Global Warming Spawns Wine In U.K.

(CBS)  Somewhere glaciers may be melting. Somewhere storms may be blowing and waters may be rising. But in England, global warming is having a very different effect.

Grapes are growing in Britain, and though "the English wine country" is not a phrase you've likely heard before, CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips reports that you'd be wise to get used to it.

A dozen of the hottest U.K. summers on record have come in the last 15 years, and there's a pattern emerging.

Global warming comes with many potentially disastrous consequences across the globe. But in a land known for cold, damp and gloom, they're loving it. For some, global warming is good.

Grape grower David Ealand is doing good business thanks to the shifting climate. "The sugars are higher this year I think than we've ever known before," he says.

More proof of the heat? Try olives. Not from Italy or Spain. From England. Again, blame it on the weather.

"It not just hot hot hot, they need long. And that's what were seeing, we're seeing a lengthening growing season that will suit olives," Mark Diacono says.

The crop list goes on. After building an empire in part to satisfy their insatiable thirst for tea, the British are now finding they can grow the treasured leaves at home.

Jonathan Jones took a gamble seven years ago and put in some tea plants in his native country. He's seen it pay off, big time.

"We've actually plucked tea in December, which is unbelievable. We didn't expect that to happen," Jones says, walking around his plantation in southern England.

You know that old line about "making hay while the sun shines?" For "hay" in England now, think tea, and olives, and wine.

[arj4031]

It may seem convenient, but it's a bit simplistic to say "everything moves north", and suggest that a lack of cold in temperate climates is necessarily a good thing.

It has long been acknowledged that there will be some regional benefit to global warming, at least initially, but there's more to the picture than just the extra warmth. There are related factors to consider like ground-level ozone, insect populations, severe weather, and changes in the hydrologic cycle, including drought frequency and severity.

Some people will focus on whatever they can to dismiss the issue, but overall, rapid global climate change during a long, otherwise mild interglacial period isn't a good thing. People may save some money on their WINTER energy bills, and agriculture may benefit in areas with enough stability and water reliability, but is that something to celebrate while condemning a great many people to something not so rosy?

CbsCrash07, there is discussion of ocean-related regional cooling, but most actual climatologists don't subscribe to the sudden global ice age scenario. And contrary to another post, the science overwhelmingly supports the human-amplified greenhouse effect as the primary cause of the ONGOING trend.

There's some interesting info at http://globalwarmingtruth.org, including this link on agricultural effects: http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/news.asp?id=3084

[kwlambi]

one summer (for real) in the last ten years,(across the UK) doesnt mean global warming has anything to do with it. What a dumb story.

[Syndicate]

I read a national security assesment on global warming. It was based on previous historical rises in temperature over the last 12 thousand years. It talked about how wars could break out between starving nations and those who have the ability to feed themselfs. It also talked about how England will warm up just before it and europe freezes solid. I worry about global warming but I consider it a natural process. Similar to the chlorophly bloom that created the oxygen we breath. I wonder which animals will inherit the earth. I hope Gembaser is right but I fear that global warming may kick off a new ice age.

[newsquoter]

David Viner, Senior Research Scientist at The University of East Anglia, thinks that the changing weather patterns will have huge implications for agriculture and, in particuler, the Mediterranean diet:

http://www.newsquoter.com/ViewQuote.aspx?QuoteId=332

[dave_columbu]

Katie:

Just loved the feature on the bright side of global warming. Your really "warmed up" the story if I may say so.

Hey! Just an idea, but looking ahead to the death of the Amazon, and the Oceans, and mass extinctions, and billions starving to death, do you think you could do a feature on dieting? I think world famine may be just the thing to get rid of those last few stubborn pounds!

Stay perky!

[gembaser]

Of course, the nay-sayers have told us practically everything they can imagine about the possible horrors of global warming, but there should be an upside too. Everything shifts north: Kansas & Nebraska wheat? Try S. Dakota! How about those freezing N. Dakota winters? Not so much! Tropical Texas? Could be, it's humid enough in the summer already. Let's genetically engineer some new C4 grasses and get on with it already!