Arizona drought conditions to deepen through winter

By Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic25 September 2011  A dry winter and a weak monsoon fueled record wildfires, record heat and a succession of dust storms that played like a broken record, pushing Arizona deeper into a drought that has persisted since 1999. Now, forecasters say La Niña, the ocean force responsible for the scant […]

UN calls for long-term approach to East Africa drought

New York, Sep 25 (IBNS) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a long-term approach by national authorities and the international donor community to tackle the root causes of recurring drought-related food shortages in the Horn of Africa, which is facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. “Addressing underlying risk factors is among the keys to […]

Bill Clinton: World must prepare for climate refugees

By Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York 22 September 2011 Some of the most dramatic impacts of climate change will be felt by the millions of people who will be forced to leave their homes: Climate refugees will flee island nations rendered inhospitable by rising sea levels, arid regions increasingly wracked by drought, and wet, low-lying […]

UN warns of Pakistan food crisis in flood-hit areas

By Iftikhar A Khan24 September 2011 ISLAMABAD: The United Nations warned on Saturday of a food security and shelter crisis, saying it would soon run out of its stocks of food, essential medicines and tents if the international community failed to support the rapid response plan for flood victims in Sindh. Speaking at a briefing […]

Graph of the Day: $5 Billion Dry Spell in Texas

The 2011 Texas drought has caused more than $5 billion in losses for farmers and ranchers, according to a Texas A&M University study, and has sparked damaging wildfires. A $5 billion dry spell Technorati Tags: North America,agriculture,drought,wildfire,freshwater depletion,financial collapse,poverty,global warming,climate change

Drought, wildfires taking toll on Texas deer

By John Gill, Special to Scripps Texas Newspapers24 September 2011 Mother Nature is still tossing curve balls at wildlife and hunters.First, she came with a withering statewide drought and then she hurled widespread wildfires, some that are still burning in the Lone Star State. Allan Cain, biologist and project leader for whitetail deer at the […]

Converting rainforest to cropland in Africa reduces rainfall

September 19 (www.mongabay.com) – Converting West African rainforests into cropland reduces rainforest in adjacent forest areas, reports research published in Geophysical Research Letters. The study, based on a computer model used to simulate rainfall under different land-use conditions, found that cutting down tropical forests in West Africa reduces precipitation over neighboring forest areas by about […]

‘Severe’ drought triggers Stage 3 water restrictions for more than 1 million in North Texas

By Randy McIlwain, NBCDFW.com 22 September 2011 More than 1 million North Texas water customers will be under Stage 3 water restrictions beginning Nov. 1. The North Texas Municipal Water District’s board of trustees unanimously voted to implement a Stage 3 drought plan for its 1.6 million customers. “This is an ongoing drought, and it […]

Afghan drought conditions could spell disaster

KABUL, 21 September 2011 (IRIN) – The current dry spell sweeping across Afghanistan’s northern, northeastern and western provinces could lead to a large-scale food crisis and the humanitarian community should act quickly to ensure this does not degenerate into a disaster, government and aid officials warn. “The issue is very serious. Every other year drought […]

Coal’s terrible forecast

By Gregor Macdonald September 20, 2011 There are many unfortunate outcomes to Peak Oil. One of the more serious is the world’s transition back to coal. Expensive BTU from crude oil has influenced the energy adoption pathway of the Developing World for ten years now, pushing the five billion people in the Non-OECD towards coal. […]

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