Climate change and beer might be two things that rarely appear in the same sentence. But according to an article in the scientific journal Nature Plants, if the Earth gets warmer, your Friday-night drink might get pricier.
The team behind the article modelled the effect of extreme events on production of barley, the main ingredient of beer. “Extreme weather conditions such as drought or heat will impact barley production. Barley is irreplaceable in beer making,” said Xie Wei, first author of the article. “If barley production drops, beer production will also drop, and beer might get more expensive.” When global temperatures rise to their highest, global beer supply will drop 16 percent. Prices will also hike due to drop of supply. For instance, a 4.84-U. S.-dollar price hike for a 500 ml bottle is projected in Ireland, almost doubling the previous price. Quality of that beer might also be affected. If barley cannot receive enough irrigation, quality of the protein and carbohydrate in its grain will drop.
In fact, the effect of drought on beer production has been seen. Bloomberg reported that drought and heat caused a 30 to 40 percent drop in barley production in European barley producing regions during summer 2018, leading to a 35 percent price hike of barley in France.
However, regional fluctuations in barley production are still manageable now. If production in one region fails, beer makers can make it up by importing more from other regions. But if climate change gets out of control, the impact will be global. Agriculture is incredibly vulnerable to climate change.
Xie pointed out the impact of climate change is not only limited to staple crops. “We are only using barley and beer as an example of high-added-value agricultural products,” said Xie. “In countries like China, per person consumption of staple crops is dropping, but that of products such as dairy and beer is rising.”
Beer, not essential for human survival, occupies a major part in culture around the world. That gives people yet one more reason to care more about climate change.
【小题1】What can we know from the first two paragraphs?| A．Extreme weather influences the price of beer. |
| B．The more irrigation, the better quality of beer. |
| C．It’s necessary to replace barley in beer making. |
| D．Efforts should be made to promote beer production. |
| A．To lead in a new topic. | B．To make a comparison. |
| C．To give a supporting example. | D．To provide background information. |
| A．Important. | B．Sensitive. | C．Adaptable. | D．Resistant. |
| A．To popularize agricultural products. |
| B．To show the importance of beer in culture. |
| C．To draw people’s concern on climate change. |
| D．To indicate the impact of temperature on staple crops. |
