drought

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Mountains Reveal Worst Water News in 500 Years

Study says the snowmelt has hit a dismal low

(Newser) - As if California doesn't have enough water problems . Now scientists say the Sierra Nevada snowpack—which gives the state nearly a third of its surface water—is at a shocking 500-year low, the Guardian reports. That means California, now in its fourth year of drought, can't rely as...

We Can't Eat America's No. 1 Crop

We grow three times more grass than even corn

(Newser) - Corn might be the United States' No. 1 food crop, but it doesn't hold a candle to the amount of grass being grown by accidental farmers around the country. In a look at America's "most useless crop," io9 surfaces decade-old research from NASA's Earth Observatory...

Lake Mead Gives Up Its Ghosts as Drought Worsens

Tourism is up at shrinking lake in Nevada

(Newser) - The drought in the West is hurting Nevada's Lake Mead in the most obvious sense—it's shrinking fast. But that problem comes with an upside: Tourism is up as the water recedes and reveals what lies beneath, reports CBS News . The big draw is the ghost town of...

Cost of Tom Selleck's Alleged Water-Swiping: $21,685.55

Selleck, water district didn't agree on everything, but settlement reached

(Newser) - The settlement deal in Tom Selleck's very own Watergate was finalized last night, with the actor agreeing to cough up $21,685.55—the cost of the PI hired by California's Calleguas Municipal Water District to investigate Selleck's alleged water-pilfering from the district, the AP reports. The...

Tom Selleck Reaches Deal in Water War

Details are confidential until water district's board approves

(Newser) - The water war is apparently over: Calleguas Municipal Water District says it has reached a tentative agreement with Tom Selleck after accusing the actor of stealing water from Ventura County to use on his 60-acre estate and avocado farm in Hidden Valley, Calif., amid a drought. The details of the...

Tom Selleck Accused of Stealing Water in Drought

Actor allegedly had truck fill up at hydrant in California

(Newser) - Brace yourself for lots of Magnum PI jokes today: Tom Selleck has been accused of stealing water amid California's drought to keep his sprawling estate and avocado farm well-watered. The Calleguas Municipal Water District, with help from a real private investigator, accuses Selleck of sending a water truck to...

North Korea Claims 'Worst Drought in 100 Years'

State news agency says 30% of rice paddy fields are drying up

(Newser) - Failed lobster breeders should be the least of Kim Jong Un's worries. North Korea says it's battling "the worst drought in 100 years" after recording its lowest rainfall in 30 years last year as well as low levels in May, per the AP . State news agency...

Another Bad Milestone for California's Drought

Farmers with century-old rights told to stop pumping water

(Newser) - California's drought is now hitting farmers with water rights going back more than a century. The state today told those with rights dating to 1903 to stop pumping water from rivers and streams, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . Those with rights acquired later already had been ordered to cut...

Calif.&#39;s New Rage: Fake Grass
 Calif.'s New Rage: Fake Grass 
May 24, 2015 1:30 PM CDT

Calif.'s New Rage: Fake Grass

As drought rages on, it begins to make more sense

(Newser) - From the same drought that brought the nation lawn-painting comes yet another fad in faux greenery: Fake lawns, nicknamed "frass," are gaining popularity in parched California, which is cracking down on water use. With live grass requiring 55 gallons of water a year per square foot, and with...

Islands Appearing in the Southwest&mdash;Ominously
Islands Appearing in the Southwest—Ominously
in case you missed it
May 23, 2015 7:00 AM CDT

Islands Appearing in the Southwest—Ominously

Lake Powell and Lake Mead are in rough shape

(Newser) - New islands are being born along the border of Arizona and Utah. That's an ominous thing, reports the Guardian in a look at Lake Powell, the country's second-biggest reservoir. Due to dwindling snow falls in the Rockies—which has spurred a crisis for the Colorado River, which feeds...

California Farmers Make Historic Water Concession

Some with rights going back a century agree to 25% cuts amid drought

(Newser) - Another sign of the severity of California's drought: Farmers who hold some of the oldest and thus strongest water rights in the state have agreed to voluntarily cut their water use by 25% this season. The move by the farmers in the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin...

California's New Class Warfare: Drought Shaming

Snitching on water wasters goes viral as green lawns separate haves, have-nots

(Newser) - As California enters its fourth year of drought, with fines that the Los Angeles Times reports could range up to $10,000 for water wasting, citizens are taking to social media to not only rat on their neighbors but call out the state's wealthiest, some of whose magnificently manicured...

Nestlé Boss: Close Plant? I'd Use More Calif. Water

Tim Brown: 'We feel good about what we're doing'

(Newser) - Starbucks may have succumbed to pressure and moved its bottled water operation out of parched California, but Nestlé will "absolutely not" follow suit. In fact, despite demonstrations and a slew of online petitions (like this , this , and this ) aimed at getting Nestlé to stop what it's doing,...

Starbucks Bottled Water Exits Parched California

Ethos operation moves temporarily to Pennsylvania

(Newser) - Starbucks will shift its bottled water operation out of California as the state's lengthy drought intensifies . The coffee chain says it will move production of its Ethos water to Pennsylvania for six months while it searches for an alternative West Coast source, NBC News reports. "We are committed...

'Beyond Worst-Case Scenario,' California Makes Water Move

Drought regulations will aim to cut usage by up to 36%

(Newser) - Tens of millions of California residents must drastically cut back on their water use, according to new emergency drought regulations . The most drastic measures so far will force a statewide reduction in usage by 25% from 2013 amounts, with some inland regions forced to cut consumption by up to 36%...

Alaska: A Savior for Parched California?

Company plans bulk water shipments

(Newser) - California doesn't have enough water and Alaska has plenty. Which is why, starting this summer, a company in southeast Alaska plans to begin shipping 10 million gallons a month to customers in the parched state, reports Alaska Dispatch News . It's not clear who those customers are, but Alaska...

California Gets First-Ever Rules to Limit Water Use

Jerry Brown issues mandatory order amid historic drought

(Newser) - California Gov. Jerry Brown made history today, but not in a way he's happy about: He ordered the state's first-ever mandatory water restrictions amid a brutal drought, reports CBS Local . A slew of new rules will aim to curb water use by 25% over nine months. "It'...

NASA: California Out of Water in a Year

State's water supplies are running out, warns Jay Famiglietti

(Newser) - Water isn't just running low in California, a top NASA scientist warns—it's going to plum run out in about a year. "As difficult as it may be to face, the simple fact is that California is running out of water—and the problem started before our...

Western US Poised for Worst Drought in 1K Years: Study

But experts say there's still time to change our ways

(Newser) - Within a few decades, a significant chunk of the US could be in for the worst drought in more than a millennium. That's if we don't change our greenhouse-gas-emitting ways, scientists say: A study co-author says the chance of a megadrought in the central and western US sometime...

Water Temple Reveals 'Drought Cult' of Mayans

As dry spell worsened, offerings to gods increased

(Newser) - Mayans appear to have been done in by a series of severe droughts , and archaeologists now think that something called a "drought cult" sprang up when things were most desperate, reports National Geographic . Researchers led by Lisa Lucero of the University of Illinois have found a water temple in...

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