Free Republic

Bloomberg News seems unaware that a principal underlying cause for both bumper crops and crop failures resides way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Climatologists and meteorologists point to a natural phenomenon known as “ENSO,” the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, while farmers around the Great Plains anxiously await tardy rains. What does ENSO mean in layman’s terms? Many have heard that El Niño (Spanish for “the boy”) weather events bring above-average moisture to the US grain belt. When that happens, certain other weather features naturally fall into place. Surface waters off the Pacific coast produce substantially more moisture from...

After a U.S. airstrike killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Quds military force, in Baghdad on Thursday, Iran vowed "crushing revenge" against all responsible. Now, with #NoWarinIran, #TrumpsWar and #WorldWarIII trending on Twitter, users are looking into the draft — particularly college students about how the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) could play into their potential future military service

The blizzard in Hawaii and high levels of precipitation in California contrast sharply with the low snow levels across much of the rest of the country in 2017. It's been a strange year for weather so far, and a recent series of events has confounded expectations. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a blizzard hit mountaintops on Hawaii's Big Island. Most of the snow fell overnight, blanketing the summit of Mauna Kea with eight inches and making the road to the summit impassable. In California, meanwhile, record levels of rain and snow look set to lift much of the state out of...

Global Science Report is a feature from the Center for the Study of Science, where we highlight one or two important new items in the scientific literature or the popular media. For broader and more technical perspectives, consult our monthly “Current Wisdom.”—On Page 3 of Friday’s Washington Post is (yet another) lurid climate story, this time about mega-droughts of several decades that are going to pop up in the Pacific Southwest around 35 years from now. The findings are based upon the UN’s climate model suite that, according to our presentation to the American Geophysical Union, is in the process...

Global Science Report is a feature from the Center for the Study of Science, where we highlight one or two important new items in the scientific literature or the popular media. For broader and more technical perspectives, consult our monthly “Current Wisdom.”—On Page 3 of Friday’s Washington Post is (yet another) lurid climate story, this time about mega-droughts of several decades that are going to pop up in the Pacific Southwest around 35 years from now. The findings are based upon the UN’s climate model suite that, according to our presentation to the American Geophysical Union, is in the process...

WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California on Thursday pulled the plug on secret, high-stakes negotiations over a water bill for her drought-plagued state, saying she and fellow lawmakers will try again next year. Feinstein’s unexpected move ends, for now, what had become an increasingly contentious fight over ambitious drought-fighting legislation whose details few people have seen. “You’ve got to work with people to get something done,” Feinstein said in an interview. “I’m going to put together a first-day bill for the next Congress, and it can go through the regular order.” Right up until Thursday, Feinstein and Republicans...

People in southern Somalia are starting to die from thirst in the worst drought in over 40 years in some parts of the country, says aid agency Oxfam. Oxfam says assessment teams found seven people who died of dehydration, and that tens of thousands are now at risk. People are surviving on the equivalent of three glasses of water a day, in temperatures of over 40C (100F). Oxfam reports an almost unprecedented situation, where people beg for water along the sides of the road. All surface water has gone, boreholes are running dry, and people are walking up to 70km...

I'm sorry folks....... I had to vent............ a silly vanity.I have a small nursery in PA..........which is only watered by a fine and deep well with hoses all over the acres....... and, the grace of God ......... RAIN.Well............ we are having a serious draught here in Southwestern, PA.I'm going nuts watering by hand 20 hours a day, mosquitoes, flies, and yellow jackets dealing with my attention.While I'm out watering under the lights tonight, here's wishing all FReepers fine days and good health........ and may the truth of 'Able Danger' and Jamie Gorelick/Clinton/Berger finally be told.I'm a little daffy having been...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. ATLANTA - It was supposed to be popular - a new water bill for Georgia that had farmers and environmental officials saying years of study had resulted in the state's first comprehensive water plan. Farmers were OK with the idea of meters on farms. Conservationists liked the movement toward science-based management of water on a state level. The state Environmental Protection Division helped craft the plan and liked it, too. So why did the bill fail? In the closing moments of the Legislature, the House rejected the water bill, even after...