Climate change is threatening beer production, as rising temperatures and weather extremes could negatively impact barley crops and lower the quality of malt. The "Save the Ales" campaign, which is running as part of Earth Hour, aims to raise awareness of this issue and encourage Australians to celebrate Earth Hour by drinking local beer. However, the author notes that claims about climate change's effects on crops use uncertain language like "could affect". The author also jokes that their nightly drinking helps the campaign's goals.

1. Trying to save our beer– climate change worriers get serious
Russell Grenning
I don’tknowaboutyou butI will nevereverforgivemyself forforgettingEarthHourwhichhappened
on Saturday28 March last.
Everyyear we are askedto switchthe lightsoff foran hour from8.30pm and lastyearthis wasto
save the Great Barrier Reef.Itmusthave workedbecause onlyinMaythe UN’sWorldHeritage
Committee made adraftrecommendationnottolistthe reef asendangered.
Accordingto the Earth Hour folks,some 7,001 citiesin152 nationsaroundthe worldhave embraced
thiseco-miracle strategy.I’mhumbledtothinkthatthatlast yearbillionsof people aroundthe world
switchedoff theirlightsanddidsomethingwithacandle justforus.
Earth Hour is a fabulouslyworthwhileprojectfearlessly,bravely,courageouslyandbravelydrivenby
the World Wildlife Fundandlastyearwe sat inthe dark for nearly 63 minutes justtodemonstrate
our full-bloodedcommitment.Nohalf-measuresforuswhenitcomestosavingthe environment.
But, andthe shame of it,we forgot all aboutEarth Hour thisyear.And thisyearthe issue isserious –
far more seriousthantriflinglittle thingslike savingthe GreatBarrierReef which,inanycase,
doesn’tneedsavingafterall.
Yes,the message thisyearwasthat, “Quite simply, - we’re heading into a beer crisis.” How couldI
have missedthat?
Ponderthisif youwill fromEarth Hour: “To makethe tastiestbeer, you need the best starch.To get
the beststarch,you need the best malted grains.And to make thebest grains,you need the best
crops,which rely on healthy and consistentweatherconditions.”
Theygo on and onabout howclimate extremesinAustraliahave apparentlygottenworse since
1950 and, “long story short,theunimaginablehashappened:we’reheading into a beercrisis.”
Nowthishitme like athunderbolt –there isevena special website –savetheales.org.au –which
featuresyoungchapssobbingintotheirpints. Iknow how theyfeel asIhave,inthe past, weptthe
occasional tearovera refreshingdrinkbutnot,sofar as I can recall,aboutthe dangersof climate
change.
Initially,Ithoughtthe “savethe ales” campaignwas,forgive abad pun,a hangoverfromthe “save
the whales”campaignwitha spellingerror.Inanycase,whalesdon’tneedsavinganymore except
fromthe Japanese whouse whale meatinrestaurantsforscientificresearch.
Earth Hour soberlyannounced, “In a 2014 study published in the Journalof Cereal Science,University
of Queensland researcherPeterGous warned thatclimate changecould affecttheamountand
qualityof starch found in barley,which,when malted,is a majoringredientin beer. This would leave
brewerswith two options:to accept theloss of quality,and produceless tasty beer; or to invest more
in their crops to protect themfromwaterstress,and passthat costinto the beerdrinkers.”

2. “That’swhy the ‘SavetheAles’ campaign isrunning aspart of Earth Hour, encouraging beerdrinkers
acrossAustralia to go outand celebrate Earth Housewith the Aussiebeer that they love,beforeit is
too late.”
Am I beingtoopickywhenInote that, verypossibly,the keywordsinall of this are “could affect”?
NowI’mwaitingforsome science boffintoproduce researchshowingthatclimate change “could
affect”the qualityof wine grapes andthat we shouldhave a “SavetheWines” campaign.Andwhat
aboutall of that natural goodnessthatgoesintoscotch,gin,brandy andthe rest?The listcouldgo
on and on.
My partnerwouldbe the firstto tell youthatI have sat – or, allegedly,slumped - inthe darkfor
hoursaftera briskquaffingsessionbutnow Ihave the bestresponse whenaccusedof allegedly
passingoutby retortingthatit ismy contributiontothe “Savethe Ales” campaignand,by logical
extension,tosavingthe planetfromclimate change catastrophes.Whocoulddispute that?
I’mfar more environmentallyconsciousthanevenIthoughtIwas.
I am concernedthatthisotherwise veryworthwhile campaignnaturallyexcludesthe youngsters –
howevermucha greenie youmightbe,thatisnoexcuse tohand outbooze to the kiddies.Then
again,kiddiesshouldbe all grateful thatwe environmentally-awaregrown-upsare gettingstuckinto
the amberfor theirsakes,fortheirfuture infact.
Whateveryoudo,don’tforgetEarth Hour in 2016 – it’son March 19 – and,as yet,the organisers
have yetto decide ona specifictheme.
Meanwhile,Iwill continue withmyownpersonal crusade to “Savethe Ales”.