Rise in Temps Will Ruin Wine
Have a hard time connecting with devastating floods, hurricanes, drought, and famines caused by global warming? Maybe it's just too depressing and overwhelming to think about. Maybe it seems to far away and too abstract, though I think Katrina and other events make that an increasingly difficult position to maintain. Maybe global warming is just "Too Inconvenient." As you may know by now I feel very passionately about this issue, but I am not here to judge, if your temperature has still not risen over it.
Not being able to enjoy a nice glass of wine will be way too inconvenient for me, that is for sure. Before Al Gore's movie reminded me that he has been talking about this issue for decades, I was thinking that this issue seemed fairly new to the table. I read this article and it jogged my memory that I was not only learning about global warming back in college, but dare I say, a bit of a canary in a coal mine on this connection of wine and global warming.
Ok, let me take you back. The year is 1996, I am a sophomore in college. I was taking a class called "The Changing Surface of the Earth" translation: geology. Translation: what many term a gut class, the easiest science class that was being offered that semester. I did and do pride myself on being a good pupil, I studied hard and certainly did not shy away from challenging classes, but when it came to math and science that was a whole different story. As far as math, I was part of an embarrassingly small group of incoming freshman who flunked the QRR (quantitative reasoning requirement) the class was essentially me, members of the hockey and football team (not a stereotype, just a statement of fact), and those who simply did not show for the test to pass out of it. I showed up, three times to be exact -apparently "Advanced Topics in Mathematics", the remedial math class I took senior year in high school, did not prepare me.
Anyway, I studied for the midterm and arrived ready but nervous, since I have always choked when it comes to science. I was cruising along in the short answer section and two short essays, then I got to the main essay. I don't remember the exact phrasing of the question, but it was something about El Nino, remember when that was in the news all the time?
I blanked. I blankly stared ahead trying to recall what I had read and the only thing that seemed to come to me was some article I had recently read waiting for someone in a hotel lobby the week before. I think it was Cigar Aficionado or something. Strange choice of reading considering I detest cigars and smoking of any kind, have never had a puff in my life. (In fact, my only hard and fast dating rule: no smokers need apply!)
The article was about the effects El Nino was going to have on Australian and New Zealand wine. Positive effects because of what, I don't recall. Who knows if that is true, but I do notice I love whites from New Zealand and shirazes from Australia. Armed with this recall I proceeded to write an entire essay summarizing the article and giving tons of specifics on the causes. I have to say I was pretty happy with myself and decided I had pulled off a major coup. Subscribing to my college theory of "you don't have to answer the question, just answer the one you want to and force it in". Incidentally, I still employ that at times while on TV being asked about some silly political fight of the day, so I can discuss issues I know Citizen Hunters care about.
Well the professor did not agree with my creativity, nor my theory on essay questions. I received a C for my efforts along with some choice comments. It took much work to drag myself to a B+ for the class. Anyway, I digress, back to the crisis at hand.
Wine grapes need consistent climates to flourish and with sky high temps brought on by global warming and erratic temps. A new paper released on Monday by The National Academy of Sciences says that areas suitable for growing premium wine grapes could decrease by 50% and maybe as much as 81% by the end of the century.
Next time you open up a bottle of wine and pour yourself a glass, remind yourself to take action on global warming, so that you can continue to do so!
I would try to post a smart comment about this very important issue, but I am laughing so hard I can't. Seriously very funny. Great way to start my day. Will redouble my efforts and make sure I do all the action items. Thanx.
Posted by: Julie at July 11, 2006 10:50 AMThank God I am not a wine drinker. However pity those who are. However if threateneing to lose ones white will awaken the dead, let it rip.
. I’m telling you, there's this weird malaise the American people have re. this issue. Everyone will note enthusiastically: oh yeah global warming is bad... and then go about their business without necess. taking action. Hard to figure. Maybe the concept of “global weather” is too huge and people feel that just as little individuals they can’t effect any real change in something as huge and stratospheric (literally) as weather. But you’re doing great work in helping people connect to the issue — which is the first step that needs to take place before action can happen, probably. 1) Connect. 2) Then take action. Disappearing wine crops is a good way to make that connection with the issue occur. For some reason, the facts that are out there — waters will rise and whole cities will be swallowed by the new larger ocean — are not getting people to connect to this issue in the way they should. Maybe wine will!
Posted by: christianD at July 11, 2006 01:14 PMOK, first of all, Christian D is a Pinhead (Bill O. uses this term to be nice to people who are being (insert curse descripto here) idiots. "whole cities will be swallowed by the new larger ocean" is not a fact at all. It is future speculation, learn the difference.
Flavia, you know no one is crazier about you than I am, but the weathermen and women can't accurately predict the next 2 weeks and you want to go doom and gloom a century from now, come on! You continually amaze me with your logic sometimes.
I'm all for the GW debate, it is very worth addressing, however, if you are going to count on your info from an America-hating goofball, self-loathing, self-appointed egotistical savior (Al Gore) then I am afraid for you. I've heard interesting arguments from all sides and silly me, I tend to listen to meteorologists before politicians, especially embittered ones. Not to mention trying to figure out the decline of five previous ice ages with no human CO2 interaction. Also, 30 years ago we were told to be very worried.....very worried.
Science magazine (Dec. 10, 1976) warned of "extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation." Science Digest (February 1973) reported that "the world's climatologists are agreed" that we must "prepare for the next ice age." The Christian Science Monitor ("Warning: Earth's Climate is Changing Faster Than Even Experts Expect," Aug. 27, 1974) reported that glaciers "have begun to advance," "growing seasons in England and Scandinavia are getting shorter" and "the North Atlantic is cooling down about as fast as an ocean can cool." Newsweek agreed ("The Cooling World," April 28, 1975) that meteorologists "are almost unanimous" that catastrophic famines might result from the global cooling that the New York Times (Sept. 14, 1975) said "may mark the return to another ice age." The Times (May 21, 1975) also said "a major cooling of the climate is widely considered inevitable" now that it is "well established" that the Northern Hemisphere's climate "has been getting cooler since about 1950."
