How Green is Your St. Patty’s Day Beer?

March 13th, 2008 · No Comments

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Brendan Koerner from Slate.com has got a great article up about the environmental economics of beer, in light of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day, commonly associated with the drink. (and green-colored beer at that) The irony of that is that many common beers have enormous carbon footprints, based mainly on the containers that they’re served in and the how far those containers travel. Here’s the skinny on it:

Materials:

Aluminum or Glass? (Cans or Bottles?)

Aluminum harvesting requires an immense amount of damage because of the mining needed for the minerals that go into it

Glass is made from the much more common, much more cleanly-harvested silica

Advantage: Glass - it’s more common, meaning that it’s found and produced closer to home, and easier to gather, meaning there’s less damaged to the Earth in the process

Transport:

Does it matter where is it from?

A lot:

materials that are harvested close to home, and bottles and cans that are manufactured close to home, make much less of a carbon footprint than the alternative (the carbon footprint is the amount of oil, coal or other fossil fuels that is required to make an item and transport it from Point A to Point B)

Aluminum has to be harvested from far-off places, especially if you live in the United States - in fact, if you live in the US or Europe, the grand majority of the metals and minerals you use come from Australia, the rest from Africa and Asia. That’s a long way to carry rocks to make a beer can.

Glass can be harvested close to home, but what happens if it’s not? Glass can be made and manufactured close to home, and your beer can be bottled there, but what happens if it’s not? Carrying heavy glass bottles across any distance, with or without beer, uses a lot more energy than a can of beer, no matter how far away the minerals came from.

The Problem:

It’s complicated

Like many other environmental issues in 2008. Our society isn’t hasn’t reached the place yet where it’s easy to make environmentally-healthy decisions - in fact, capitalism and globalization often make it harder and more expensive to do or buy what you might think is right.

If your beer is made close to home: Glass is better for the environment

If you’re drinking imported beer? Brewed, bottled or canned overseas? The cans cost the planet a lot less to get to your cup.

The Verdict:

Drink a pint from the tap!

You shouldn’t be drinking alone anyways. A beer from the tap, transported in a reusable container, poured into a reusable glass, is absolutely the best way to go. The products are manufactured once, transported in bulk, and poured straight from there straight into your glass. Quick and easy.So this St. Patrick’s Day, if you’re feeling the Luck of the Irish and want to celebrate, but are worried about hurting the planet in the process, take a few of your best mates to the local Irish pub (the Irish build one in every neighborhood) and kick back a pint with a clear conscience.

Brendan Koerner really hit the nail on the head, especially with his substantial histories of the making of glass bottles and aluminum cans. He’s got a lot more fun facts in this article, especially about the fate of all those Heineken bottles. (yes, you!) It’s a great article and it’s worth a look, so take my word for it and check it out! The link is at the bottom of this page.

The funny thing, when I stop and take a look at it, is that most of the common beers we drink in the states are made far, far away and bottled nearby, but many not locally enough, and certainly not all.

For instance, a quick survey of the nearest college dorm recycling bin, shows the grand majority of the bottled beer here in Los Angeles has been brewed and bottled in Germany, then imported through Chicago - glass bottles, full of beer, shipped across Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Lawrence passage, the Great Lakes, then trucked across the continental US. That’s a long way, and a lot of carbon fuel!

The best in the bunch, from Anheiser-Busch, was still brewed and bottled in the middle of the country, and trucked thousands of miles to get out here. California brews a lot of local beers, but a lot of them are boutique items, and college kids are on a tight budget. Yet again, environmentally responsible consumption is a priviledge, and not always an easy choice.

Source: http://www.slate.com/id/2186219/

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