Image of the Day: Satellite view of Colorado forest destruction by beetles, 2005-2011

Colorado forest before beetle infestation, September 2005   Colorado forest after beetle infestation, September 2011 Caption by Adam Voiland, with information from Thomas Veblen and Bill Romme28 July 2012 A single pine bark beetle is about the size of a grain of rice. But when the beetle population swells, it can have a major impact […]

Dirty but essential, that’s coal – ‘There’s no end to the coal here’

[cf. Earth’s greatest mass extinction caused by coal: study] By Robert Bryce27 July 2012 Standing in the dispatch office of the North Antelope Rochelle Mine near Gillette, Wyo., Scott Durgin pointed at a flat-panel display. The regional vice president for Peabody Energy smiled. The most productive coal mine in the world was on target. Since […]

Graph of the Day: September 2012 U.S. Corn Futures, March 2011 – July 2012

20 July 2012 (CME Group) – September Corn finished up 16 3/4 at 824 1/2, 4 1/4 off the high and 25 up from the low. December Corn closed up 17 1/4 at 795 3/4. This was 16 3/4 up from the low and 1 1/4 off the high. September and December corn traded sharply […]

U.S. drought diminishes mighty Mississippi, puts heat on Congress

By Sam Nelson and Charles Abbott; editing by Mary Milliken; desking by Andrew Hay 26 July 2012 CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The severe drought in the U.S. Midwest wreaked more havoc across the country on Thursday, forcing barges on the Mississippi River to lighten loads for fear of getting stuck and raising concerns about higher prices […]

With global warming, peril underlies road to Alaska as permafrost melts

By CORNELIA DEAN23 July 2012 WHITEHORSE, Yukon Territory – […] Today, as the road now known as the Alaska Highway celebrates its 70th birthday, cars and trucks flash along what Wally Hidinger calls “a very good standard two-lane highway” from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks, Alaska. “Our mantra is bare, dry pavement 365 days […]

U.S. drought taking heavy toll on fishing industry – ‘Unheard of’ river temperatures causing mass fish kills

By Alyce Hinton; editing by Jim Marshall27 July 2012 (Reuters) – The drought and extreme heat wreaking havoc across the U.S. farm belt is killing fish by the thousands in lakes and rivers and could pose a problem to migrating ducks and other waterfowl if it stretches into the fall, officials said. Authorities are tallying […]

Report shows U.S. drought rapidly intensifying

By Jim Suhr, with additional reporting by Nelson Lampe in Omaha, Nebraska, John Milburn in Topeka, Kansas, Jason Keyser in Chicago, and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City. ST. LOUIS (AP) – The widest drought to grip the United States in decades is getting worse with no signs of abating, a new report warned Thursday, as […]

Drought and heat wave killing shade trees across Missouri – ‘Paper-dry to the core’

By Sarah Baraba24 July 2012 The iconic 145-foot Sugarberry Tree in Kirkwood Park has weathered a lighting strike, rotor wash from a Marine helicopter and more than 150 years of unpredictable St. Louis weather, but the recent heat wave was the last straw in its battle to survive. Just as the sun was rising above […]

Video: U.S. ranchers sell off cattle as mounting drought withers grazing land, cornfields – Cattle inventory smallest since records began in 1973

By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press 24 July 2012 WICHITA, Kansas (AP) – Kansas cattleman Ken Grecian sold 20 pairs of cows and calves a few weeks after drought had sucked his pastures dry and no rain was in the forecast. He sold 20 more pairs Friday. Grecian spent years meticulously breeding his cows to improve […]

Native Americans seek plan to respond to climate changes that affect their way of life

By Suzanne Gamboa20 July 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) – Native American and Alaska Native leaders told of their villages being under water because of coastal erosion, droughts, and more on Thursday during a Senate hearing intended to draw attention to how climate change is affecting tribal communities. The environmental changes being seen in native communities are […]

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