By JUDY FAHYS, The Salt Lake Tribune 14 April 2012 What Bruce Tremper saw when he ventured into the Wasatch backcountry this spring surprised him. Bare patches littered the winter landscape where he was used to seeing snow — even on high-elevation ridge tops. In one of his last forecasts of the season for the […]
By Luzi Ann Javier and Ranjeetha Pakiam17 April 2012 Demand for edible oils is climbing to a record as drought damages crops across South America, leaving buyers with the smallest stockpiles in three decades. The use of soy, palm, rapeseed and six other oils will rise 3.9 percent this year, reducing the ratio of reserves […]
Caption by Aries Keck and Mike Carlowicz6 April 2012 The Dead Sea is so named because its high salinity discourages the growth of fish, plants, and other wildlife. This salt lake resides in a depression in the Earth’s crust, where the continents of Africa and Asia are pulling away from each other. It has pulled […]
Tel Aviv, Israel, 13 Apr 2012 (SPX) – Rapidly dropping water levels of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth’s surface heralded for its medicinal properties, has been a source of ecological concern for years. Now a drilling project led by researchers from Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University reveals that water levels […]
By The Associated Press12 April 2012 A state-by-state look at 2012 fire season prospects for the West: ARIZONA—Arizona had its worst fire in history in 2011, the Wallow Fire that charred more than 840 square miles in the state and parts of New Mexico. State officials say the strong winds that fanned the fire will […]
By REMA RAHMAN, Associated Press, with AP writers Todd Dvorak in Boise, Idaho, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, N.M., Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Ariz., Matt Volz in Helena, Mont., Paul Foy in Salt Lake City, Jeff Barnard in Grants Pass, Ore., Ken Ritter in Las Vegas, Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu […]
By Lauren Glendenning, lglendenning@vaildaily.com, Vail, Colorado13 April 2012 EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado – The Eagle River basin is melting four to eight weeks earlier than normal this year because of below average snowfall, warm spring temperatures and wind, according to the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District, presenting what could be the worst water supply year […]
By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY13 April 2012 The USA hasn’t been this dry in almost five years. Still reeling from last year’s devastating drought that led to at least $10 billion in agricultural losses across Texas and the South, the nation is enduring another unusually parched year. A mostly dry, mild winter has put nearly […]
April to September (autumn and winter) rainfall deciles from 1997 to 2011 for Australia (a decile rainfall map shows whether the rainfall is above average, average or below average for the most recent 15-year period, in comparison with the entire rainfall record from 1900). Areas of highest on record and lowest on record are also […]
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN7 April 2012 ISN’T it interesting that the Arab awakening began in Tunisia with a fruit vendor who was harassed by police for not having a permit to sell food — just at the moment when world food prices hit record highs? And that it began in Syria with farmers in the […]
