As Copenhagen prepares for December, a strange combination of Christmas lights, clean energy expos, evergreen wreaths, and security barriers have begun to crop up around the city. It's an exciting time to be in Copenhagen reflecting on a year of intense pressure, activity, and engagement around the world.

Over the past several months (and years), a growing movement has coalesced around the conference here next month and it's hard to believe it's finally almost here. In June, the sleepy German town of Bonn saw hundreds of activists descend in the rain upon the normally quiet Subsidiary Bodies negotiations at the UNFCCC's home. Thousands around the world participated in the September 21 Global Wakeup Call. Then in Bangkok in October thousands marched outside the UNESCAP building calling for climate action. October 24th saw the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history, spearheaded by 350.org, with over 5,000 events in 181 countries around the world.

And now, rumors of tens of thousands are looming on Copenhagen, including, by my count so far, at least 15 Heads of State who have committed to attending the talks (although Yvo de Boer said in Barcelona that he expects at least 40). [UPDATE: The AP is reporting a Danish official has suggested 65 Heads of State are planning on attending as of Sunday the 22nd of November.]

The last time I wrote, it was a dark and gloomy day in Copenhagen. But today was beautiful -- the sun was out, the weather warm, and the bustle on the street was electric.

The last time I wrote, I was convincing myself, and others, that all was not lost for December. Now, on this bright and sunny day, I'm as convinced as ever that world leaders can achieve an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen if they try.

Even in the past week, we've seen movement around the world. The Alliance of Small Island states continue to raise its collective voice of conscience against a weak outcome in Copenhagen. We've heard that the Chinese would be willing to bring a number to the table in Copenhagen. We've seen South Korea confirm a voluntary emissions reduction target of 30 percent below business as usual by 2020. The European Union has said that it would like a binding agreement in Copenhagen. France and Brazil came out with a "climate bible" -- an agreement between two nations to work together on climate change. This follows Brazil's previous announcement of voluntary emissions cuts of 36-39% by 2020 below business as usual in a "political gesture" some weeks ago.

Even the Danish government, which had caused so many hearts to sink with its proposal of a "politically binding" outcome in Copenhagen, seemed to change its tune ... if only just a bit. The Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, Connie Hedegaard (who will chair the negotiations in December), spoke in a press briefing at the close of the preparatory meeting last week, assuring the world that her aim is a legally binding outcome from the negotiations.

Finally, eyes continue to focus on the U.S. In the joint announcement between the U.S. and China, President Obama indicated his team could bring further commitments to the table in Copenhagen. As Copenhagen creeps towards December, the question remains, will Obama come to Copenhagen? And if so, will he come bearing gifts ... or a lump of coal?

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BFFs: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas SarkozyPhoto: Chesi - Fotos CCPARIS - The leaders of Germany and France called Friday for the United Nations to support a carbon tax on imports from countries who fail to back international efforts to fight global warming.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arguing that states that fail to back a deal at a climate summit in Copenhagen in December should be held accountable.

"It would be unacceptable for the efforts of the most ambitious countries to be undermined by the carbon emissions released by lack of or insufficient action by other countries," reads the letter released by the French presidency.

"For that reason, it should be possible to put in place appropriate adjustment measures targeting the countries that do not implement or fail to support this accord," they wrote.

The two leaders also pleaded for the creation of a world environmental agency, with as a first step the emergence of new institutions that would "encourage the emergence of a body of international environmental law."

The Dec. 7-18 meeting under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims to set down action for tackling heat-trapping carbon emissions beyond 2012, when the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol run out.

Representatives of the world's 17 biggest carbon polluters kicked off a week of high-stakes talks on climate change Thursday with a discussion aimed at bridging differences ahead of the Copenhagen talks.

Sarkozy, whose government is to introduce a carbon levy on domestic fuel emissions in 2010, has repeatedly argued for a European Union carbon tax on imports from regions with poor environmental standards.

Germany had yet to come out in favour of a carbon tax on imports, which a German minister has warned could be perceived by developing nations as a form of "eco-imperialism."

The European Union prides itself on being at the forefront of the climate fight.

But developing countries such as India and China argue rich countries ought to shoulder the main responsibility for mitigating global warming as they have historically emitted most of the greenhouse gases at the root of the problem.

