Drought and Survival of the TreeHuggers

'You don't miss your water 'til the well runs dry'. Some of us may miss our locally-grown produce this year, and for several summers to come, as a severe drought plays out in parts of the US midwest and west. The NOAA drought index map shown here depicts cumulative severity in terms of agricultural impact. Much more is at stake now for fisherman, floaters and boaters, and, ultimately, for water-crazed boom cities like Las Vegas. Add to these issues the increased risk of wild fire and TreeHuggers are likely to become bit players in the rising resource management disputes. Or will they? How about helping local government to promote some water saving ideas? In some cases, drought is so severe that picking the right technology is needed for survival. The Australians in particular have shared some new water saving ideas on TreeHugger. Spain also has severe drought, although not much has yet appeared from there . Anywhere you live, fighting over water loses its appeal when you're thirsty. If you're on the map and you have a 'survival' solution, lets hear about it!

A recent Washington Post article chronicled some of the major issues. "A severe drought, now in its seventh year, is wreaking havoc up and down the Missouri, from the river's headwaters at Three Forks, Mont., to its confluence with the Mississippi River near St. Louis".

"Fishing is big business on the reservoirs, but access is increasingly limited, as the water's edge retreats further from the cabins and tackle shops that once sat on the shoreline. Boat docks on Montana's Fort Peck Reservoir -- noted for its walleye fishing -- are surrounded by grasslands, stranded a mile from the receding shoreline".

"The Army Corps of Engineers had projected that Missouri barge traffic, mostly agriculture-related, would increase steadily,...But they have since declined. By 2000, annual barge traffic had fallen ... 74 percent below the original projections,...".