[GWSG] SW drought odds; CA water; Central Am. hunger; old sci fi, new viewers; biochar biz; climate scientists emote

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A new study concludes that the chances for a thirty year megadrought in the Southwest is 50%, and the chance for a dust-bowl like ten year drought is 80%.  The severity may increase as the temperature rises.  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-megadrought-forecast-20140829-story.html

2.  In California, agriculture consumes 2/3 of the water.  Farmers facing water shortage are letting land lie fallow and even destroying fruit trees to allow them to use the water elsewhere.  http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california/California-Drought-Threatens-Nations-Most-Productive-Farming-Valley-273339641.html

3.  In Central America, as many as 2.8 million people are going hungry due to drought, according to a UN report.  http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/30/central-america-drought-idINKBN0GU00320140830

4.  1961’s science fiction film The Day the Earth Caught Fire may have thought it was about nuclear war, but a recent audience perceived it in more contemporary terms.  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2014/sep/01/doomed-earth-science-fiction-climate-reality  (38° C is 100.4° F.)

5.  Cool Planet has established a modest business in biochar (treated in a proprietary process), which enhances soil fertility and water retention while sequestering carbon.  The market may grow.  http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/02/cool-planet-biochar-charcoal-biomass-energy-gasoline-soil-fertilization

6.  Climate scientists are professionally dedicated to dispassionate judgment.  An Australian has established a blog to let them tell us how they feel about what they study.  Generally, they are pretty worried, but not hopeless.  The first letter imagines us achieving a sustainable way of living and others urge us to try.  http://isthishowyoufeel.weebly.com/
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