GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) Agriculture is an asset to the Western Slope's economy, way of life, and labor force and tonight an expert in the field shared his climate change concerns at Colorado Mesa University.
Horticulturist, Dr. Curtis Swift spoke at the University’s series of lectures on global climate change, saying the rise in the earth's temperature will directly affect our farmers, by losing many plant species that won't be able to adapt to the change.
According to Swift some mountain communities may become extinct as the climate gets warmer.
Swift feels climate change concerns everyone and it may attribute to recent conflict in Syria.
"Being in a war basically because of the climate change because people could not grow out in the country and they moved into the cities and that's where all the trouble started," said Swift.
Swift makes the point that climate affects people's moods and he says the main thing the community can do is educate themselves on climate change.
CMU’s Fall Seminar Series, Natural Resources of the West: Global Change, is free and open to the public. The lectures are every Monday at the campus. For details and the presentation schedule, click on the link attached to this story.