will less available in central Oklahoma.  Decreased amounts of rainfall are likely to reduce the average flow of rivers and streams. The effects of decreased water flows can cause problems for navigation, recreation, public water supplies, and electric power generation. Water levels in lakes and reservoirs will decrease which will make fishing harder and reduce hydroelectric power generation. All of the environmental changes observed in the last 150 years have resulted from a 2 degree global temperature rise. Temperatures in the southern Great Plains are predicted to increase another 3 to 9 degrees by 2100.

        The global temperature increase will severely impact Oklahoma's food supply and change the crop yields. Hot weather can cause cows and other animals to eat less and grow slowly which will negatively affect their health. Reduced water availability will cause problems for farmers who irrigate crops. It is likely that yields will be down fifty percent in the fields that can no longer be irrigated.  The opposite can happen in places that get heavy rainfall. The more water will cause nutrient runoff and erosion which makes the quality of the crops and soil worse. Warmer temperatures can lengthen the growing season, but in the summer precipitation will be low so plants will be more vulnerable to drought conditions. Warm winters are also starting to occur in Oklahoma. This can cause insects and invasive weeds to live longer and have more time to damage crops. Besides crops, livestock production is important in Oklahoma. When the temperature rises, it stresses animals out which results in a decline of meat, milk, and egg production. Drought and the increased need for water are already effecting the livestock industry. Oklahoma needs to reduce the amount of livestock production and water usage in its regions in order to stop decrease shortages in water, food, and crops as the climate change impacts continue to happen.