Thursday, August 03, 2006

62 ABOVE
Would this speed up or slow down sea level rise? Yesterday the beeb reported that the town of Narsaq in Greenland is melting chunks of its' ice cap to brew beer. That's what I call interesting news!

I suspect that if I were to dash down to the offie, grab a case of the stuff, savour it, and emit what the body didn't need; the moa point plant would discharge to sea faster than if it were left in the greenland ice cap. Or is the cap melting so fast that it's no contest?

A stupid question of course. The key issue is (glass recycling aside) sustainability of water source, and consequently, if I were able to buy it at my local would I be supporting the accelerated destruction of one of the planets life sources?

Are they taking melt water, or are they taking ice? My Kalaallisut isn't so hot, so I have no easy means of getting sustainability info from the brewery website, and the BBC article is of no help.

Berg beer was done around the turn of the century apparently (...ooooh, its sooo last century). But this time round, rather than selling at sipping prices (three stubbies for $26US), this batch looks to be more of a quaffing drop at 5Euros a half litre. So the impact may be a little more substantial.

It was quite timely news for me. Last night I saw The White Planet at the NZ Film Festival. The beauty and fragility of the arctic neck of the woods is all too fresh in the mind. Surely drinking beer from a much needed and melting ice cap is more than a bit excessive...

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