Policy Wise

An interesting story illustrates how global warming can change economic fortunes,

Every four years or so, killing spring frosts hit Quebec, nearly obliterating the year’s harvest around St.-Jean Lake, while Down East Maine, some 563 kilometers, or 350 miles, southeast, reliably produced millions of kilograms a year for use in jams, pie fillings and muffins.

But temperatures are rising in Canada, and so, too, are the annual blueberry harvests – giving a whiff of how global warming could shift economic fortunes.

Killing spring frosts occur half as often now as in the 1950s, with the decline most noticeable in the last 20 years, and Quebec growers have gained the confidence to expand production to take advantage of skyrocketing worldwide demand. As a result, Maine blueberry producers are uneasy about competition from their northern neighbor – and their future.

“No question we are worried about Quebec,” said Ed Flanagan, president and chief executive of Jasper Wyman & Son in Milbridge, one of Maine’s largest blueberry producers. “It’s not clear yet if we are going to lose or win with climate change.”[link]