By Jason Klein, IEDRO’s Environmental Writer and Editor We have all witnessed the effects of famine – malnourished children, dead herds of cattle, the plaintive appeals of Sally Struthers. But what if a famine could be predicted, and then we could work to prevent it? The good news is that by delving into past instances […]
Preventing Famine
Tree Rings: A Type of Weather Data
May 8, 2012
By Penny Paugh Trees grow on every continent except Antarctica, and the rings they contain embody a record of climate change going back thousands of years. Each ring represents a single year’s growth, so not only can a ring count tell us how old a tree is, but they can also help reconstruct climatic history […]
Rwandan Drought; Ongoing Climate Concerns
April 25, 2012
by Aura Lawson La Niña has persisted longer than expected this year, and with it comes agricultural uncertainty for many countries across the globe. Rwanda is no exception. Anthony Twahirwa, head of Rwanda’s Meteorological Center, explains that their forecasting agency expected decreased rainfall as a result of La Niña, or abnormally cool waters in the […]
Part 7: Earth’s Carbon Cycle
April 20, 2012
Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa [Note from the editor: This is the seventh in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will be a great insight into the current understanding of the science.] The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which […]
Could Climate Change Have Contributed to the Fall of Rome?
March 26, 2012
By Penny Paugh One form of environmental data, tree rings, has provided evidence of a climate shift that, perhaps not coincidentally, occurred from 250 to 550 A.D., a period that coincides with the fall of the Roman Empire. From ancient wood found in medieval castles and Roman ruins, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, […]
African Drought and Data Rescue
March 23, 2012
Drought in Africa has been a destructive force to life and property since the beginning of recorded time. Most recently, East Africa suffered a severe drought in 2010 that persisted nearly the entire year. However, one good thing that came out of this catastrophic drought was that it revealed several important hints for predicting future […]
Worms Can Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
January 18, 2012
by Pennell Paugh A study performed by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Society concluded that worms can play a key role to help farmers adapt to extreme weather. Worms improve soil structure, reduce water use in the garden, act as natural fertilizers, reduce greenhouse gases and save on the costs of waste removal. Dr Chris […]
Predicting Drought in the US
May 5, 2010
By Jeannine Swindell The inability to make a reliable prediction of drought hampers our ability to be proactive toward management for dry spells. In this part of the world, drought affects range livestock agriculture in two important ways. First is the effect that winter drought has upon snowpack and resultant stream flows. Many streams in […]