There’s no doubt about it, climate is changing, and we’re feeling it now, scientists warned in a recent report. But that’s not the worst part: the effects of human activities on the environment will have serious consequences on agriculture, land resources, as well as biodiversity and water resources.

The report, entitled “The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States,” found that as the process of climate change is already affecting the U.S., the effects will continue on long-term.

Among them, the economy will suffer from crop failures, which are likely to occur as temperatures increase and precipitations become insufficient; and reduced productivity of livestock and dairy animals, whose mortality rate will increase during hot summers.

Some crops, such as the tomato, onion and several types of fruits, are sensitive to climate change compared to grains and oilseed crops. Higher temperatures will decrease their productivity as well.

Furthermore, carbon dioxide is likely to affect forage plants, and consequently the productivity of livestock, which should give farmers and ranchers something to think about.

As temperatures rise, forest fires increase in number and intensity in the western and southwestern regions of the continent, and Alaska, insect outbreaks become more frequent and threaten crops, and tree mortality increases.

The list could continue forever, the problem is that every direct effect of the global warming triggers several effects which in turn trigger more effects and so on. It’s a chain reaction that threatens everything from land, to people and economy.

One element we will confront more often from now on is drought, which over the past century has increased in severity and duration. And as precipitations become scarce, there will be an overwhelming demand for water.

This should be a signal to create solutions to help mitigate the impact of climate changes on water resources, as water necessity also increases. An irrational use of the water supply will cause all reservoirs to run out, triggering a water crisis.

Rainfalls will suffer transformations not only in terms of quantity and variability, but also in terms of manageability, as they will come in high amounts, in short periods of time, and with devastating effects in some areas.

The report, which is the result of the collaboration between 38 authors from universities, national laboratories, non-governmental organizations and federal services across the country, highlights the necessity for land owners and resource managers to make the best decisions to address the risk of climate change, as Agriculture Chief Economist Joe Grauber said in a statement.

The objective of the report was to focus on the effects on climate change in the near future, for the next several decades, rather than on the entire century ahead of us.

The alarm signals have been raised, now it’s time to take action! There is an obvious necessity for all agencies to set up a plan to respond to climate change risks, and some of them have already began to do that.

Conservationists, scientists, and people have become increasingly aware that global warming is not just a theory, but something real, with severe consequences. We’re responsible for it, and therefore, we should do everything in our power to mitigate its effects.