Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Wining about the future

No, it's not a misspelled title...this post is about the impact of global warming on grape growing and wine making. Not a typical subject for a speculative fiction blog, I know. But still a fitting one.

Check out this article and it will get you thinking. I know it got my brain ticking when I read it. Then I thought: "what else could possibly get changed with global warming?"

In my book, Darwin's Orphans, I don't spell out any circumstances that we face due to global warming. Being an eternal optimist, I give humanity credit for solving our nasty fossil fuel burning habit over the next decade or so. In the book, the "Brooklyn Project" is given credit for this solution. It's a dedicated high-energy think tank that's tasked with quickly developing the solution to efficient production of hydrogen -- thus providing the solution to fossil fuel elimination. (There are a few other helpers too: coastal power generators harness the power of the sea as well.)

Now that I read this article on the changing face of our wine regions, I think that my next work of fiction should feature a world where changes have taken place due to our complacence. We've got a problem for sure and, of course, all we want to do is argue about it as we continue to melt and burn up.

For the sake of my beloved wine, I hope that our better angels prevail. But, I fear, they'll need to win soon.

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