Graph of the Day: Global Groundwater Extraction Footprints of Aquifers

Aquifers are major groundwater basins with recharge of >2 mm yr−1 in the global inventory of groundwater resources20 (see Supplementary Information). At the bottom of this figure, the areas of the six aquifers (Western Mexico, High Plains, North Arabian, Persian, Upper Ganges and North China plain) are shown at the same scale as the global map; the […]

High price of corn forcing U.S. farmers to feed candy to livestock

By Robert Bradfield, with photojournalist Jason Thomason13 August 2012 MAYFIELD, Kentucky – At Mayfield’s United Livestock Commodities, owner Joseph Watson is tweaking the recipe for success. “Just to be able to survive, we have to look at other sources for nutrition,” he said. His 1,400 cattle are no longer feeding off corn. The prices, Watson […]

Drought worsens in Plains despite cooler temperatures, holds steady elsewhere in U.S.

By Jim Suhr, AP Business Writer23 August 2012 ST. LOUIS (AP) – While other corn growers already have knocked down their drought-ravaged crops to feed them to livestock, Nebraska farmer Doug Nelson still waits for his maize to mature, well aware it won’t be a banner year. On the day a new report suggested the […]

Climate scientist Michael Mann plans libel suit against the National Review

By Dan Satterfield22 July 2012 I am amazed at how political beliefs can lead people to say and do really ignorant things. I had a comment this week from someone who complained that it was nearly impossible to get information about climate change from a non political source, and he has a real point. It’s […]

Petition to ask U.S. presidential candidates: ‘What is your plan to address the climate crisis?’

From the worthy U.S. organization, League of Conservation Voters: Sign our petition to ask Obama and Romney this question in the first debate! Help us put the climate crisis in the national spotlight by calling on Jim Lehrer, the moderator of the first presidential debate, to ask about global warming in the first presidential debate. Sign […]

No drought-busting rains seen for U.S. crop belt

By Sam Nelson; editing by John Wallace21 August 2012 CHICAGO (Reuters) – Benign weather is expected for the next week or two in the U.S. Midwest crop region, with no serious delays of early harvest but also no significant relief to corn and soybeans from the worst drought in half a century, an agricultural meteorologist […]

‘Pervasive effects of climate change’ shifting Massachusetts butterfly species

By Jeremy C. Fox 20 August 2012 Harvard scientists say they have found shifts in the Massachusetts butterfly populations tied to climate change, according to a new study published Sunday in the scholarly journal Nature Climate Change. The study, which used data collected during 19 years by amateur enthusiasts from the Massachusetts Butterfly Club, found […]

Drought-stricken Farm Belt not headed for another Dust Bowl, say seed companies

[Indeed; we could be headed for something much worse. –Des] By Chuck Raasch, USA TODAY19 August 2012 The severe drought that has hit the Farm Belt does not immediately threaten to create another Dust Bowl or widespread crop failure, thanks to rapid innovations in the past 20 years in seed quality, planting practices and farming […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of smoke from wildfires in the U.S. West spreading eastward, 12-14 August 2012

Caption by Michon Scott19 August 2012 Intense wildfires in California and Idaho sent smoke eastward across the United States in mid-August 2012. Smoke affected air quality as far away as the Great Lakes Region, and some of the thickest smoke stretched from the Dakotas to Texas. Wildfire smoke is a combination of gases and aerosols—tiny […]

Horses fall victim to hard times and dry times on the range

By FERNANDA SANTOS18 August 2012 AZTEC, New Mexico – The land is parched, the fields are withering and thousands of the nation’s horses are being left to fend for themselves on the dried range, abandoned by people who can no longer afford to feed them. They have been dropping dead in the Navajo reservation in […]

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