Monday, 05 Jun 2006

And the Sand Played On

World's deserts will become more desert-y, says U.N.

Happy World Environment Day -- we got you some bad news! As climate change progresses, desert temperatures will rise up to 12.6 degrees F by the end of the century; rainfall in most deserts will decline by up to 20 percent; water will become scant, or too salty to drink or use for crops. So warns a chipper new United Nations report, anyway. These changes could endanger the globe's 500 million desert-dwellers and a variety of rare animals, including our new favorite, the Asian houbara bustard. Desert regions account for nearly a quarter of the globe's total land surface and house cities like Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Phoenix, Ariz. The U.N. warns of conflict over increasingly scarce resources in desert areas. One bright side (ha ha): deserts could boom in solar power. With today's technology, a 250,000-square-mile area of the Sahara could generate enough solar energy to power the entire world.


To ditch, or not to ditch? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous cushions, or to take arms against a sea of busted springs, and by opposing end them. Um, in other words, what should you do when your old couch is on its last legs? Advice maven Umbra Fisk weaves an answer in today's column.

Cold Rush

Greens worry as countries scurry to set up camp in Antarctica

Several dozen countries have set up camps and research stations in Antarctica, giving greens short-term fears that development will damage fragile ecosystems and long-term fears that the continent will soon be pillaged for oil, gas, and minerals. A 1959 Antarctic Treaty declares Earth's driest, windiest, coldest continent a "natural reserve devoted to peace and science." But, says Australian senator Barnaby Joyce, "if there are resources there, they will be exploited. It is just the way of the world." Worrisome development includes Australia's plan for an ice runway to accommodate commercial jets and a 1,000-mile ice highway built by the U.S. An international coalition of green groups is asking the U.S. to reconsider the highway, voicing concerns about air pollution and other potential problems. As a New Zealand green-group spokesgal put it, "Once you start putting a road through somewhere it's not a wilderness any more."


As co-owner of Comet Skateboards in San Francisco -- the world's only solar-powered skateboard factory -- Don Shaffer knows how difficult it is to be a small, local business competing against the big guys. That's why he also directs the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies -- a group of entrepreneurs and small-biz owners who focus on building community. As InterActivist this week, Shaffer chats with Grist about creating an eco-skate park, starting a Bay Area stock exchange, and more. Send Shaffer your burningest questions by noon PDT Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

Wining and Declining

Global warming screwing up wine country

Bad news for oenophiles: Global warming is messing with wine country. Wine grapes are highly temperature-sensitive, and if the globe gets much hotter (which smart folks say it will), famed wine-producing regions like France's Burgundy and California's Napa Valley may lose optimum climate for their grape varieties. Already, warmer temperatures in southern Spain are driving grape growers to shade vineyards, develop heat-resistant grapes, and in some cases, move to the mountains. Climate change could reduce the world's viable grape-growing regions by nearly 80 percent by the end of the century. Of course, other regions may then warm up enough to become prime wine country -- in the U.S., those could include upstate New York, coastal Michigan, the Puget Sound area in Washington state, and Virginia. Meanwhile, dozens of vineyards in California are doing their bit to address the problem by running irrigation systems on solar power.