Yahoo Finance Global warming to leave us crying in our costlier beer
A new study says global warming may leave people crying in their costlier beer
FILE - This Wednesday, April 19, 2017 file photo shows the beer cooler behind the counter in a convenience store in Sheridan, Ind. In future sweltering years with a double whammy of heat and drought, losses of barley yield can be as much as 17 percent, computer simulations show. And that means “beer prices would, on average, double,” even adjusting for inflation, said a study published in the journal Nature Plants on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new study says global warming may leave people crying in their costlier beer.
The international study says bouts of extreme heat waves and drought will cut production of barley, a key ingredient of beer.
When that happens, beer prices on average could double. In countries like Ireland, prices could triple.
Previous studies have detailed how chocolate, coffee and wine will be made scarcer and more expensive because of human-caused global warming.
Steve Davis of the University of California, Irvine, says the beer research was partly done to drive home the not-that-palatable message that climate change is messing with all sorts of aspects of our daily lives.
Results appear in Monday's journal Nature Plants.
