Using GIS to Assess the Contribution of Farming Activities towards Climate Change in the State of Mississippi

The study uses primary data, descriptive statistics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and
correlation analysis to analyze the contributions of farming activities to climate change in Mississippi
between 1992 through 2002. This involved the assessment of methane emissions from rice cultivation
in the state of Mississippi as well as the relationship between the levels of methane gas concentration
and other variables associated with rice production. In highlighting the extent to which rice production
activities fuel climate change, the results of the study not only showed greenhouse gas emission
related rice production activities to be on the rise, but there is a relationship between methane
emissions and rice farming. The GIS analysis also points to a visible concentration of rice production
activities associated with methane emissions in the major counties of Bolivia, Sunflower and
Washington along the Northwest portion of the state. While this raises the threats of climate change
predictors in the area. To remedy the problems, the paper suggests five future lines of actions from
the need for education to the promotion of emission trading.