With No End in Sight for Texas Drought, Every Farmer in the World Will

With No End in Sight for Texas Drought, ABC News Explains: “Every Farmer in the World Will... Page 1 of 5

CLIMATE PROGRESS

With No End in Sight for Texas Drought, ABC News Explains: “Every Farmer in the World Will Be Affected by Climate Change”

By Joe Romm on Aug 16, 2011 at 7:22 pm

The driest 10‐month period on record for Texas has devastated the state and its crops. The National Weather Service warned Monday:

THERE IS LITTLE TO SUGGEST ANY END TO THE DROUGHT

Every state — along with much of Asia — has been hit by record temperatures this summer. And thanks in large part to extreme weather around the globe, food prices are stuck at record levels, causing hardship for tens of millions:

Dr. Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, emailed TP Green, that while Gov. Perry may deny climate science:

There are dozens of credible atmospheric scientists in Texas at institutions like Rice, UT, and Texas A&M, and I can confidently say that none agree with Gov. Perry’s views on the science of climate change. This is a particularly unfortunate situation given the hellish drought that Texas is now experiencing, and which climate change is almost certainly making worse.

Global warming is certainly making the drought hotter, which creates a vicious cycle, since the higher temps dry out the earth, but the drier it gets, the hotter its gets, as the NWS explains below.

Yet, the dots aren’t being connected for the public by and large. “In Coverage of Extreme Weather, Media Downplay Climate Change” as a Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting analysis recently concluded.

Indeed, I just saw NBC Evening News tonight, which explained that we are seeing record food prices and that extreme weather is a major contributor, but had no mention whatsoever of climate change. http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/08/16/297326/no-end-in-sight-for-texas-drought-abc-news-far... 8/17/2011 With No End in Sight for Texas Drought, ABC News Explains: “Every Farmer in the World Will... Page 2 of 5

The dividing line between good climate reporting and bad climate reporting is almost always whether the reporter talked to real climate scientists. Typically, the more a reporter talks to, the better the story.

That’s a key reason why ABC News has been one of the few major media outlets to explain the connection between extreme weather and global warming (see links below). And they did so last night. Indeed, they went beyond the connection between global warming and extreme weather to the key climate impact on crops and food prices:

Great quote by climatologist Heidi Cullen, “When you crank up the heat, when you globally warm the planet, you’re going to see more extreme events.”

Governor Rick Perry, who failed to stop the drought with his prayer proclamation, yesterday dismissed any worries about the impact of the drought on Texas, saying “we’ll be fine. As my dad says, it’ll rain. It always does.“ He is not only unaware of the recent climate studies warning of permanent drought in the region (see literature here), but also the stunning warning from National Weather Service that there is no end in sight to the drought:

OCTOBER 2010 TO JULY 2011 WAS THE DRIEST OF ANY 10‐MONTH PERIOD ON RECORD FOR TEXAS. (THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS JUNE 1917 TO MARCH 1918.) THE STATEWIDE EXTENT OF EXTREME (D3) AND EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT (D4) IS CURRENTLY AT ALL‐TIME RECORD LEVELS…THE STATEWIDE PRECIPITATION TOTALS THIS GROWING SEASON ARE LESS THAN ANY DURING THE MULTI‐YEAR DROUGHT OF THE 1950S.

THE PARCHED EARTH HAS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO SOAR…RESULTING IN ONE OF THE HOTTEST SUMMERS ON RECORD. JUNE AND JULY WERE BOTH THE WARMEST ON RECORD FOR THE STATE. WACO RECORDED ITS LONGEST EVER STREAK OF CONSECUTIVE TRIPLE‐DIGIT HIGHS…AND DALLAS/FORT WORTH IS ON PACE TO ECLIPSE THE HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD…1980.

ALL OF NORTH TEXAS IS NOW IN AT LEAST SEVERE DROUGHT (D2)…WITH THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE REGION IN EXTREME OR EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT. WATER RESOURCES HAVE DECREASED DRAMATICALLY THIS SUMMER…AND CROP LOSSES WILL LIKELY SET RECORD DOLLAR AMOUNTS.

