Southern California marching toward fourth-driest year since 1877, firefighters deploying early – ‘People are going crazy now. When you’re a farmer in Central California, you watch the water as much as you watch your kids.’

By Hector Becerra19 April 2013 (Los Angeles Times) – Southern California is marching toward its fourth-driest year since 1877, and that has firefighters increasingly girded for battle. In the hills of Los Angeles County, tests show the brush is drying out at a significantly quicker rate this year because of the lack of rain. In […]

Struggling to force the Sahara back as climate change wreaks havoc in Senegal – ‘If this goes on, the village will have to move’

By Paul Cullen 15 April 2013 (Irish Times) – At first viewing here in the remote interior of Senegal, there are just three problems with the Great Green Wall, sub-Saharan Africa’s attempt to stop the continuing advance of the Sahara in its tracks. It isn’t great. It isn’t green. And for now, it doesn’t amount […]

Severe weather ‘pushing millions’ into starvation – ‘The links between hunger, under-nutrition, and climate change are clear once we listen to the experiences of the poorest and most vulnerable people’

By Cormac Murphy15 April 2013 (Independent) – Severe weather patterns are “pushing millions” into starvation, former president Mary Robinson said, ahead of a major climate change conference at Dublin Castle. President Michael D Higgins officially opened the two-day gathering on Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Change this morning. The event was jointly organised by the Government […]

Extreme weather battering insurance firms’ bottom line – Ohio’s low premiums at risk as storms, droughts increase

BY Jon Chavez14 April 2013 (The Blade) – As a meteorologist for FirstEnergy Corp., Pete Manousos’ job is to keep the electric utility informed about any upcoming extreme weather that might cause outages, or hamper repair crews’ ability to restore power. But the last two years, that job has gotten harder and harder. “You have […]

Kansas’s self-destruct button: A bill to outlaw sustainability

By Tom Randall 9 April 2013 (Bloomberg) – Kansas, I love your sense of humor. It seems like every time the Sunflower State pops up in my news feed, it’s for something like this: House Bill No. 2366, a proposed law that would make it illegal to use “public funds to promote or implement sustainable […]

Wellington water ban lifted – New Zealand’s worst drought in over 30 years may cost $2 billion

9 April 2013 (APNZ) – Wellington’s water ban has been lifted almost four weeks since sprinklers fell silent across the capital. Regional authorities introduced a total ban on outdoor water use in mid-March after revealing there were only 20 days of water supply left. They also started drawing water from the Hutt River and urged […]

U.S. Midwest farmers looking for best crop in decades

5 April 2013 (Reuters) – A cool spring in the Midwest has farmers eager for soils to warm up before planting what is expected to be the region’s biggest crop in decades. Farmers this week could begin planting corn in many spots across the upper Midwest, according to insurance policies that cover costs if they […]

Stubborn drought tests Texas ranchers – U.S. cattle herd at lowest level in 60 years – ‘Beef will come back. But who’s going to be left to produce it?’

By STEPHANIE STROM5 April 2013 BLOOMING GROVE, Texas (The New York Times) – Gary Price is a rarity among cattle ranchers these days. He’s making money on his herd of 200 cows in this tiny town about an hour south of Dallas-Fort Worth. “The market is very good, and we’ve been able to keep what […]

Sahara went from green to desert in a flash

By Becky Oskin, LiveScience5 April 2013 (NBC News) – From lakes and grasslands with hippos and giraffes to a vast desert, North Africa’s sudden geographical transformation 5,000 years ago was one of the planet’s most dramatic climate shifts. The transformation took place nearly simultaneously across the continent’s northern half, a new study finds. The results […]

New Zealand drought effects to last well into autumn

2 April 2013 (APNZ) – The drought is likely to be felt well into autumn, as river and soil moisture levels in the North Island take some time to recover, climate scientists predict. NIWA’s seasonal climate outlook for April to June has predicted higher than average temperatures across the North Island, and lower than normal […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial