[Peakoil] Fwd: BUGGER! Looming Worldwide Beer Shortage

[Alex Pollard]

Maybe an awareness campaign along these lines has potential:

"BEER NOT BIOFUELS"

Alex
O4O4873828

President
ACT Peak Oil Inc.
http://act-peakoil.org

------------- Forwarded message follows -------------



Another twist on Colin Campbell's half empty mug of beer  

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/effects-of-global-warming-beer-
shortage.php

Looming Worldwide Beer Shortage 
Another Effect of Global Warming
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 04.10.08

A perfect storm is brewing, coming together with the potential to
create a shortage in the world's beer supply. In addition to an
ongoing hops shortage, which we first reported last year, failed
barley crops are causing further concern in the beer brewing industry,
and we can chalk it up to the effects of global warming.

According to Jim Salinger, a climate scientist at New Zealand's
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, the warming
globe will likely cause a decline in the production of malting barley,
which, when combined with the scarcity of hops right now, stands to
have a profound and negative impact on the world's beer supply
starting now, and for decades to come.

"It will mean either there will be pubs without beer or the cost of
beer will go up," Salinger told the Institute of Brewing and
Distilling convention. Though Salinger spoke only of the direct
effects on Australia and New Zealand, similar effects could be
expected worldwide. He said climate change could cause a drop in beer
production within 30 years, especially in parts of Australia, as dry
areas become drier and water shortages worsen.

"It will provide a lot of challenges for the brewing industry," even
forcing breweries to look at new varieties of malt barley as a direct
result of climate change, Salinger said.

Yikes. Beer drinkers are already paying for it, in places like
Portland, Oregon, and beer brewers like the Boston Beer Company are
changing their brewing practices and even selling off some of their
hops to other small breweries.

Though there's been at least one case of global warming helping beer
production in a small (and kind of silly) way, the warming globe is
also negatively affecting whiskey production and could yield explosive
results elsewhere; in short, as Salinger said, “It’s already
happening and will get worse." So savor your next pint and read more
at ::Beverage World and the ::Daily Star

See also: ::German Biofuels Incentives Drive Up the Price of Beer,
::Microbreweries Hopping Mad Over Biofuels and ::Global Warming Beer:
Greenland Brews with Melting Ice Cap

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