Oh, how about acid rain in the 80's, haven't heard that one in awhile. And all of this is fine and good but for Al Gore to say it's a moral issue and not a political issue is disgraceful. I'll bet you 20 bucks right now he runs for president which will make him a liar (he recently said he wouldn't), 10 bucks that if not prez then vice-pres. In fact, I am so confident, I'll make it a one-way bet and you my dear Flavia don't have to pay up when he runs again. And don't forget record cold spells in the northeast (think it was Northeast) this year and how about that dustbowl in the 20's and 30's, should have signalled the complete disintegration and melting of the earth.
Lastly don't let any dimwitted liberal hoodwink you with Bush is bad because he didn't sign Kyoto. As I'm sure you'll not recall, under Clinton, the Senate voted down Kyoto in 1997 95-0, not 94-1, 93-2. That means every democrat voted against it too. Of course, Clinton, who disgraced the office when he was in, does the same when he's out, going to other contries and bashing Bush on Kyoto, disgraceful!!!!
So let's start the debate but keep politicians out of it. There is plenty of scientific points on both sides to be made. ManBearPig LIVES!
Posted by: Jeff at July 11, 2006 03:55 PM"I am El Nino. Yo soy El Nino. For those of you who don't habla espanol, El Nino is Spanish for: The Nino." -Chris Farley, SNL
And so on a Saturday night in college (I did not party every night in the Big Easy), a crazy fictitious Mexican wrestler captured my attention.
What is this El Nino he speaks of?
Now Flavia, unknowingly taking a cue from El Nino,effectively injects humor and spontaneity and gets me to thinking about the weather once again. With a good shiraz, cigars (I didn't inhale), and the QRR. Whatever it takes, whatever it takes.
Posted by: BW at July 11, 2006 05:15 PMLaymen debating the academic literature on GW is useless and misses the big picture. And who cares about acid rain or Kyoto? How is any of that relevent? By now there's more than enough evidence that CO2 emissions and global warming pose a problem (a most grievous one now that wine is jeopardy - thanks for the update and cute story Flavia), so why not err on the side of caution?
Posted by: JSM at July 12, 2006 04:16 PM
Flavia - you have even caught the attention of Nancy Skinner's campaign blog:
http://nskinnerforcongress.blogspot.com/2006/07/take-action-on-global-warming.html
Posted by: DJ at July 12, 2006 08:36 PMbest one yet Flav.
Posted by: evolo at July 13, 2006 05:22 PMI am specifically writing this to a Mr. christian D, who, unbelievably, refuses to realize the full gravity of the global warming sitution. Global warming is a huge issue, pretty much all scientists are in unanimous agreement--the evidence is that overwhelming. My city, Philadelphia, for example, has broken heat records this week at 99 degrees. And that is only a small part of what is to come.
Oh, and next time christian D wants to use published science to support his claims, I would suggest that he uses more recent articles. What Science magazine said in 1976 is hardly relevant in 2006. The news I have heard on glaciers recently is how they are melting into the oceans, not growing. Any such claims of the Earth cooling down, sadly, are 30 years out of date and are probably not going to be seen in the future.
Also, anyone who defends Bush must be a little wacked. Bush and his administration sit on their butts while former Vice Pres., film makers, and normal citizens do battle on behalf of the environment. Bush wants to leave the issue of restricting CO2 emissions to the free market, saying a forced restriction would be too expensive. How much did Hurricane Katrina cost, then? Billions of dollars, thousands of lives. If Bush would only connect the dots between increased ocean temperatures and increased number and intensity of hurricanes, he would be singing a different tune. Sadly, the esteemed leader of our counrty cannot do even that. And if Gore is an embittered, America-hating man, what then has Bush done to make us think of him fondly?
There is no debate. Time should be used to right what is already wrong, and face the truth, no matter how inconvenient it may seem.
Posted by: Sherry at July 15, 2006 02:12 PMI want to quote from a book I just started. The whole book is striking me sentence by sentence, and this part ties in with the idea of laymen discussing issues amongst each other.
...the main distinction between those who participate fully in their communities and those who withdraw into private life doesnt rest in the active citizens' grasp of complex issues, or thier innate moral strength...
...they don't need to wait for the perfect circumstances, the perfect cause, or the perfect level of knowledge to take a stand; they can proceed step by step, so that they don't get overwhelmed before they start. They savor the journey of engagement and draw strength from it's challenges. Taking the long view, they come to trust that the fruits of their efforts will ripple outward, in ways they can rarely anticipate.
-Paul Loeb (Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in A Cynical Time)
I know that there is a time for debate and a time for action, but I believe they go hand in hand. I am not so sure that the average American colonist could argue and speak fluently about the principles behind the Revolution, but they knew just enough to create a nation.
Posted by: jd at July 17, 2006 10:17 AMI found myself with no AC last week in LA, every last one was sold out, unbearable! Let's just say there are a lot of frozen veggies from my freezer that came in handy.
I think Katrina was a wake-up call to many about both the existence of extreme poverty in America and also the talk that global warming would bring more severe weather was not just a theory.
Scientists have also been saying that the greenhouse gas emissions will continue to heat up the earth and make heat waves more intense. The journal Nature said in 2004 that “severe heat waves are now four times as likely to occur because of increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.”
Posted by: Flavia at July 27, 2006 04:48 PM