Melting of the polar ice caps, hotter temperatures and extreme weather are just a few of the issues commonly associated with climate change.
Tim Rinne, Nebraska native and UNL alumni, says food insecurity is another effect of climate change that’s not often mentioned.
Rinne will talk about climate change and its impact on food security at tomorrow’s Lincoln Science Café. Rinne says those who live in the city consume food but don’t produce it.
He says we largely expect someone to bring food and magically put it on our shelves. But what if food doesn’t arrive?
Rinne says the farther you live from your food supply the more food insecure you are so he and his neighbors created the Hawley Hamlet.
"We really didn’t even know each other. We came together and found some ground. We had to tear up some of our lawns. We had to find some garden space that we could all start sharing in and ultimately, in our city block, we have carved out 6/10 of an acre of garden which is the equivalent of 65 yards of a football field. And we now have 20 families from in our block and across the street, annually producing food.”
Rinne says when you start growing food you start growing community. He now knows all of his neighbors and says food is amazing at breaking down barriers.
The Lincoln Science Café takes place tomorrow at 7 p.m. at VEGA in Lincoln.