Drought Causes Ripple Effect Along Mighty Mississippi River. Hide captionThe Mississippi River is flowing at near normal levels again in New Orleans, as measured by this old-fashioned staff gauge behind the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District office. Mississippi Blues: When The River Doesn't Run. Hide captionThe offices of JB Marine, a barge cleaning and repair business that is located atop an empty barge just south of St.
Louis, now lean at a 30-degree angle because the Mississippi River levels are so low. Alan Greenblatt/NPR The Mississippi River has provided George Foster with a living all his life. Now, with the river dropping to historically low levels, it's threatening to take his business down with it. Foster's office sits atop an empty barge on the river, just south of St. Foster is moving his office space to temporary trailers on higher ground, but that's not going to improve general operations at his company, JB Marine Service, which cleans and repairs barges that ply the Mississippi. Jun 2012 Nutrient pollution: Blooming horrible. July 2012 US drought: how it could impact food, water needs around the world. As the historic drought now searing more than 60 percent of the US drags on, the impact could soon be sweeping across the country and beyond. Skip to next paragraph Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS ofThe Christian Science MonitorWeekly Digital Edition After the obvious push on food prices, drought experts say the cascading chain of secondary societal effects will range from higher utility prices and industry costs in the developed world to population displacements and potential political unrest in less developed regions.
Aug 2012 In Drought, Should Corn Be Food Or Fuel? Hide captionDrought has taken a toll on corn this year, and as a result, a growing number of ethanol plants have closed.
Saul Loeb /AFP/Getty Images Drought has taken a toll on corn this year, and as a result, a growing number of ethanol plants have closed. Standing outside the Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-Op in Little Falls, Minn., there's not a lot going on. The pungent smell of fermentation that typically hangs in the air here is absent. And trucks piled high with corn are nowhere to be seen.
They're idled in part because of high corn prices. "Most of the industry is just breaking even in terms of profitability or actually running at slightly negative margins," says Geoff Cooper, vice president of research and analysis at the Renewable Fuels Association. Cooper says since the start of the summer at least seven ethanol plants are now idle in states like Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana and Kansas. The nation's corn crop won't meet expectations. Oct 2012 Wildfire Terrorists Threaten Nations’ Security mental New. Overwhelming wildland fires spreading across the globe to be studied at major conference on homeland security as dire terrorists risks DALLAS (Oct. 15, 2012) – Having that nice home in the woods is more risky everyday as rampant wildfires are increasingly overwhelming, plus becoming an attractive tool for terrorists.
Rampant wildfires ruin economies, threaten defense installations, spread pollution and disease; alter weather, crop production, wildlife, and drinking water. The economic costs to nations worldwide could be staggering. Dec 2012 Stubborn US Drought Could Be Costlier Than Hurricane Sandy. As drought conditions persist across the South, hitting farmers and ranchers, parts of the Mississippi River are on the verge of becoming unnavigable.
The potential costs are large. Less than 18 months after the US Army Corps of Engineers blasted gaps in a levee on the Mississippi River to cope with a record flood, it's getting ready to detonate explosives for the opposite reason – to clear rock outcroppings on the bottom of the drought-depleted waterway so cargo can keep moving. "From one extreme to another in just the space of 12, 15, 16 months? Army Corps' Options Dwindle Along With Mississippi River. Hide captionAn excavator perched on a barge removes rocks from the Mississippi River in Thebes Ill.
Seth Perlman/AP An excavator perched on a barge removes rocks from the Mississippi River in Thebes Ill. Every day this month, the Army Corps of Engineers is working hard to deepen the Mississippi River's shipping channel in an effort to keep navigation open between St. Louis and Cairo, Ill. Water levels are forecast to remain high enough through January to float loaded barges, but some say the only way to keep the river open next month will be to release water from the Missouri River. On a recent afternoon, Maj. "What we're looking at here is pretty amazing ... it is solid rock outcrops," Peabody says. Drought leaves weakened trees susceptible to pests, diseases for years. COLLEGE STATION — The drought of 2011 appears to be fading as far as rainfall totals go, but less obvious impacts may continue for years as weakened trees fall victim to pests and disease, tree experts note.
“One thing that most people don’t realize is that this drought is going to have an impact on the trees that were damaged in 2011 for probably five to seven years from now,” said Dr. David Appel, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service plant pathologist.