More power plant woes likely if Texas drought drags into winter – ‘Cooling reservoirs just aren’t being replenished’

By Tom Fowler24 August 2011 A number of Texas power plants may need to cut back operations or shut down completely if the state’s severe drought continues into the fall, an official with Texas’ main transmission manager told FuelFix. At least one North Texas power plant has had to reduce how much it generates because the […]

Texas crops wilt amid drought – Record 251 counties have outdoor burn bans – More drought predicted for next year

By Lara K. Richards23 August 2011 The sweltering heat and crushing drought have taken North Texas captive, drying up hope for a fall wheat crop. Stan Bevers, management economist and extension professor with Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Vernon, said lack of rainfall coupled with days and days of triple-digit heat have taken […]

Graph of the Day: Drought across the United States, July 2011

Caption by Holli Riebeek11 August 2011 More of the United States was in exceptional drought in July 2011 than in any other month in the past 12 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The worst of the drought is spread across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Louisiana. […]

Warnings of Africa drought came early from climate scientists – ‘No one can say that we didn’t know’

By Joe DeCapua17 August 2011 Experts say there was plenty of warning that the Horn of Africa was likely to experience severe drought. Nevertheless, millions of people are now at risk. Scientific experts have been saying for years that the Horn of Africa was vulnerable. The warning came with recommendations to prevent drought or lessen […]

U.S. ties 2008 record for billion-dollar weather disasters – Bulk of hurricane season still ahead

By Jane Sutton; Editing by Cynthia Osterman17 August 2011 MIAMI (Reuters) – The United States has already tied its yearly record for billion-dollar weather disasters and the cumulative tab from floods, tornadoes and heat waves has hit $35 billion, the National Weather Service said on Wednesday. And it’s only August, with the bulk of the […]

‘Exceptional’ Oklahoma drought has killed 16, burned 250 million acres, and broken 1,400 water mains

By Michael CrossAugust 16, 2011 from KOSU It’s been so hot and dry this summer that climatologists say the southern part of the United States is going through an “exceptional drought.” Parts of Oklahoma have seen little rain since October — not to mention a string of 100-degree days. The steamy conditions are pressuring the […]

U.S. cities prepare to adapt to climate change – ‘Sea-level rise is inexorable’

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY; with Elizabeth Weise16 August 2011 In Chula Vista, Calif., new waterfront buildings will be required to have higher foundations because of an expected rise in sea levels. In Chicago, where flooding is predicted to worsen, residents can get rebates for putting rain barrels, compost bins and native plants in their […]

World Bank: Soaring food prices intensifying Africa famine

By Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk16 August 2011 World Bank says shortages and near-historic prices for staple crops have contributed to the crisis in the Horn of Africa A volatile global food supply is deepening the humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa, the World Bank warns in a new report. Shortages and near-historic […]

In West Texas town, worst drought in 116 years leaves reservoir 99 percent dry – Local water wells contaminated by abandoned oil wells

By ALLAN TURNER, HOUSTON CHRONICLE15 August 2011 ROBERT LEE — […] With Texas gripped in a seemingly intractable drought that state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon has declared the worst single-year dry spell in 116 years, Robert Lee, population 1,106, has emerged as an alarming worst-case example of what scant rainfall and triple-digit temperatures can do. Since […]

Is La Niña or blocked jet stream frying Texas?

By Ferris Jabr16 August 2011 So far the relentless heatwave scorching Texas has killed numerous crops and dried up the reservoir in San Angelo State Park, leaving a shallow pool of blood-red water teeming with red bacteria that thrive in low oxygen. The drought in Lake Nacogdoches has exposed a piece of the space shuttle […]

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