No drought-busting rains seen for U.S. crop belt

By Sam Nelson; editing by John Wallace21 August 2012 CHICAGO (Reuters) – Benign weather is expected for the next week or two in the U.S. Midwest crop region, with no serious delays of early harvest but also no significant relief to corn and soybeans from the worst drought in half a century, an agricultural meteorologist […]

Graph of the Day: Retreat of the Ata Glacier, 1915-2005

The Ata Glacier (29° 10′ N, 96° 48′ E), with a length of 16.7 km and an area of 13.8 km2, is on the southern slope of Mount Kangri Karpo in the southeastern TBP (Fig. 3d). The glacier was photographed in 1933 (ref. 21), 1976 (ref. 20) and 2006 (this study). We studied this glacier in detail using the historical photos, […]

‘Pervasive effects of climate change’ shifting Massachusetts butterfly species

By Jeremy C. Fox 20 August 2012 Harvard scientists say they have found shifts in the Massachusetts butterfly populations tied to climate change, according to a new study published Sunday in the scholarly journal Nature Climate Change. The study, which used data collected during 19 years by amateur enthusiasts from the Massachusetts Butterfly Club, found […]

Merkel’s green shift forces Germany to burn more coal

By Stefan Nicola and Tino Andresen20 August 2012 Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government says RWE AG’s new power plant that can supply 3.4 million homes aids her plan to exit nuclear energy and switch to cleaner forms of generation. It’s fired with coal. The startup of the 2,200-megawatt station near Cologne last week shows how Europe’s […]

Drought-stricken Farm Belt not headed for another Dust Bowl, say seed companies

[Indeed; we could be headed for something much worse. –Des] By Chuck Raasch, USA TODAY19 August 2012 The severe drought that has hit the Farm Belt does not immediately threaten to create another Dust Bowl or widespread crop failure, thanks to rapid innovations in the past 20 years in seed quality, planting practices and farming […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of smoke from wildfires in the U.S. West spreading eastward, 12-14 August 2012

Caption by Michon Scott19 August 2012 Intense wildfires in California and Idaho sent smoke eastward across the United States in mid-August 2012. Smoke affected air quality as far away as the Great Lakes Region, and some of the thickest smoke stretched from the Dakotas to Texas. Wildfire smoke is a combination of gases and aerosols—tiny […]

Horses fall victim to hard times and dry times on the range

By FERNANDA SANTOS18 August 2012 AZTEC, New Mexico – The land is parched, the fields are withering and thousands of the nation’s horses are being left to fend for themselves on the dried range, abandoned by people who can no longer afford to feed them. They have been dropping dead in the Navajo reservation in […]

Drought-stricken ranchers lose hope U.S. Congress will provide money for feed in time to save herds

OMAHA, Nebraska, 19 August 2012 (AP) – It’s hard to tell what frustrates Todd Eggerling more – the weather or Congress. Searing temperatures and drought scorched Eggerling’s land in southeast Nebraska, leaving little grass to feed his 100 cattle. Then Congress left for a five-week break without agreeing on aid to help ranchers through one […]

Graph of the Day: Global Temperature Anomalies, July 2012

Caption by Mike Carlowicz17 August 2012 July 2012 was the hottest month on record for the contiguous (lower 48) United States, according to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It turns out that the month was pretty warm globally as well, lining up as the fourth warmest […]

Belo Monte Dam suspended by high Brazilian court

By Zachary Hurwitz14 August 2012 Federal Judge Souza Prudente of the Federal Tribunal of Brazil’s Amazon region suspended all work today on the Belo Monte Dam, invalidating the project’s environmental and installation licenses. While the project has been suspended previously on numerous occasions, and those suspensions overturned on political grounds, this latest decision could have […]

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