The French and German leaders said the New York talks should secure "binding and ambitious commitments from developed countries" in line with a Group of Eight target to slash emissions by 80 percent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.

Developing nations, meanwhile, should pledge to "reduce the growth in emissions compared to current levels" within an agreed timeframe, and to publish "carbon sober growth plans" by 2012.

They also called for world leaders to agree on ways to provide financial and technological support for developing countries in their struggle to rein in carbon dioxide emissions.

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For the second time within twelve months the French Government of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed raising the feed-in tariff for solar PV in the coming year.

The new provisions are contained in the specific regulations proposed in response to Minister for Energy and the Environment Jean-Louis Borloo's announcement last November.

The proposed regulations depart both from the current program and from the provisions outlined by Borloo in November 2008 in significant ways.

The draft regulations propose a tariff for a new application category of solar PV used architecturally. The tariff, if approved, will be among the highest, if not the highest in the world for solar PV: €0.602/kWh ($0.95 CAD/kWh, $0.86 USD/kWh). As one would expect, this has created quite a buzz in the solar community.

Potentially more groundbreaking, however, is the French proposal to offer solar PV tariffs for commercial projects (systems greater than 250 kW) differentiated by solar resource intensity.

Wind energy tariffs in both France and Germany have varied by resource intensity since 2000. This would be the world's first application of the concept to solar PV tariffs.

If successful in the diverse climates of France, the concept could have application in countries spanning continental land masses such as Canada, the U.S., China, and Australia.

In principle, France will pay up to 20 percent more for solar PV generation in the cloudy north than in the sun-drenched south, for example along the Côte d'Azur.

The final tariffs are determined by the application of an insolation factor that varies by departement. For example, systems installed in the southern city of Avignon in the Departement of Vaucluse will receive the base tariff of €0.328/kWh ($0.52 CAD/kWh, $0.47 USD/kWh). In Paris, the tariff is based on an insolation factor of 1.15 times the base tariff or €0.377/kWh ($0.59 CAD/kWh, $0.54 USD/kWh). To the north of Paris in the Departement of the Somme, the insolation factor proposed in the draft regulation reaches a maximum of 1.20 and the tariff rises to €0.394/kWh ($0.62 CAD/kWh, $0.57 USD/kWh).

The maximum proposed tariff in the program is approximately equivalent to that proposed in Ontario for similar systems. There are no tax subsidies in either France or Ontario for projects of this size.

Despite these innovative features and the fact that there is no cap or limit on the program's size, the proposed regulations reflect uniquely French political preferences, charge critics.

In Germany solar PV tariffs are simply graduated by size. The German Solar Industry Association reports that nearly 30 percent of capacity (~1,500 MW) has been installed on residential rooftops, and another 50 percent (~2,500 MW) installed on farm buildings and multi-family residences.

Thus, say critics, the Tuetonic program is more egalitarian than that in the land of "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité".

In contrast to German policy, the proposed French program, will severely limit residential solar systems, charge two of France's most prominent advocates of solar energy: Hespul and CLER (Comité de Liaison Energie Renouvelables).

Hespul, located in France's solar city of Lyon, specializes in energy efficiency and solar PV. (Hespul installed the first grid-connected solar PV system in France). CLER is the principal umbrella group representing the renewable energy industry and solar advocates.

The two organizations issued a joint communiqué September 10, 2009 applauding the proposal for its innovative features, but criticizing its shortsightedness. The proposal fell well short of what's needed, they said, and unduly favors multi-national developers over small distributed generators.

Residential rooftop solar systems are limited to less than 3 kW and the tariff, €0.338 ($0.52 CAD/kWh, $0.47 USD/kWh), is insufficient in much of France, says Hespul's Marc Jedliczka, even with tax subsidies. He warns that the current proposal will miss reaching the 14 million French rooftops that could use solar.

For its part, CLER characterized the proposed tariffs as "unfair to the many for the benefit of the few."

Further, the French program has odd twists that limit the effectiveness of solar. In a bow to misplaced aesthetic sentiments, rooftop panels must be in the "plane of the roof". Often that will mean the panels must be flat and not mounted on racks.

