High Price
So let’s be clear, when we talk of climate change as humans we speak of the rapid, perceivable change within the lifespan of our own species. Barely a stitch in geological time’s grand tapestry. A pedantic gripe maybe, but one thing the scientists at Jurassic Park never explain is how these beasts can survive in our climate, which is at least 13°C lower than what they were used to 100 million years ago – with completely different atmospheric conditions. At times, Scotland itself – before it drifted in this direction and joined England about 400 million years ago – spent millennia as both parched desert and monsoondrenched jungle. And will again.
In other eras, ice covered the entire planet for millions of years, with at least five major ice ages known in the Earth’s history – the Huronian, Cryogenian, Karoo, Andean-Saharan, and the current Quaternary Ice Age. Yes, we’re still living in an ice age. For evidence, just go to McDonald’s and measure how much Coke you get in that supersize plastic receptacle. SO, it turns out climate change “deniers” are madder than you think – the climate is always changing. Yet, today’s scientists accurately draw a distinction between huge shifts in the planet’s climate stretching over billions of years and the recent rapid warming trend. It’s certainly alarming that the US
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s data shows every summer since 1976 has been hotter then the one before.
Global temperatures have already risen 1°C since the industrial revolution and scientists broadly agree that excess greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of this issue.
Yet, the planet has only ever had three settings: “greenhouse”, when tropical temperatures extend to the poles and there are no ice sheets at all; “icehouse”, when there is some permanent ice; and “snowball”, in which Earth’s entire surface is frozen. We are technically still in the fag end of an “icehouse” era – the Quaternary – which will then follow previous patterns to enter a “greenhouse” phase, with or without our input.
While it’s undeniable humans are accelerating the process this time around, it would have inevitably happened with or without us. And, eventually, “corrected” with or without us. Seems Bono was a prophet after all. Just why the planet’s ice periodically advances – and why it retreats again – remains an enduring mystery that glaciologists have only just started to unravel. Humans accelerating climate change notwithstanding, the cycle will continue for billions of years to come after our brief tenure on the planet – boiling hothouse periods and then unbearable cold, wilting all surrounding life. Again, just like Katie Price.
WE already know there will be no medicine, baguettes or Nutella after Brexit, but it’s truly alarming news that a pint will soon double in price as a result of climate change. According to a new study from international climate scientists, this price rise will be driven by global shortages of barley, reducing beer production throughout the globe.
They calculated the UK would see a drop of anything up to 1.33 billion litres in the amount we drink each year, with a pint costing £7.20 – prices in Glasgow’s Shawlands. Or double that in Ashton Lane.
If you’re thinking of nipping abroad for a cheap pint, think again – European countries like Belgium and Germany’s decline in beer production would be a drought-like 38 per cent. So, in a massive turnaround, it seems Britain may become Europe’s new booze cruise destination – perhaps solving all our post-Brexit economic woes.