This story is a great example of how not to write a science story. The headline calls out global warming as causal, but never quantifies any of the change that is leading to the decline in production. Plants like higher concentrations of CO2, so the piece says its getting too hot. Too hot for the plant--how hot is that? Or is it, I believe more likely, a drought? That often turns out to be cyclic (note the El Nino reference), like our current problem in the US, and not a trend. Most of the story is about other-than-science. Markets, for example, which reminds me of similar stories that come along regularly about coffee--it's always a crisis that seems to lead to higher prices. I suspect that if demand stays high, someone will figure out how to grow cocoa somewhere else (as indicated). Finally, I see social justice themes, fair trade themes, leftover effects of colonialism themes, a possibly emergent drug threat, etc, etc. I like chocolate as much as anyone, but this story is empty of science. Unfortunately, it continues a trend for SciAm, which has become a much more political and less hard science oriented magazine. It's worth noting that Climatewire, the story source, tags its site with "The Politics and Business of Climate Change." Sorry to run on, but this is science?
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This story is a great example of how not to write a science story. The headline calls out global warming as causal, but never quantifies any of the change that is leading to the decline in production. Plants like higher concentrations of CO2, so the piece says its getting too hot. Too hot for the plant--how hot is that? Or is it, I believe more likely, a drought? That often turns out to be cyclic (note the El Nino reference), like our current problem in the US, and not a trend. Most of the story is about other-than-science. Markets, for example, which reminds me of similar stories that come along regularly about coffee--it's always a crisis that seems to lead to higher prices. I suspect that if demand stays high, someone will figure out how to grow cocoa somewhere else (as indicated). Finally, I see social justice themes, fair trade themes, leftover effects of colonialism themes, a possibly emergent drug threat, etc, etc. I like chocolate as much as anyone, but this story is empty of science. Unfortunately, it continues a trend for SciAm, which has become a much more political and less hard science oriented magazine. It's worth noting that Climatewire, the story source, tags its site with "The Politics and Business of Climate Change." Sorry to run on, but this is science?
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