Turkey tells Iraq, Syria: No water

By Staff Writers, Ankara, Turkey (UPI) Turkey says it cannot give drought-stricken Iraq and Syria any more water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, claiming it’s short of water itself as it forges ahead with a mammoth dam-building program. The thirsty downstream states, witnessing their farmland turning into dustbowls and their people migrating to overcrowded […]

Kerala, India: ‘the land can no longer support us’

By Grace Boyle Mutai came to Kerala, to this farm, on January 21st, 1951. He was eleven years old then, and has lived here ever since. He’s dark-skinned, white-haired and wearing a bright blue check lunghi [a wrap-around piece of material worn as a skirt], as all the farmers here wear. A granddad vest, a […]

New El Niño threatens world with weather woe

Forecasters say this one is brewing up to be the second-strongest on record By Michael McCarthy, Environment editor A new El Niño has begun. The sporadic Pacific Ocean warming, which can disrupt weather patterns across the world, is intensifying, say meteorologists. So, over the next few months, there may be increased drought in Africa, India […]

Kenya drought ‘passed emergency levels months ago’

As one devastating drought follows another, the future is bleak for millions in east Africa. John Vidal reports from Moyale, Kenya By John Vidal We met Isaac and Abdi, Alima and Muslima last week in the bone-dry, stony land close to the Ethiopia-Kenya border. They were with five nomad families who have watched all their […]

Los Angeles wildfire drives wildlife to backyards

By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – For residents of the scenic foothill communities above Los Angeles, chance encounters with deer, coyote and other wildlife are commonplace. The occasional bear or mountain lion will even wander into a backyard. They’re about to become more visible. As the threat to humans from the 10-day-old Station Fire […]

Herring season canceled in San Francisco Bay

By Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer State wildlife regulators canceled the San Francisco Bay herring fishing season for the first time Thursday, hoping to rebuild a population that has plunged dangerously low. The 4-0 vote by the state Fish and Game Commission follows a long decline in bay herring. The drop is blamed on environmental […]

Drought withers Iraqi farms, food supplies

by Deborah Amos | Listen to the Story [4 min 38 sec] Iraq has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, but it’s running out of another valuable commodity: water. Iraq’s ancient name, Mesopotamia, means the land between two rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates, which flow into Iraq from Turkey and Syria. […]

Fall colors fade in U.S. West as aspen trees die

  By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – The American West is losing its autumn colors as global warming begins to bite and there is far more at stake than iconic scenery. Aspen, the white-barked trees with golden leaves that gave their name to the famed Colorado ski resort, have been dying off across the […]

India faces 'severe' drought: PM

By Staff Writers, New Delhi (AFP) Aug 29, 2009 India faces a “severe” drought but the country’s ample food grain stock will ensure no one goes hungry, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday. Monsoon rains, the lifeline for farms that support more that half of India’s 1.1 billion population, have been scant and about […]

Kenya hippos hard hit by drought

Tsavo West National Park, Kenya (AFP) Aug 30, 2009 – Kenya’s persistent and bruising drought is having a serious impact on the country’s wildlife, one of its main tourist attractions, obliging the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to feed hippos to keep them alive. In Tsavo West national park, a vast expanse of shrubby savannah and […]

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