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. 2016 Jan 12;113(2):298-303.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1506494113. Epub 2015 Dec 28.

Climate challenges, vulnerabilities, and food security

Margaret C Nelson  1 , Scott E Ingram  2 , Andrew J Dugmore  3 , Richard Streeter  4 , Matthew A Peeples  5 , Thomas H McGovern  6 , Michelle Hegmon  5 , Jette Arneborg  7 , Keith W Kintigh  5 , Seth Brewington  6 , Katherine A Spielmann  5 , Ian A Simpson  8 , Colleen Strawhacker  9 , Laura E L Comeau  10 , Andrea Torvinen  5 , Christian K Madsen  7 , George Hambrecht  11 , Konrad Smiarowski  6
Affiliations

Climate challenges, vulnerabilities, and food security

Margaret C Nelson et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

This paper identifies rare climate challenges in the long-term history of seven areas, three in the subpolar North Atlantic Islands and four in the arid-to-semiarid deserts of the US Southwest. For each case, the vulnerability to food shortage before the climate challenge is quantified based on eight variables encompassing both environmental and social domains. These data are used to evaluate the relationship between the "weight" of vulnerability before a climate challenge and the nature of social change and food security following a challenge. The outcome of this work is directly applicable to debates about disaster management policy.

Keywords: climate challenge; disaster management; history; prehistory; vulnerability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Social changes and food conditions following climate challenges.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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