Graph of the Day: Water-Level Decline in the High Plains Aquifer, 1950s to 2007

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 […]

Squid invasions signal changes in the Pacific Ocean

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 […]

North America's biggest fish slips toward extinction

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 […]

Kingston Coal Ash Slide: Then and Now

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 […]

A year later, TVA chief says ash spill ‘painful’

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 […]

Graph of the Day: U.S. Hardiness Zone Changes Between 1990 and 2006

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 […]

Groundwater loss in Central Valley since 2003 equal to volume of Lake Mead

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 […]

Gray wolf population declining in Yellowstone

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 […]

Poll reveals trauma of joblessness in U.S.

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 […]

Time-lapse video of Arctic coastline eroding, ‘orders of magnitude’ faster than historical rates

The northern coastline of Alaska midway between Point Barrow and Prudhoe Bay is eroding by up to one-third the length of a football field annually because of a “triple whammy” of declining sea ice, warming seawater and increased wave activity, according to new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The conditions have […]

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