Better Tequila for a Better Planet

Photo: Merlin Tuttle/Bat Conservation International
(and an exquisite photo it is!)
I spend much of my time using coffee to teach geography, and geography to teach coffee. I am happy to do the same with tea and chocolate, and though I know relatively little, I sometimes take the same approach with wine.

Today, it is tequila's turn. As funny as it might sound at first, there are very serious connections to be made between the health of bat populations and the practices of those who grow agave for tequila and its earthier cousin, mezcal. We first learned of the problem 25 years ago while living in Tucson, near the northern limits of agave. Just in time for Halloween, NPR reporter Neda Ulaby explains the problem that greater demand is placing on a "Once Boo-tiful Relationship."

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