Commodities fear as mighty Mississippi runs dry in drought

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/commodities-fear-as-mighty-mississippi-runs-dry-in-drought-8434451.html

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Commodities fear as mighty Mississippi runs dry in drought[/font]

Los Angeles | Tuesday 01 January 2013

[font size=3]It may be America's largest waterway, but now even the mighty Mississippi is being choked by drought, as historically low water levels threaten to halt the flow of vital commodities from the heart of the US, with potentially devastating economic consequences.

Last summer saw the country's worst drought for more than 50 years, damaging crops across the Mid-West and making stretches of the Mississippi perilously shallow and narrow for barge traffic, which typically carries around $7bn of grain, coal, crude oil, cement and other materials and commodities along the river in December and January.

A news release issued by two trade groups, the American Waterways Operators and Waterways Council, warned last week that water levels had fallen faster than anticipated, and a section of the river may become impassable by Thursday. The groups estimate that a closure until the end of the month would affect about 8,000 jobs, $54m in wages and benefits, and 7.2m tonnes of commodities, worth around $2.8bn dollars.

Debra Colbert, senior vice-president of the Waterways Council, told The Independent: "We have never had an extended closure on the Mississippi. This is the height of the export shipping season. From now until March, more than 60 per cent of the nation's grain moves on the inland waterway, bound for export. The impacts are going to be enormous, not only to barge and towing operators, but also to farmers, shippers and producers, and those who rely on the waterways."

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[Nihil]

1. That should wake a few more people up ...

... 8000 might not be many but every bit helps ...

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Interesting, findng all the ways climate change impacts us.

[hatrack]

3. But remember, no one could have predicted this!

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. and "no one told us...." either.

except that all that disreputable science stuff.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. Personally, I find it highly suspicious...

... for years, these eggheads have been making dire predictions of what was going to happen, and now more and more it seems to be happening. It’s all too convenient if you ask me.

I think they're using some sort of climate altering technology, like… I don’t know… maybe releasing some kind of gas into the atmosphere or something like that just to “prove” they were right all along.

Damn know-it-all “scientists.”