These oddities greatly restrict the solar PV market in France, said Hespul and CLER.

The regulations must be approved by Minister Borloo sometime this fall to take effect in January, 2010.

This post is reprinted from Wind-Works.org.

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Restoring the natural topography around Mont St Michel will result in a sandy stretch at low tide, prompting locals to suggest sand and eventual climate change will replace the region's famous "pre-salted" lamb with pre-salted camel.Tim BromfieldThe lambs gambling in the meadows around Mont St Michel have a hard life. Grazed on the bay's low-lying salt marshes, periodically drenched by seawater and then blown dry by the salty winds that whip off the English Channel, they are considered pre-salted long before they reach the chef's pot.

The lambs' high consumption of salt results in a tender and juicy meat, served up as a delicacy in the local restaurants. Regrettably for gourmands, the French government has drawn ranks to fight back the salty conditions that produce this mythic dish.

Mont St Michel is France's most popular tourist attraction outside Paris. Tourists flock to admire its ethereal beauty, shrouded in sea mist and cut off from the mainland by the sea. However, this Arthurian vision is threatened by the very industry that champions it.

The causeway and car park that make the island accessible to more than 3 million tourists a year have disrupted the natural process of erosion in the bay. The sea is unable to circulate around the island, preventing the scouring of silt, causing the bay to fill with sediment. This is compounded by the loss of coastal flats, polderised to create pasture for the ready salted lambs, which has brought the mainland and the mount closer together.

If left untouched the site's marine environment will be irretrievably lost within 30 years. The locals joke that in the new, sandy environment the only delicacy that will reach the table will be pre-salted camel.

Project Mont St Michel is a new scheme to exclude cars from the site and recreate the rock "amid a seascape of sands constantly reshaped by tidal and river water." The plan includes the removal of the causeway and car park to allow the tidal and river currents to swirl around the mount uninterrupted. The bay will be dredged and a new dam built to flush out the sediment.

As a result the sea bed will be lowered by 70 centimeters, and 50 hectaires of salt marsh will be reclaimed by the sea. As is generally the case when man takes on nature, the victory will be short lived (in nature's terms at least). The process of sedimentation in the bay will continue, and in a couple of centuries, unless rising sea levels intervene, Mont St Michel will once again be left high and dry.

The salt meadow lamb, however, will taste just as good.

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To avoid maxxing out on my July quota of irony in the first week of the month, I will simply report this as a straight news story.  The UK Times reports:

With temperatures across much of France surging above 30C this week, EDF's reactors are generating the lowest level of electricity in six years, forcing the state-owned utility to turn to Britain for additional capacity.

Fourteen of France's 19 nuclear power stations are located inland and use river water rather than seawater for cooling. When water temperatures rise, EDF is forced to shut down the reactors to prevent their casings from exceeding 50C.

Now everybody who is anybody knows that no single weather event can be attributed to human-caused global warming.   And those same people know that nuclear power is the one and only possible solution to human-caused global warming.  So, to all those non-cognoscenti inclined to use this one-time, freak occurrence to diss nukes, let me say as loudly as I can, "NOTHING TO SEE HERE!  MOVE ON!"

Also, the image above is presented solely as an example of the kind of inappropriate humor one should eschew in these troubled times.  Any resemblance between the nuclear power plant employee depicted above and advocates of nuclear power living or mortified is purely coincidental.

The story explains:

EDF warned last month that France might need to import up to 8,000MW of electricity from other countries by mid-July - enough to power Paris - because of the combined impact of hot weather, a ten-week strike by power workers and ongoing repairs.

EDF must also observe strict rules governing the heat of the water it discharges into waterways so that wildlife is not harmed. The maximum permitted temperature is 24C. Lower electricity output from riverside reactors during hot weather usually coincides with surging demand as French consumers turn up their air conditioners.

One power industry insider said yesterday that about 20GW (gigawatts) of France's total nuclear generating capacity of 63GW was out of service.

Much of the shortfall this summer is likely to be met by Britain, which, since 1986, has been linked to the French power grid by a 45km sub-sea power cable that runs from Sellindge in Kent to Les Mandarins.