THE HEAT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THE REMAINDER OF THE SUMMER…WITH THE DROUGHT CONTINUING UNABATED WELL INTO THE UPCOMING AUTUMN. WITH

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/08/16/297326/no-end-in-sight-for-texas-drought-abc-news-far... 8/17/2011 With No End in Sight for Texas Drought, ABC News Explains: “Every Farmer in the World Will... Page 3 of 5

THE POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER DRY LA NINA WINTER…THERE IS LITTLE TO SUGGEST ANY END TO THE DROUGHT.

The NWS spells out the grim impacts on agriculture:

PASTURE AND RANGELAND CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE ACROSS THE STATE… WITH 94 PERCENT NOW RATED AS POOR OR VERY POOR. HAY SUPPLEMENTATION IS WIDESPREAD… WITH NEARLY ALL HAY IMPORTED FROM OTHER STATES. IN ADDITION TO ADEQUATE FORAGE… CATTLE REQUIRE SEVERAL GALLONS OF DRINKING WATER A DAY. NOT SURPRISINGLY…HERDS CONTINUE TO BE CULLED…WITH SOME RANCHERS REPORTING COMPLETE LIQUIDATION. SOME CATTLE HAVE BEEN RELOCATED TO GREENER PASTURES AS FAR AWAY AS WYOMING.

WARM SEASON CROPS CONTINUE TO SUFFER. STATEWIDE…ONLY 8 PERCENT OF CORN IS IN GOOD CONDITION. IN THE IMPORTANT CORN‐GROWING REGION OF CENTRAL TEXAS…MOST CORN HAS FAILED. IN ADDITION…MOST OF THE COTTON PLANTED IN TEXAS THIS YEAR HAS BEEN ABANDONED…AN ESTIMATED LOSS IN EXCESS OF 2 BILLION DOLLARS. DROUGHT‐TOLERANT SORGHUM WAS MOSTLY IN FAIR CONDITION OR BETTER. FARMERS CONTINUE TO REPORT CROP DAMAGE FROM FERAL HOGS AND OTHER ANIMALS. IN SEARCH OF WATER… ANIMALS AND INSECTS ARE INCREASINGLY ENCROACHING ON URBAN AREAS AND IRRIGATED LAND. STATEWIDE AGRICULTURAL LOSSES THIS YEAR MAY BE DOUBLE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 4.1 BILLION DOLLARS IN 2006.

The NWS isn’t in the business of making the connection to global warming, but it noted that the devastating heat dome that often afflicts Texas, “TYPICALLY TAKES UP RESIDENCE ABOVE THE LONE STAR STATE AROUND THE SUMMER SOLSTICE…BUT THIS SUMMER…IT ARRIVED A FEW WEEKS EARLIER THAN NORMAL.”

Get used to that, Texas. After reading my post, “U.S. Sees Most Extreme July Climate, Oklahoma Sees Hottest Average Temperature of Any State on Record,” Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Texas Tech University Climate Science Center, emailed me :

In reference to your post on the hottest July — this summer is very similar to what is projected under a +2°C global mean temperature increase. We typically average 9 days per year > 100°F in Lubbock; this year we are at 43 and counting. My map of days > 100°F for +2°C GMT is attached.

Days above 100°F for warming of +2°C, which half the projected warming this century on our current emissions path.

In short, they ain’t seen nothing yet.

• Terrific ABC News story (1/14/11): “Raging Waters In Australia and Brazil Product of Global Warming”

“Scientists: Climate Change No Longer a Theory, It’s Happening”

The pictures today from around the world of dramatic rooftop rescues from raging waters, makes it seem as though natural disasters are becoming an everyday occurrence. But they’re not all that natural; climate scientists say man‐made global warming is the sudden force behind the forces of nature.

• Another terrific ABC News story (1/24/11) — on the role global warming is playing in extreme winter weather

ABC news contacted 10 climate scientists to ask their take, if the extreme winter like the one we’re having is the way of the future. The consensus: global warming is playing a role by shifting weather patterns in unpredictable ways. Many say the forecast for the future calls for record‐ breaking precipitation and extreme temperatures year‐round.

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/08/16/297326/no-end-in-sight-for-texas-drought-abc-news-far... 8/17/2011