4 ms·

The article mentions that they've been in the business of cultivating and exporting avocados since the 1960s: "Continella's father started an avocado export en

by Udik 7y ago

The article mentions that they've been in the business of cultivating and exporting avocados since the 1960s: "Continella's father started an avocado export enterprise in the 1960s, when such crops were pretty much unheard of in Sicily. Now, their tropical garden is the biggest on the island, and home to towering green 50-year-old avocado trees." So yes, they could survive also before and they did. It's a bit strange to claim that thanks to the climate change of the past 40 years you've been growing avocados for the past 50.

LoSboccacc 7y ago
the rise in planted hectares comes from a rise in prices and ever more stringent production quotas on other produce from Europe.
- Udik 7y ago
  There's an avocado craze since years, and EU agricultural regulations determine how convenient is to cultivate something. But hey, "climate change". So much more interesting. Pet peeve of mine: "climate wars". Sometimes we (the West) have been arming and training rebel factions for years, or destabilised governments, or paid the corrupt ones to serve our interests. And if a war breaks out, hey, "it's climate change!"
  - benj111 7y ago
    While I don't disagree, climate change is relatively new, so to point to the Arab spring and the effect climate change potentially had on it is newsworthy, and deserves it's own treatment.
    - Udik 7y ago
      With all our meddling in the Middle East, I find it immoral to suggest that climate change might have a role in unrests and armed conflicts. It's a very easy scapegoat that absolves us from a tough questioning of our actions and purposes in the area. There are so many and so more obvious, or plausible, political factors entirely dependent from our will that to suggest it might be climate change's fault sounds like a bad joke.
      - benj111 7y ago
        The link as I understand it is climate change causing crop failures and push up the price of food. That sounds plausible. No conflict has a single cause, just a bunch of factors. It isn't about scapegoating, if you don't understand the cause how can you fix it. And it's not about morality either. Finding the causes of something is an amoral process. What you choose to do with that information can be informed by morality though.
        Udik 7y ago
        > climate change causing crop failures and push up the price of food. That sounds plausible. It has to be verified for each case. In the case of the Syrian civil conflict, many aren't convinced: https://theconversation.com/is-syria-really-a-climate-war-we-examined-the-links-between-drought-migration-and-conflict-80110 https://theconversation.com/is-syria-really-a-climate-war-we... But more in general, climate might act as a multiplier of existing weaknesses. A drought or a crop failure (and other climate related disasters such as floods) is something a healthy country can withstand without much trouble. A poor country, with bad infrastructures and planning, is going to be affected much more. But it's an astoundingly silly idea that of improving the situation by fixing the droughts- but leaving those countries as vulnerable and politically unstable as ever- as opposed to helping countries to become more politically stable, wealthy, with better planning and infrastructure. A few years ago a WHO report calculated in many hundreds of thousands the yearly victims of climate change. Digging in the report, it turned out that the number was calculated as such: diarrhoea statistically kills x% more people per year per each added degree in average temperatures- but only in very poor countries, where sanitation and public health systems are severely lacking. It follows that by fixing sanitation and health care in those countries, at a relatively modest expense, we could save many millions, climate change or not.
        benj111 7y ago
        "It has to be verified for each case. In the case of the Syrian civil conflict, many aren't convinced" Yeah fine, that's a debate to be had, it shouldn't be coloured by morality though. "But more in general, climate might act as a multiplier" That's a fair point. I think at some point they do have to take responsibility. I'm reminded of the rhyme 'for want of a nail' [1]. You can't ignore climate change any more than you can blame it all on the nail [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Want_of_a_Nail https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Want_of_a_Nail
jaclaz 7y ago
The article is not very clear, Passanisi is the "new guy", that started planting avocados in 2001, whilst Continella is his "mentor" (he is - unless there is an homonymy - an actual Professor at the University of Catania, seemingly specialized in cultivation of tropical or sub-tropical plants): http://www.di3a.unict.it/docenti/alberto.continella http://www.di3a.unict.it/docenti/alberto.continella and this latter's father started the avocado business in the '60s. Again, unless it is a case of homonymy, a relative (possibly the father) of the professor is (was) also a Professor at the University: https://www.freshplaza.it/article/100112/Prospettive-per-i-frutti-tropicali-In-Sicilia-sono-presenti-fin-dal-1957/ https://www.freshplaza.it/article/100112/Prospettive-per-i-f... They are all from the same small area (Giarre, near Catania) which actually has a very warm micro-climate (long before any possible measurable effects of climate change) though I believe it is border-line in winter due to the effect of snow on the Etna, it seems like Mr. Passanisi, besides the actual cultivation, is dedicated to the "brand" siciliaavocado.
Ensorceled 7y ago
The article is about switching to these crops now that it is too warm for traditional crops and even easier to grow tropicals, not that it's been impossible before now to grow these crops.

by Udik 7y ago

LoSboccacc 7y ago

the rise in planted hectares comes from a rise in prices and ever more stringent production quotas on other produce from Europe.