A statement from EDF played down the heat problems, saying that the French system continued to meet customer demands - but similar heatwaves have caused serious problems in France in the past.

In 2003, the situation grew so severe that the French nuclear safety regulator granted special exemptions to three plants, allowing them temporarily to discharge water into rivers at temperatures as high as 30C. France has five plants located by the sea and EDF tries to avoid carrying out any repairs to them during the summer because they do not suffer from cooling problems.

Okay, so maybe this wasn't a one-time event.  But it's not as if the planet is entering a prolonged period of ever hotter and hotter conditions, leading to longer and stronger heat waves where the 2003 heat wave will be an every other year occurrence by the 2040s, and ultimately leading to average temperatures rising 5°C or more by century's end, is it?

And this is certainly no reason for people to all of a sudden start questioning nuclear power as a primary solution to global warming - at least not if you've already decided to swallow the exorbitant cost, lengthy delays, safety, terrorism, proliferation, and waste problems.

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Think of Nicolas Sarkozy, and what springs to mind? Carla Bruni, of course. His platform heels, probably. A somewhat aggressive manner, naturellement. Napoleon Bonaparte, pourquoi non?

Al Gore attended the October 2007 unveiling of the Sarkozy government's green program, called "Grenelle de l'Environnment."Courtesy Elysee.frIndeed the French president is often compared to the diminutive emperor with the bellicose mindset, ambition to restore French glory, and glamorous and famous wife. But there's a difference. To Bonaparte, green was just one of the shades that best suited Josephine. To Sarkozy, unexpectedly but increasingly, it is making his policies sage, in both senses of the word.

Immediately after taking office almost exactly two years ago, "Sarko" -- until then best known as France's notably conservative, not to say divisive, interior minister -- announced, to almost universal surprise, that combating climate change would be one of his top priorities as president.

He was as good as his word, going straight into action at the G8 summit in Germany just a few weeks later. He joined the host, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Britain's then-Prime Minister Tony Blair in mounting a three-pronged attack on George W. Bush to get him to shift ground before vital negotiations in Bali the following winter.

Merkel went in for the first assault, softening him up over lunch before handing over to the French and British leaders. They discussed tactics while traveling to dinner together at a nearby castle and then jointly nobbled the American president. Blair then returned to the theme with him over breakfast the next morning.

By the end, Bush had agreed that negotiations should proceed through the United Nations, to reach agreement by the end of this year (clearing the way for December's all-important meeting in Copenhagen). And Bush accepted a vague reference to halving global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

And that was just the start of Sarkozy's greening. Little noticed in the world outside, he has instituted the western world's most thoroughgoing green program in a country hitherto little known for taking environmental leadership.

It is known as the "Grenelle de l'Environnment" (I'm afraid I have to resist the childish temptation to call it the "Grenouille de l'Environnment"), in a reference to meetings in Paris' Rue de Grenelle that marked the turning point in the riots of 1968. Fulfilling a campaign promise, Sarkozy brought together the government, green groups, local authorities, business and trade unions to work out a sustainable development strategy for the next 10 to 15 years.

After months of talks the participants produced an extraordinary 268 recommendations, many of which have already become law. They aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions fourfold by 2050 -- and perhaps more importantly introduce tough short-term targets such as cutting carbon dioxide emissions from transport by 2020, while doubling the use of renewable energy.

More than 2,000 kilometers of new high-speed railway lines are to be built, along with 1,500 kilometers of new public transport routes in towns and cities. And the government has set out to persuade people to buy low emission cars, introducing a bonus for purchasing them, and a tax (inevitably called a "malus") on polluting ones. "Just one year on," Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo reports in the forthcoming issue of UNEP's magazine Our Planet, "the French automotive market is changing shape. The average emissions of new vehicles sold in France have fallen by nine grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre in a single year, six times the previous rate of progress."

At least one new solar power station is to be built in each region by 2011; by contrast, only two new nuclear power plants will be completed by 2017, despite France's history as the world's chief champion of the atom. By 2020 national capacities for geothermal energy will have been increased sixfold, for wind energy ten fold, and for solar photovoltaic energy 400 times over.

