PRAIRIE VIEW, TX – Prairie View A&M University College of Agriculture and Human Sciences was honored to welcome Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Economics and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Bruce McCarl, Ph.D., to provide a lecture as part of our weekly Land Grant Seminar Series on Thursday, November 11.
Bruce McCarl, Ph.D.
Moderated by Ali Fares, Ph.D., McCarl discussed the rapidly changing climate and its impact on Texas agriculture. He provided evidence that the climate is indeed warming (greenhouse emissions are out of control and carbon dioxide and methane gas in the atmosphere are trapping heat), and humans are the main culprits for warming the atmosphere on the planet. This directly impacts production yields, revenues, and costs. It is also creating extreme weather events with a frequency that we have never seen before. According to McCarl, there have been three, 100-year floods within the last ten years.
McCarl also went over what he believes are three viable solutions to slow the effects of climate change and hopefully move towards a net zero emissions future. These include “effects and information,” altering growing conditions and productivity due to shifting climate shifts; “mitigation,” altering operations to reduce future extent by limiting drivers of climate change, and “adaptation,” altering management to reduce the impact of climate change. He believes adaptation is the more immediate relief for agriculture.
McCarl received his Bachelor of Science in Business Statistics from the University of Colorado and his Doctorate in Management Science from Pennsylvania State University. He worked at Purdue University and Oregon State University before joining the faculty at TAMU in 1985. He has authored over 300 scientific articles and was offered shared ownership of the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributing research on man-made climate change. He was recently named the SEC Professor of the Year from TAMU.
“I remember often citing Dr. McCarl’s work while earning my degree in Agriculture economics,” CAHS Dean and Director of Land Grant Programs Gerard D’Souza, Ph.D., said. “So, to say that I am excited to be able to welcome him here to give us a lecture on this critical issue is an understatement. We appreciate Dr. McCarl offering his time and energy to be here with us today.”
Pascale Mondesir
Communication Specialist
pamondesir@pvamu.edu