By GARANCE BURKE, DOS PALOS, Calif. (AP) — The government is spending $40 million in federal stimulus funds to pull water from underground aquifers in drought-stricken California, even as evidence is growing that the well-drilling boom could degrade the quality of water delivered to millions of residents. Farmers, conservationists and engineers are criticizing the […]
Water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2007 (modified from Gutentag and others, 1984; Lowry and others, 1967; Luckey and others, 1981; and Burbach, 2007). The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.6 million acres (174,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines […]
Some Fish Stock Decline as Jumbo Squid Migrate to New Waters By MOISES VELASQUEZ-MANOFFDec. 19, 2009 When large numbers of jumbo squid first showed up in California’s Monterey Bay in 1997, scientists weren’t sure what had brought the cephalopod that far north. An unusually strong El Niño event had warmed the eastern Pacific. But the […]
As efforts falter to save North America’s largest freshwater fish – a toothless beast leftover from the days of dinosaurs – officials hope to stave off extinction by sending more water hurtling down a river so the fish can spawn in the wild. By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press Writer BILLINGS, Mont. — As efforts falter […]
In the early morning hours of December 22, 2008, the earthen wall of a containment pond at Tennessee’s Kingston Fossil Plant gave way. The breach released 1.3 million cubic meters (1.7 million cubic yards) of fly ash—a coal-combustion waste product captured and stored in wet form. As fly ash dries, it is typically moved to […]
By BILL POOVEY KINGSTON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority’s top executive says changing the way waste is stored at its power plants should reduce the risk of another disastrous coal ash spill like the one that tarnished a riverside community a year ago. But he isn’t offering any guarantees. Tom Kilgore said eliminating all […]
Much of the U. S. has been warmer in recent years, and that affects which trees are right for planting. The Arbor Day Foundation has recently completed an extensive updating of U.S. Hardiness Zones based upon data from 5,000 National Climatic Data Center cooperative stations across the continental United States. Hardiness Zone Changes Between 1990 […]
Irvine, Calif., December 14, 2009 — New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California’s primary agricultural region – the Central Valley – and its major mountain water source – the Sierra Nevada – have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir. The findings, based on satellite […]
By Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo — A dozen tourists in parkas huddle around wolf researcher Colby Anton in the northern range of the park, an area famous for gray wolves, to catch a glimpse of the images on his digital camera. The wolf watchers have become a familiar scene since the […]
By MICHAEL LUO and MEGAN THEE-BRENANPublished: December 14, 2009 More than half of the nation’s unemployed workers have borrowed money from friends or relatives since losing their jobs. An equal number have cut back on doctor visits or medical treatments because they are out of work. Almost half have suffered from depression or anxiety. About […]