From next year all new government structures must have low energy consumption, followed by all new buildings in 2012. "Positive energy buildings," producing more energy than they consume, will be introduced from 2020. And 400,000 existing homes are to be retrofitted to make them energy efficient each year.

The program is not solely concerned with the climate; it seeks, for example, to triple the share of organic farming in France by 2010 and halve the use of pesticides. But it is its effect on global warming that has cause Al Gore to call for "a global Grenelle."

That also remains Sarkozy's main concern.

"Doing nothing would be no less than criminal for our planet," he says. "Doing nothing means accepting a point of no return, to be reached as soon as the average global warming tops two degrees. A decision has to be taken now, at once."

Napoleon, famed for his impatience, could not have put it more urgently.

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A year or so ago, I spoke at a solar conference in France -- a country that produces 78 percent of its electricity with nukes. A couple of folks told me that the government's interest in solar stemmed from the fact that during the previous summer's heat wave, river levels dropped to the point that they didn't have enough water to cool the reactors. The country actually had to shut off generation exactly at peak demand. Big problem. Thus, solar photovoltaics, which not only generate most during these peak events, but also ... use no water.

A Wall Street Journal blog flags the water/power problem, but concludes, in that special WSJ way, that this is bad news for efforts to fight climate change:

Note that PV uses no water. Concentrating solar thermal technologies do, but some have the potential for dry cooling, which adds about a penny per kWh, but greatly reduces water usage.

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BRUSSELS—The European Commission was foiled Monday in its bid to force France and Greece to allow genetically modified maize from U.S. biotech giant Monsanto to be grown in their fields.

Food chain experts from the E.U. member states, meeting in Brussels, could not reach agreement on whether to back or oppose the French and Greek refusal to allow the maize, which has been given the green light to be grown in Europe.

The standing committee on food chain and animal health “failed to reach a qualified majority in favour or against,” the commission said in a statement.

Nine of the 27 E.U. nations supported the commission call for the ban to be lifted while 16 opposed it or abstained. Germany and Malta did not take part, a source at the meeting said.

Monsanto’s MON810 strain is the only genetically modified crop approved in the European Union but last year France suspended its cultivation, invoking a “safeguard clause.”

Greece used the same legal provision in 2006 and has extended it since then.

The European Food Safety Authority has said the maize is safe and there is no scientific evidence to justify the bans.

Without a solid mandate the European Commission, the E.U.‘s executive arm, will refer the matter to E.U. ministers to decide whether France and Greece should fall into line and allow the GM crop to be sown.

Monica Frassoni,  co-leader of the Green group in the European parliament, urged vigilance against the commission’s attempt to make member states allow GM crops to be grown.

“We must remain vigilant because it is not the first time that the commission has tried to force the hand of those member states that are most resistant to the growing of genetically modified maize,” she said.

“The challenge now is to secure a majority big enough to reject the commission’s proposal.”

Last week,  France’s food watchdog also concluded that the genetically modified Monsanto maize was safe, contradicting an earlier report that led to a ban on the maize.

The earlier expert report had said evidence had emerged that MON810 had an effect on insects, a species of earthworm and micro-organisms.

There was also concern that wind-borne pollen from MON810 could travel much further than previously thought, perhaps as much as hundreds of kilometres.

But the report was controversial: 12 of the 15 scientists who compiled it issued a statement complaining that their findings had been misrepresented.

E.U. environment ministers will on March 2 vote on whether to ask Austria and Hungary to lift a similar GM ban.

Divided over the GMO issue, the European Union in December adopted a series of measures aimed at overcoming their differences and reaching unified decisions.

The member states notably recommended that the EFSA should be Europe’s final arbiter on the safety of GM crops, but with input from national bodies.

They also agreed that decisions should take into account the medium- and long-term environmental impact of any decision, not just the health aspects.

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PARIS—A major new project is under way in Paris to provide ecologically clean heating for an entire district by extracting piping hot water from nearly two kilometers under the earth.

In a revival of the French capital’s geothermal potential, drilling has just begun in the north of the city on a desolate building site sandwiched between the traffic-clogged inner ring road and the Saint-Denis canal.

“In Paris we’re trying to adopt a strategy in which France is largely behind other European countries, because we’ve under-invested in renewable energies,” said Denis Baupin, a Paris deputy mayor.

