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October 13, 2008 11:32:20 AM CDT

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Stories related to: drought

Stories

18 Stories

  • July 2008

    • Battle Rages Over Culling Mustang Herd

      New York Times  |  Jul 20, 08 8:27 AM CDT

      Battle Rages Over Culling Mustang Herd

      (Newser) - In the debate over how to deal with America's wild mustang herds, both sides claim to have the animals' best interests at heart. Federal agency officials tasked with protecting the horses say the most humane—and economical—course is to euthanize some so the rest don't starve. But activists see more sinister motivations, reports the New York Times. More »

      Tags

      animal rights  • wildlife  • drought  • euthanasia  • Bureau of Land Management  • mustang

  • June 2008

    • Quest on for Chocolate Genome

      Washington Post  |  Jun 26, 08 6:44 AM CDT

      Quest on for Chocolate Genome

      (Newser) - Candy giant Mars is investing $10 million in a 5-year research project to unlock the secrets of chocolate's genetic code—the cocoa genome—as the first stage in developing cacao trees that can produce more, survive droughts, and combat disease. Mars intends to make the results public to stop key genes from being privately patented, reports the Washington Post. The cocoa harvest has become volatile and unreliable in recent years. More »

      Tags

      Brazil  • Mars  • IBM  • drought  • chocolate  • genome  • Department of Agriculture  • West Africa

    • US Weather Hell: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

      Washington Post  |  Jun 20, 08 4:18 AM CDT

      US Weather Hell: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

      (Newser) - The US will suffer a wide range of increasingly extreme weather events in the coming decades as a result of global warming—from drought and excessive heat to wildly destructive hurricanes and record floods triggered by intense rains, reports the Washington Post. The grim prognosis was revealed in the latest report by the US Climate Change Science Program, which called extreme weather "among the most serious challenges in coping with a changing climate." More »

    • Poor Crops Threaten to Worsen Food Crisis

      New York Times  |  Jun 10, 08 7:14 AM CDT

      Poor Crops Threaten to Worsen Food Crisis

      (Newser) - Amid fears of looming food shortages around the world, this year’s crops aren’t providing much hope, the New York Times reports. While farmers in America have been hit with too much rain, Australian farmers are battling the effects of drought. US farmers planted 4 million more acres this year than last, but drenched fields are preventing good results. “The anxiety level is increasing,” says a grains analyst. More »

      Tags

      weather  • farmer  • crops  • drought  • food shortage  • harvest

  • May 2008

    • 'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms

      BBC  |  May 2, 08 8:33 AM CDT

      'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms

      (Newser) - The worst drought in a century has forced a tenth of Australian farmers off the land, reports the BBC. The "Big Dry" has led to parched farmland across the nation over the last seven years, accelerating the exodus from rural areas. The number of farming families in Australia has dropped by a third over the last 20 years. More »

      Tags

      Australia  • farming  • farmer  • drought  • food shortage  • wheat  • farm

  • April 2008
  • February 2008

    • Gene Discovery Holds Hope for Drought-Safe Crops

      BBC  |  Feb 28, 08 2:45 AM CST

      Gene Discovery Holds Hope for Drought-Safe Crops

      (Newser) - Scientists have discovered a gene that controls how plants absorb carbon dioxide and release moisture in a breakthrough discovery that could help develop drought-resistant crops, reports the BBC. The gene that regulates the work of stomata, or pores on plant leaves, has been sought by biologists for decades. The gene also controls the amount of water vapor a plant releases into the atmosphere, and its manipulation could affect climate change. More »

      Tags

      Africa  • farming  • genes  • crops  • carbon dioxide  • drought  • plants  • Nature  • genetically modified crops

  • December 2007

    • Old Town Resurfaces as Drought Dries Ga. Lake

      Associated Press  |  Dec 24, 07 10:03 PM CST

      Old Town Resurfaces as Drought Dries Ga. Lake

      (Newser) - The brutal drought hitting Georgia is drying up an artificial lake and exposing the long-dead town that lies beneath—along with mountains of trash. "It's horrendous, it's unbelievable," said one local resident. Lake Lanier's receding shores have exposed debris of all shapes and sizes, including an old dirt racing track, foundations of buildings, sunken cars and boats, even a stretch of Georgia Highway 53. More »

      Tags

      Georgia  • Atlanta  • water  • drought  • lake

  • November 2007

    • Ga. Governor Prays for Rain

      Atlanta Journal-Constitution  |  Nov 13, 07 4:25 PM CST

      Ga. Governor Prays for Rain

      (Newser) - Georgia's governor called a prayer meeting in front of the Capitol today and asked residents of his parched state to "reverently and respectfully pray up a storm." About 250 Georgians joined Sonny Perdue in his unconventional bid for drought relief, reports the Journal - Constititution . A block away, protesters held signs reading "Pray on the Church Steps, not the Capitol Steps." More »

      Tags

      Georgia  • drought  • prayer

    • Water Runs Out In Tenn. Town

      Associated Press  |  Nov 2, 07 7:07 PM CDT

      Water Runs Out In Tenn. Town

      (Newser) - If the Southeast drought’s effects on Orme, Tenn., are a sign of things to come, folks in Atlanta should start scheduling their showers. The rural home to 145 people has run completely dry, and what water gets trucked in can be used only between 6 and 9 pm. This means citizens have to rush to get supper made, clothes washed, and baths drawn, the AP reports. More »

      Tags

      Atlanta  • Tennessee  • water  • Alabama  • drought  • Southeast  • emergency funding

  • October 2007

    • West's Water Woes May Be Permanent

      New York Times  |  Oct 21, 07 3:22 PM CDT

      West's Water Woes May Be Permanent

      (Newser) - Officials out West are worried about water, the New York Times reports, and not just for the short-term. In what the Times calls the " other water problem" caused by global warming, snowcaps that feed the the Colorado River—which quenches the thirst of 30 million people in seven states—are at  their lowest levels in 20 years. The "most optimistic" climate models suggest that 30% to 70% will be gone the second half of this century. More »

      Tags

      California  • global warming  • environment  • Nevada  • Utah  • Arizona  • Colorado  • water  • New Mexico  • drought  • Wyoming

    • Drought-weary Georgia Wants Help From Feds

      Associated Press  |  Oct 20, 07 1:37 PM CDT

      Drought-weary Georgia Wants Help From Feds

      (Newser) - With water supplies dwindling because of a severe drought, Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency today and asked President Bush to declare the northern part of the state a disaster area, the AP reports. The state wants permission to skirt EPA rules governing reservoir levels to deal with the drought, which is wreaking havoc on the Southeast, including Atlanta's 5 million residents. More »

      Tags

      Georgia  • drought  • Southeast

  • August 2007

    • Smog Cloud Menaces Asia

      Times (UK)  |  Aug 3, 07 1:34 PM CDT

      Smog Cloud Menaces Asia

      (Newser) - An enormous cloud of smog over southern Asia threatens 2 billion people with flooding and drought, a new study shows. The "Asian Brown Cloud" is melting Himalayan glaciers, the Times of London reports, and the resulting floods will menace heavily populated downstream areas. And the cloud's driving up temperatures in the Himalayas at twice the rate predicted by global warming. More »

      Tags

      global warming  • flood  • pollution  • air pollution  • Asia  • drought  • glacier  • smog  • Himalayas

  • July 2007