On 13/02/2012 3:56 PM, David Dyer-Bennet wrote:

>> Reduce tundra around what used to be the arctic, increase desert around
>> the equator. Not a large net change in amount of arable land. As usual
>> you are asserting that all change is bad without actually dealing with
>> the fact that change happens anyways. A shift in the location or arable
>> land is only bad to the folks near the edges of the growing deserts.
>> It's a good thing for folks at the northern edge who see their climates
>> improve.
>
> Except that there *isn't* much population in the tundra, for example.
> And hence there isn't much infrastructure -- roads, rail lines, and
> things relevant to commercial agriculture. Grain elevators. Equipment
> dealers and repair places.
>
> And I'm not at all sure that the tundra, with a warmer climate, is good
> agricultural land. Most of northern Minnesota, while far from tundra,
> is still not terribly good agricultural land. And, just incidentally,
> really heavily infested with lakes and rivers...which makes putting in
> the infrastructure to support commercial farming (roads and rail lines
> especially) MUCH more expensive.

I used to have a boss who was from northern Ontario and he had a
terrific description for most of northern Canada...... moose pasture. It
is rocky hills and marshland. Most of it sits on rock. Thanks to all
that water, by the time it warms up enough to take off a layer of
clothing you have to put it back on to protect you from the mosquitoes
and black flies who fly in swarms big enough to pick you up and carry
you away.

There are is a vast area over which there are no roads. It is not just
because there is nowhere to go. It is too expensive. they are going to
be blasting rock hills or putting in gravel fill for elevation and
drainage. Hence we use ice roads. Wait until the lakes and rivers
freeze up, which is about 3-4 months of the year. Jut about everything
that northern communities and construction or mining projects needs for
the year has to be shopped during the ice road season.