Udik 7y ago
There's an avocado craze since years, and EU agricultural regulations determine how convenient is to cultivate something. But hey, "climate change". So much more interesting. Pet peeve of mine: "climate wars". Sometimes we (the West) have been arming and training rebel factions for years, or destabilised governments, or paid the corrupt ones to serve our interests. And if a war breaks out, hey, "it's climate change!"
- benj111 7y ago
  While I don't disagree, climate change is relatively new, so to point to the Arab spring and the effect climate change potentially had on it is newsworthy, and deserves it's own treatment.
  - Udik 7y ago
    With all our meddling in the Middle East, I find it immoral to suggest that climate change might have a role in unrests and armed conflicts. It's a very easy scapegoat that absolves us from a tough questioning of our actions and purposes in the area. There are so many and so more obvious, or plausible, political factors entirely dependent from our will that to suggest it might be climate change's fault sounds like a bad joke.
    - benj111 7y ago
      The link as I understand it is climate change causing crop failures and push up the price of food. That sounds plausible. No conflict has a single cause, just a bunch of factors. It isn't about scapegoating, if you don't understand the cause how can you fix it. And it's not about morality either. Finding the causes of something is an amoral process. What you choose to do with that information can be informed by morality though.
      - Udik 7y ago
        > climate change causing crop failures and push up the price of food. That sounds plausible. It has to be verified for each case. In the case of the Syrian civil conflict, many aren't convinced: https://theconversation.com/is-syria-really-a-climate-war-we-examined-the-links-between-drought-migration-and-conflict-80110 https://theconversation.com/is-syria-really-a-climate-war-we... But more in general, climate might act as a multiplier of existing weaknesses. A drought or a crop failure (and other climate related disasters such as floods) is something a healthy country can withstand without much trouble. A poor country, with bad infrastructures and planning, is going to be affected much more. But it's an astoundingly silly idea that of improving the situation by fixing the droughts- but leaving those countries as vulnerable and politically unstable as ever- as opposed to helping countries to become more politically stable, wealthy, with better planning and infrastructure. A few years ago a WHO report calculated in many hundreds of thousands the yearly victims of climate change. Digging in the report, it turned out that the number was calculated as such: diarrhoea statistically kills x% more people per year per each added degree in average temperatures- but only in very poor countries, where sanitation and public health systems are severely lacking. It follows that by fixing sanitation and health care in those countries, at a relatively modest expense, we could save many millions, climate change or not.
        benj111 7y ago
        "It has to be verified for each case. In the case of the Syrian civil conflict, many aren't convinced" Yeah fine, that's a debate to be had, it shouldn't be coloured by morality though. "But more in general, climate might act as a multiplier" That's a fair point. I think at some point they do have to take responsibility. I'm reminded of the rhyme 'for want of a nail' [1]. You can't ignore climate change any more than you can blame it all on the nail [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Want_of_a_Nail https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Want_of_a_Nail

jaclaz 7y ago

The article is not very clear, Passanisi is the "new guy", that started planting avocados in 2001, whilst Continella is his "mentor" (he is - unless there is an homonymy - an actual Professor at the University of Catania, seemingly specialized in cultivation of tropical or sub-tropical plants): http://www.di3a.unict.it/docenti/alberto.continella http://www.di3a.unict.it/docenti/alberto.continella and this latter's father started the avocado business in the '60s. Again, unless it is a case of homonymy, a relative (possibly the father) of the professor is (was) also a Professor at the University: https://www.freshplaza.it/article/100112/Prospettive-per-i-frutti-tropicali-In-Sicilia-sono-presenti-fin-dal-1957/ https://www.freshplaza.it/article/100112/Prospettive-per-i-f... They are all from the same small area (Giarre, near Catania) which actually has a very warm micro-climate (long before any possible measurable effects of climate change) though I believe it is border-line in winter due to the effect of snow on the Etna, it seems like Mr. Passanisi, besides the actual cultivation, is dedicated to the "brand" siciliaavocado.

Ensorceled 7y ago

The article is about switching to these crops now that it is too warm for traditional crops and even easier to grow tropicals, not that it's been impossible before now to grow these crops.