At the construction site, a 36-meter (120-foot) yellow mast rises above a dense cluster of machinery that is usually used to drill for oil. Here the drilling is not for black gold but for hot water.

“The lower you go, the hotter the water,” explained Michel Galas of CPCU, the urban heating company carrying out the work, as he stood next to a shaft that when finished will delve 1.7 kilometers (one mile) into the earth.

At that depth lies a geological stratum called the Dogger from which water, heated naturally to 57 degrees Celsius (135 Fahrenheit), will be sucked up to the surface, where it will be used to heat another stock of water.

This will be pumped to apartment blocks to heat radiators and provide hot water.

“It’s energy that is 100 percent renewable,” said Galas, adding that drilling will go on night and day for about 100 days to reach the required depth.

The scheme will heat around 12,000 apartments and other buildings due to be built by 2011 in a new residential area in the city’s 19th district. The project will cost €31 million ($40 million), €5 million of which will come from the state environment agency and the regional council.

Galas, whose company is jointly owned by the City of Paris and the energy group GDF Suez, pointed to a row of high-rise tower blocks on the other side of the ring road and said they too would eventually be hooked up to the system.

The use of this natural energy source will prevent 14,000 tonnes a year of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide being pumped into the capital’s already polluted air.

That is roughly the same amount of CO2 that an average car would belch out if taken on a 470,000-kilometer (290,000-mile) trip, which is longer than the distance from the Earth to the moon.

It will also provide 54 percent of the new area’s energy needs.

Galas said there were around three dozen sites using geothermal energy in the greater Paris region, nearly all dating from the 1970s and 80s.

“For about 25 years there were no new projects because the price of a barrel of oil had gone down, but in recent years there has been a growing awareness of environmental issues, combined with a hike in the price of oil,” he said.

With the environment placed high on President Nicolas Sarkozy’s political agenda, and with Baupin and his Green party as the Socialists’ coalition partners in Paris city hall, the time appeared right to return to geothermal.

Geothermal energy in use since Roman times

Geothermal energy has been used since Roman times to heat buildings. It uses the energy recovered from the heat of the Earth’s core and can be seen naturally in the form of volcanoes, geysers and hot springs.

Heated water drawn to the surface can, if of sufficiently high temperature, also be used to drive turbines to create electricity.   In Iceland, about a quarter of the island nation’s electricity comes from geothermal power plants, while geothermal schemes provide heating and hot water for almost nine tenths of the country’s buildings.

France’s geology does not permit tapping into geothermal energy on the Icelandic scale, but there is much unused potential.

Currently around 170,000 French homes are heated geothermally, but the government plans to multiply that number by six by 2020, which would mean that four percent of the nation’s households would be thus heated.

The Paris area, Alsace in the east, and Aquitaine in the southwest are the regions geologically best suited for such projects.

Baupin, the deputy Paris mayor in charge of sustainable development and the driving force behind the city’s wildly successful Velib bike-sharing scheme, said a second project is already being developed in the north of the city.

And the capital’s second airport, Orly, a year ago announced plans to extract geothermal energy to slash its heating bills.

Galas of the CPCU could not provide figures comparing geothermal energy costs with costs from using gas or oil alternatives, but he said geothermal heating was financially “competitive” compared to gas.

Baupin promised that residents of the new area in north Paris “will certainly be a lot less exposed to the vagaries of the price of oil or gas.”

Experts agree.

At talks on climate change in December in Poland, UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner spoke of geothermal as clean and “indigenous”—code for free from geopolitical risk and immune to market fluctuations.

“We’re not trying to make Paris self-sufficient in energy, that would be too ambitious,” said Baupin, who nevertheless talks enthusiastically of other green energy projects such as harnessing the flow of the River Seine.

“But we should aim to make ourselves less vulnerable to future energy crises,” he said.

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Fewer chemicals in our sparkling wines? We'll drink to that.

Nothing says festive quite like the pop of a chilled bottle of bubbly.

But while sparkling wine delivers a party in a glass, things are typically less thrilling out in the field. Like most wine, bubbly tends to come from grapes grown in large monocrops -- vines as far as the eye can see. And they're more likely to be swathed in a cloud of pesticide spray than in a farmer's careful attention.

