Quote:
Originally Posted by cobraboy
When I was a kid, there used to be huge citrus groves, very old, and with huge support industries in North Central FL, around Ocala. But they are No more. Why? The frost line crept south throughout the 70's and 80's, killing them all.
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Not that climate science is defined by Florida's citrus industry, but when I was an adult, I read
this piece and figured out that the frost line did not 'creep south', but that freezes in the area is a relatively common occurrence. What did creep south, is the risk management of the growers. They prefer to establish groves where there is less of a risk, i.e, further south.
"While freezes of the severity of those of 1983, 1985 and December 1989 are extremely rare events, freezes of sufficient severity to damage fruit, blossoms and new growth and to kill trees planted in relatively risky 'cold pockets' are a rather common occurrence in much of Florida's traditional citrus-growing region. Since the beginning of the century, ca 50 freezes of varying intensities have been recorded in Florida's major commercial citrus areas (Florida Crop and Livestock Reporting Service undated, 1988)."
I agree that Time is pushing it with these provocative and fear-mongering type headlines. I guess journalistic standards have moved South as well.