What fruits can teach us about global warming

January 12, 2008

By Kim Ji-tae,
Director-General, Public Information Office
Ministry of Environment

Apples from Daegu, pears from Naju, green tea from Boseong and tangerines from Jeju-do (Jeju Island). That is the kind of rhyme I had to memorize on the specialties of each province in Korea during my school days. Beef from Hoengseong, squid from Ulleung-do (Ulleung Island)… the rhyme would go on. At the time, the very name of the region was a premium brand in itself.

Not anymore. The growing of apples that can be raised only in places with high temperature differences day and night like Daegu is moving to Gangwon-do, a province located further to the north. Tangerines of different flavors that used to be raised on Jeju alone are now found in Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang Province) and Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province).

Even pineapples, kiwi, guava and mango, the so-called exotic fruits from abroad, are now competing with those produced at home. And this is evidence of what we call global warming.

Korea’s temperature rises 1.5 degree Celsius

The Greenhouse EffectAccording to the fourth report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February last year, the average temperature of the Korean Peninsula rose 1.5 degrees Celsius over the past 100 years. That’s nearly double the global average of 0.76 degrees Celsius. The rise is attributed to rapid industrialization since the 1960s and the ensuing production of carbon dioxide at unprecedented speed.

But here is the real problem. Global warming goes beyond a few rises in temperature. It not only influences the production of fruit and crops but also the entire ecosystem, public health and the economy.

First of all, the four colorful seasons of Korea are slowly losing their distinctions. Summer is getting longer, turning into more subtropical weather. The result is a shorter winter and along with it, fierce and freezing cold. For the first time in 15 years last winter, no part of the Hangang (Han River) flowing through the capital of Seoul froze.

Bamboo trees that had been seen only in subtropical areas like Damyang have now reached Seoul. White pine, red pine and oak trees that grew in temperate climates are suffering from harmful insects that are usually found in subtropical areas.

Changes in the ecosystem below the sea have also been detected. A professor at Cheju National University studying global warming and super hurricanes said sea temperatures have risen 0.02 degrees Celsius a year since the 1970s. This has led to the decline of cold-current fish like the Alaskan pollack, codfish and herring, giving way to warm current fishes like mackerel.

Hot pollack soup from the East Sea that Koreans traditionally drink to get over a hangover will be no more, as well as other similar types that thrived in cold water. Sea warming also brings out red tides and whitening effects around the area. Poisonous jellyfish threaten beach lovers in summer and fish farms stand to suffer massive losses.

Global warming: a manmade disaster

Global warming also puts human health at risk. The Korea Environment Institute said in its 2005 report that over the past decade, 2,127 people died of excessive heat, which is twice the number of people dead or missing from floods or other natural disasters. Excessive heat triggers heart and respiratory disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, especially in cities seeing more heat then average. The number of malaria patients also jumped more than 400-fold from just five in 1994 to 2,051 in 2006.

Global warming is a manmade disaster. It is the price we pay for reckless development through massive production and consumption defying Mother Nature. The damage caused by hurricanes, floods, drought and other natural disasters used to cost around an average of 10 billion won in back in the 1960s. The cost now is 2.7 trillion won a year and excludes additional damage to crop production.

Heavy rain and forest fires have caused massive damage to tourist spots. Lack of snow has forced ski resorts to close faster and lose business to overseas rivals. The long summer has caused more people to crank up their air conditioners, further fanning global warming. Given that Korea imports 97 percent of its energy from overseas, the waste of energy and oil is bad for the economy overall.

The Korea Institute of Energy Research said average energy consumption per person doubled from 2.151 TOE in 1990 to 4.272 TOE in 2002. If this keeps up, climate change will pick up speed and make extinct beloved amphibian species such as small frogs and tortoises within a decade. The fish Koreans present for ancestral rites will change and Namsan (Mount Nam) will turn into a tropical garden. Summer floods will be replaced by wet and dry seasons. Korea will suffer from more and more hurricanes.

Global efforts for climate change

At the U.N. Climate Change Conference for 2007 in Bali, Indonesia, the 13th Conference of Parties adopted the Bali Roadmap that officially required developed and developing nations to take responsibility for reducing greenhouse gases from 2012.

The Korean government has decided on a fourth round of comprehensive measures for climate change until 2012 that comes with the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol. The specific target for reduction will be decided by next year.

The consequences of global warming will affect everyone on earth – not just a distant island in the South Pacific like Tuvalu, which many say is sinking little by little. Words and no action could also lead the Korean Peninsula to a similar fate. Helping the earth regain its original temperature should be a way of life for all of us.