A Texas lake that turned blood-red this summer may not be a sign of the End Times, but probably is the end of a popular fishing and recreation spot. A drought has left the OC Fisher Reservoir in San Angelo State Park in West Texas almost entirely dry. The water that is left is stagnant, […]
By Janet Gregg, Jacksonville Daily Progress 2 August 2011 JACKSONVILLE — The impact of the current drought on the state’s agriculture industry has been devastating already and is likely to worsen if the drought continues through next year as some experts predict. “It does look like the drought of 2011 will be the costliest drought […]
US contact: Terese Rosenthal, Tel.: +1 609 243 4339 12 July 2011 An exceptional accumulation of very severe natural catastrophes makes 2011 the highest-ever loss year on record, even after the first half-year. Already, the approx. US$ 265bn in economic losses up to the end of June easily exceeds the total figure for 2005, previously […]
Analysis by Lester R. Brown* WASHINGTON, Jul 20, 2011 (IPS) – Many countries are facing dangerous water shortages. As world demand for food has soared, millions of farmers have drilled too many irrigation wells in efforts to expand their harvests. As a result, water tables are falling and wells are going dry in some 20 […]
By Joel Connelly 28 July 2011 The Canadian federal government in Ottawa has silenced a leading West Coast fisheries scientist who has argued that a virus is infecting and killing sockeye salmon when they enter the Fraser River, not far north of the U.S.-Canadian border. The undammed “mighty Fraser” supports four of the world’s greatest […]
By Robert Sanders, Media Relations 28 July 2011 BERKELEY — California’s native grasses, already under pressure from invasive exotic grasses, are likely to be pushed aside even more as the climate warms, according to a new analysis from the University of California, Berkeley. In the study, which has been accepted for publication in the journal […]
By Benjamin Wermund; Editing by Karen Brooks and Jerry Norton29 July 2011 MARFA, Texas (Reuters) – A historic Texas drought is driving bears into urban areas searching for food and water, the latest in a series of bizarre wildlife stories to come out of the deadly hot and dry weather across the nation. Authorities have […]
By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press27 July 2011 Randy McGee spent $28,000 in one month pumping water onto about 500 acres in West Texas before he decided to give up irrigating 75 acres of corn and focus on other crops that stood a better chance in the drought. He thought rain might come and save those […]
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News28 July 2011 An exceptional wildfire in northern Alaska in 2007 put as much carbon into the air as the entire Arctic tundra absorbs in a year, scientists say. The Anaktuvuk River fire burned across more than 1,000 sq km (400 sq miles), doubling the extent of Alaskan tundra […]
By Rob Manning 28 July 2011 PORTLAND, OREGON – Northwest tribal leaders say they’re seeing climate change affect food sources that are vital to their culture. “All we can do is try to help these plants and animals adapt. If we don’t, the future of the tribes’ First Foods could be at stake” says Paul […]
