GreenWatch

B. McPherson A small increase in atmospheric temperature leads to big weather changes. The continuing drought in the US has the Mississippi River drying up. The Army Corps of Engineers is busy dredging the river in an attempt to keep the commercial traffic going. They are removing rocks from the river bed in an attempt to gain two feet of clearance for freight barges. If they are successful, traffic may continue this month but if rain is not forthcoming, February could see a shut down of fully loaded barge traffic that can now navigate the river as far as Illinois. The engineers have already released water from a lake to bolster the river levels. While the Missouri River is a tributary and a source of water, it too is facing low levels. Various laws protect the Missouri Basin from “pirating” water from there. The drought which devastated much of the American mid-west agriculture last summer and the summer before looks as if it will continue. Much of the winter wheat grow...

B.McPherson This may be evidence of climate change or it may be a periodic disaster. Either way it hits the consumer and producer hard. The US Mid-West is facing its worst drought in 56 years and it is having a major impact on the soybean and corn yields.  The American Mid-West is the world’s largest supplier of corn and a leading supplier of soybeans. Both have been hit hard by the lack of rain this summer. Iowa has been the hardest hit of the states under extreme drought conditions. They share that unfortunate designation with Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. Currently 35 states have counties that have been declared disaster areas. The corn and soybean futures have reached record high prices. The ripples from the failed crops will spread across N.America and also to the hungry in foreign countries. Corn and its processed products are found in much of the processed foods in the supermarkets. Corn is the principle food for feed lot cattle. The Ameri...

By B. McPherson The area of the Mediterranean Sea east to Iran usually receives the bulk of its rainfall in the wintertime. According to figures released by NOAA scientist, Martin Hoerling, the last 20 winters have had 10 extremely dry winters in that area.  This is not encouraging news for a region that already experiences water stress, because it implies natural variability alone is unlikely to return the region’s climate to normal.” NOAA News As the water temperature of the oceans increases due to planet warming, the atmosphere responds. When the Indian Ocean warms in response to planetary temperatures, it tends to push the weather systems north into central and northern Europe which then receive  more precipitation while the arid south receives less. The NOAA scientists use data from many sources to reach their conclusions. The natural climate fluctuations may or may not be affected by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels. Humans may not be causing the Earth’s climate to...

By B. McPherson The area of the Mediterranean Sea east to Iran usually receives the bulk of its rainfall in the wintertime. According to figures released by NOAA scientist, Martin Hoerling, the last 20 winters have had 10 extremely dry winters in that area.  This is not encouraging news for a region that already experiences water stress, because it implies natural variability alone is unlikely to return the region’s climate to normal.” NOAA News As the water temperature of the oceans increases due to planet warming, the atmosphere responds. When the Indian Ocean warms in response to planetary temperatures, it tends to push the weather systems north into central and northern Europe which then receive  more precipitation while the arid south receives less. The NOAA scientists use data from many sources to reach their conclusions. The natural climate fluctuations may or may not be affected by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels. Humans may not be causing the Earth’s climate to...