These grim conditions generally hold sway at all price points, from $5 headache bait to the brand-name Champagnes flaunted by rap stars. In her important book The Search for Wine and Love: Or How I Saved the World from Parkerization, Alice Feiring described a visit to the vineyards of Moet & Chandon, one of the Champagne region's most prestigious producers. According to Feiring, the soil "looked dead, with a cadaver-like grayness. Chemical weed killer had clearly been deployed instead of vineyard plows."

Grist's Pick

Feiring champions so-called "grower Champagnes": wines made within France's Champagne region by small-scale farmers, not prestige houses like Veuve and Moet. Alas, these tend to be priced out of a reasonable budget. Grower Champagne is lovely stuff, but it's difficult to find a bottle of it for less than $50.

For this tasting, I wanted distinctive, affordable sparkling wines made from grapes grown on human-scale farms without the use of chemicals. I knew that the "affordable" part would steer me away from Champagne and toward less-hyped regions. How to find them? One option would be to merely seek out certified-organic wines. But that would exclude hundreds of potential candidates that flow out of the so-called "natural wine" movement -- vintners who reject chemical farming and modern wine-making techniques, but who also often reject organic certification. (Allergy to certification comes in many forms: an aversion to paperwork, a lingering but now largely antiquated belief that "organic" denotes low-quality wine, or plain curmudgeonliness.)

So I did what anyone should do who wants to identify such wines: I consulted a knowledgeable wine merchant in my area. I asked Jay Murrie, partner and wine director at Chapel Hill-based 3 Cups, to pick out five "natural" sparklers, all under $30. The ones he chose are widely available nationwide, in the kind of shops that seek off-the-beaten-path wines.

I then assembled a panel composed of wine-loving amateurs (my old Maverick Farms colleague Sara Safransky and me) and wine pros (Jay, plus 3 Cups employees Matt Souza and Elaine Thomas). We tasted the wines blind, and -- amid the frowning and sniffing and swirling -- scribbled down our reactions. I asked everyone to rank the wines by preference. Altogether, the tasting was a mini-New Year's Eve for wine nerds.

Dom. de Montbourgeau Cremant du Jura
Region: Jura, France
Price: $21.99
Natural note: Hand-harvested grapes come from an eight-hectare farm run by the founder's granddaughter.

This one took top honors. All three wine pros noted apple flavors. Jay ranked it number one, impressed by its "balance of green-apple fruit and yeast." Elaine found it "bright, clean, and fruit-driven," while Matt picked up "some good minerals on the finish" and a "nutty aftertaste." We amateurs liked it, too. Sara said it "tickles the tongue and keeps going," while I scribbled "bright, nice acidity, tight bubbles."

Avinyo Cava Rosado
Region: Penedes, Spain
Price: $25.99
Natural note: Four small organic farms supply the winery; the winemaker consults a 300-year-old book for farming tips.

This pink wine (the only rosé in our tasting) placed dead last; no one ranked it in the top three. Even so, it's a delightful, interesting wine that I'd happily drink again. I found a cherryish, almost Kool Aid-like aroma, which gave way to a bone-dry, racy flavor profile. Matt, probably its biggest enthusiast, detected "very fresh flavors -- zesty, with a good amount of acidity." Jay liked its "cranberry/red currant" hints, but found its acidity "pretty severe." Elaine judged that it would "probably be better with food."

Avinyo Cava Brut
Region: Penedes, Spain
Price: $15.99
Natural note: See above.

Most folks found this one solid but unspectacular. Its biggest enthusiast, Matt, detected floral and mineral notes in the aroma, and "honey, pear, and wildflower" flavors. Elaine judged it "pleasant, but not much personality," while Jay declared it "fine, but miles from decent Champagne." I was intrigued by its "lemony, citrus nose," but not wowed by the flavor.

Foreau Vouvray Brut
Region: Loire Valley (Vouvray), France
Varietal(s): Chenin blanc
Price: $26.99
Natural note: 12-hectare farm managed organically; yields intentionally held down to privilege quality over quantity.

