Warm is Beautiful

Language Level: Basic

Standards: British and American

Source: Speak Up

Warm is Beautiful

Warm is Beautiful

We now have proof that global warming is happening: top French champagne producers like Louis Roeder plan to make their wine in South-east England. Temperatures have increased by about 1.2 °C, so the climate of Kent and Soussex is now similar to that of the champagne region of 30 years ago. This area of England has the same chalky soil –remember the white cliffs of Dover –and it already producers its own successful sparkling wines through wineries like RidgeView and Nyetimber. RidgeView owner Michael Roberts named his champagne after Englishman Christopher Merret. He says Merret invented the process to make fizzy wine before the Frenchman Dom Pérignon.

ECO SHOES

How about a pair of shoes made from recycled products: British shoe company Terra Plana make their designer shoes from old military jackets, coffee bags and bicycle tyres. Terra Plana director Galahad Clark explains: “We want to show people that fashionable products can be ethical, and that sustainable design is good design.” For more, visit www.terraplana.com

THROUGH THE ROOF

Other solutions are not so practical. Swiss company Landolt produces the Ice Protector: a protective sheet which reflects sunlight and UV radiation. Scientists want to cover entire glaciers in the sheets to stop them melting. The cost? 8 million per square mile! How about reflecting the sun’s rays with 5.000 space mirrors? This would reduce carbon dioxide levels by 50 per cent. The “only” problem is the size of the mirrors (130 square kilometers) and the astronomical cost. Here’s a cheap alternative: if everyone paints their roofs white. Temperatures will fall to 1900 levels!