Protected areas are a cornerstone strategy for terrestrial and increasingly marine biodiversity conservation, but their use for conserving inland waters has received comparatively scant attention. In 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) included a target of 17% protection for inland waters, yet there has been no meaningful way of …
The farming industry in the United States is second to none around the world. There are many reasons why US agriculture is so productive such as increased mechanization and refined practices to increase crop yields. Another major reason has to do with the nutrients added to the soil. Unfortunately, the …
After testing New Orleans' flood defenses over the weekend, Tropical Storm Lee moved northeast on Monday after weakening to a tropical depression, and threatened to bring heavy rains and flooding to a large section of the Southeast. Moving slowly inland, the powerful rainmaker was on course to hit Mississippi on …
Six Great Lakes states that unsuccessfully sought a court order to seal off the lakes from invading Asian carp on Wednesday asked other states to apply pressure on Congress to act. The plea was sent to 27 states that could suffer or have suffered from the impact of foreign species …
Significant levels of the world's most-used herbicide have been detected in air and water samples from two U.S. farm states, government scientists said on Wednesday, in groundbreaking research on the active ingredient in Monsanto Co's Roundup. "It is out there in significant levels. It is out there consistently," said Paul …
A band of showers has offered some relief to parched areas from Kansas to Mississippi, but the historic drought causing billions of dollars in losses in the South is showing no signs of abating soon. Some parts of hard-hit Texas saw more rainfall in one day last week than they …
A recent mapping expedition by scientists has shown that a zone of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico is above average but not as vast as many had anticipated, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. Flooding in the Midwest had stirred fears that vast amounts of farm …
The gopher tortoise deserves protection in several states in the U.S. Southeast under the Endangered Species Act, but funding shortages could delay the listing for years, federal wildlife officials said on Tuesday. There is sufficient scientific data to list the gopher tortoise as threatened in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida …
An oppressive and potentially deadly summertime mix of sizzling temperatures and high humidity baked a large swath of the country again on Sunday, pushing afternoon heat indexes in dozens of cities to dangerous levels. Forecasters warned the heatwave would persist through much of the coming week and cautioned residents in …
The swollen Missouri River was swamping more farmland in Missouri on Wednesday as federal officials began to prepare for a gradual reduction in water releases from a key dam starting later in July. Residents from Montana through Missouri have built flood barriers and evacuated homes for more than a thousand …
Heavy rains and flooding across swaths of US farmland mean farmers have planted significantly less corn than initially intended, according to Cargill, the world
The first time rising waters forced a quarter of the residents here to abandon their homes several weeks ago, many of them simply hauled their possessions up to their second floors to keep them dry. But as the river that divides downtown began rising to record levels this week, those …
The first time rising waters forced a quarter of the residents here to abandon their homes several weeks ago, many of them simply hauled their possessions up to their second floors to keep them dry. But as the river that divides downtown began rising to record levels this week, those …
Shifting from corn to perennial crops in making biofuels is essential to save clean water, argues Jeremy Martin. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v474/n7352_supp/full/474S017a.html
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } It is being called a spectacular success - but also a lost opportunity. With floodwaters rising to record levels along the Lower Mississippi river, the system of levees and spillways that protect the low-lying cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans faced an unprecedented test. …
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } When humans try to constrain rivers, the results can be calamitous. (Editorial) http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028142.700-mississippi-delta-blues.html
When the Morganza spillway was opened on May 14, diverting an enormous volume of Mississippi River water to reduce pressure on levees downstream, the thousands of people living in the Atchafalaya River Basin were bracing for the worst. Flood-estimate maps showed water reaching depths of up to 20 feet and …
With weeks to go before the flood waters of the crested Mississippi River fully recede, officials in Vicksburg, Mississippi, are advising caution and preparing for an aggressive cleanup. "We are urging everyone to be patient," Mayor Paul Winfield told Reuters on Saturday. "They need to stay away from their homes …
The crest of the Mississippi rolled into town on Thursday morning, a few inches shy of earlier estimates but still, at 57.1 feet, setting a record by a healthy margin. For those along its banks, it was hardly a pivotal moment: the crest had been announcing its arrival for weeks …
Environmental groups on Tuesday sued the city of Chicago's water treatment authority, charging its sewage promotes algae growth that is choking Midwestern rivers and contributes to the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone." The federal lawsuit demands Chicago's Metropolitan Water Reclamation District deal with frequent runoff of untreated sewage into local …
Missouri's attorney general asked the Supreme Court on Sunday to intervene and block a proposed federal plan to protect the southern Illinois town of Cairo by blowing up a levee on the Mississippi River. State Attorney General Chris Koster asked the nation's highest court for a temporary injunction to prevent …