This one pleased the panel. Matt found "aromas of earth and leaves and some kind of exotic fruit (mango?)." Jay detected a "really lovely soapy/chalky aroma," with lavender, honey, and pear notes on the palate. "Double-yum," he concluded. Elaine picked up "good layers of fruit and mineral and acidity." I loved it. I found the nose intensely earthy and slightly honeyish -- like hanging out near a beehive in high summer. And on the palate, a long, bracing acidity. Sara praised the quality of the bubbles.

François Pinon Vouvray Petillant Brut
Region: Loire Valley (Vouvray), France
Price: $20.99
Natural note: Supplied by 14 hectares of organically managed land, with a variety of microclimates and soil types.

Another attractive sparkler. I was its biggest admirer, ranking it No. 1. I found pretty fruit notes on the nose, including pineapple. On the palate, I picked up lemon peel and honey, and enjoyed its feather-light effervescence. Jay found it "really well made" and "elegant," with apple and pear notes. Matt detected raw nuts and sake aromas, and pear flavors. Elaine found wheat on the nose and praised its "good lengthy finish," but wished it had more acidity. Sara enjoyed its "fruity undertones" and "very mild sparkle."

Bottom Line: "Natural" sparklers rock, if this tasting is any indication. They may be a little more cerebral than what folks are used to quaffing on New Year's Eve -- they ask you to slow down and contemplate, but they also offer plenty of fun flavor. The panel's favorite, the Dom. de Montbourgeau Cremant, is a worthy choice, but I'd be pleased to toast the New Year with any of them.

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A uranium leak was discovered on Friday in an underground pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in France. Authorities said the leak was probably a few years old, but insisted it really isn't all that bad since groundwater apparently wasn't contaminated and the uranium leak was relatively small. However, the reassurances were not quite as comforting to the public as they might have been even just a few weeks ago; another leak was discovered at a different nuke facility earlier this month. On July 7, residents of southern France's Vaucluse region were told not to drink water from, swim in, eat fish from, irrigate with, or otherwise touch water in nearby rivers or other waterways following a liquid uranium spill at the Tricastin nuclear power plant. The state-controlled nuke-power giant Areva, which owns both facilities, has been heavily criticized for its delay in notifying the authorities of the Tricastin leak and has since fired its plant manager. The French government said it would test the water around all the country's 59 nuclear plants to ease public fears.

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About 15 Greenpeace activists scaled the Eiffel Tower Sunday and unveiled a banner to protest France's nuclear-energy policies. France uses more nuclear power than any other E.U. nation. "Since he was elected, President Nicolas Sarkozy has done everything he could to sell nuclear energy," Greenpeace said in a statement. "At the U.N., as head of the European council, or just recently at the G8, he has behaved like a traveling salesman for [French nuclear-power producer] Areva and has used political platforms to promote French nuclear power." France, which will have the European Union's rotating presidency for the next six months, was during the protest hosting some 40 heads of state from E.U. and Mediterranean countries. Paris was also the site of a separate anti-nuclear protest on Saturday, wherein thousands of protesters marched through the city carrying signs with slogans including, "Stay inactive today and you'll be radioactive tomorrow."

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Having successfully implemented a bike-sharing program, Paris is revving up plans to provide electric cars that residents can pick up and drop off anywhere in the city. Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced that 4,000 electric cars will be made available by the end of the next year at 700 pickup points. "There will be a computerized system which allows you as soon as you collect the car to announce where you'll drop it off, so there will be a parking space available," the mayor explains, noting that recharging stations will also be built throughout the city. Drivers could pay an annual fee for use, or pay per trip. But not everyone's enthusiastic; says Denis Baupin, a Green party deputy mayor, "If this scheme encourages people to pick up these cars every day, using them to go into work and back instead of using bikes or the metro, crowding roads and changing habits, that's a problem."

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Former French President Jacques Chirac has launched a foundation aimed at preserving cultural and natural diversity that humans seem intent upon obliterating. The Chirac Foundation will provide funds to improve access to water and medicines in developing countries, fight deforestation and desertification, and preserve languages and cultures that are on the verge of dying out. "In the face of major world challenges, I still want to fight," Chirac said Monday. "And the foundation is the tool for this. I want to stir and awaken consciences."

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