it's more than venice that's in peril

John F. Kennedy famously caught the spirit of the age in 1963 when he said, “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

Now may be the moment for Barack Obama to announce, “Sono un Veneziano.”

For we are all Venetians now. And not just the inhabitants of the coastal mega-cities—Mumbai, Lagos, Tokyo or Buenos Aires—or those in Bangladesh or on the Pacific islands of Kiribati or Tuvalu. I also mean the other diners at my local Pizza Express in west London.

If you look it up on the map the Environment Agency has devised, you will see it is in one of the areas most vulnerable to flooding. Water follows the natural contours of the land: go five miles farther east, and it’s not looking good for the Pizza Expresses closest to the homes of the Queen and the prime minister.

At Pizza Express you can order a pizza for 'Venice in Peril'. My Going Green column in IL argues we need a new pizza on the menu for the rest of us.