I frequently read the Environment section on Yahoo! News. Normally it’s filled with horrific or political news, such as “30% of bird species extinct by 2050” or “Fisheries collapse by 2040” or “Environmental organization sues to stop construction of coal plant.” Over the past months I’ve often seen articles on wine production and climate change dotting the section. The first one, okay. But then it got to be a pattern, and I got a little annoyed. Wine drinkers, by stereotype, tend to be at least in the richer segment of the world’s population, if not among the richest of the rich, depending on the wine. I thought, there must be more important, actually environment-related (as opposed to product-related) news to put in the section. Now they’re talking about beer. Wine shortages might be a problem. Beer shortages, in the midst of all these other crises, not good. We won’t even be able to drink ourselves into a stupor or drown our sorrows while the world goes to hell in a hand basket. What next? (I am being at least 50% serious here, though some would argue more drunkenness might just lead to more violence in a troubled civilization.)