By the end of July 2009, California was well into its third dry year in a row. On average, the state’s reservoirs were running low. In particular, the San Luis reservoir had reached only 18 percent of its capacity by July 28, said the Drought Operations Center for the State of California. The San Luis […]
By Rodrigo Orihuela Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — Wheat output in Argentina’s biggest producing region will plunge 70 percent in the current harvest because of dry weather and locust swarms, an analyst at a local cereals exchange said. The south of Buenos Aires province, which produced about 30 percent of the country’s wheat in past years, […]
From reader Gail: By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Nov 12 (IPS) – The persistent drought affecting some 90 percent of Argentine territory has slain cattle in the hundreds of thousands and caused forest fires, drastic restrictions on water use and local disputes over water. The area around Tostado, a town in the northeastern province of […]
(University of California – Davis) California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to a new study by UC Davis doctoral student Jessica Oster and geology professor Isabel Montañez. The finding, which comes from analyzing stalagmites from Moaning Cavern in the central […]
Researchers Deborah Tabart and Hugh Possingham on the demise of koalas Australia’s koalas could be wiped out within 30 years unless urgent action is taken to halt a decline in population, according to researchers. They say development, climate change and bushfires have all combined to send the numbers of wild koalas plummeting. The Australian […]
By LAUREN MORELLO of ClimateWirePublished: November 10, 2009 For more than 70 years, its massive walls have tamed the flows of the Colorado River, fueling the growth of cities like Las Vegas that depend on it to supply water and power from its generating station. But these days, what’s most striking is the lack of […]
By Maryam Omidi MALE (Reuters) – The Maldives, threatened by rising sea levels because of global warming, on Monday pleaded with developed nations to reduce carbon emissions and said developing nations could change the outcome at climate talks in Copenhagen. The appeal by the Indian ocean archipelago came at a climate change summit grouping Bangladesh, […]
By BRIDIE SMITHNovember 9, 2009 MELBOURNE’S water storage is set to fall for the first time in four months this week, as a record string of hot November days coincides with reduced run-off and a lack of spring rain. While catchments were still benefiting from last month’s falls, water flowing into reservoirs has gradually decreased. […]
By ROBERT F. WORTHPublished: October 31, 2009 JAHILIYA, Yemen — More than half of this country’s scarce water is used to feed an addiction. Even as drought kills off Yemen’s crops, farmers in villages like this one are turning increasingly to a thirsty plant called qat, the leaves of which are chewed every day by […]
By James Morgan, BBC News, Kenya At the edges of Kenya’s Lake Nakuru, Paul Opiyo picks up a dead flamingo and warns some eager tourists not to touch it, just in case. He points down to his feet – the brown earth is speckled with brittle white feather shafts. “We should be underwater, standing here,” […]
