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For the past few decades, the U.S. has never experienced such widespread drought; in fact, more than half of the U.S. is suffering average to severe drought.1 With the temperature rise, evaporation increases, causing dry areas to be drier and wet areas to be wetter. This drought causes soil to lose water, meaning crops will be planted in bone-dry soil. For example, this year, the corn average yield is 122.8 bushels per acre, while it was 153 bushels per acre last year.2 This is the smallest average yield since 1995.2 With less corn yields, there is a reduction in ethanol production.3 Ethanol production, which uses forty percent of the nation’s corn, is at a two year low, causing ethanol prices to soar as high as 22 percent.3 This ripple effect affects livestock because livestock feed decreased by 725 million bushels this August.3 Consequently, it is harder for farmers to feed their animals, thus forcing them to sell their livestock. Also, the drought weakens tress, making them susceptible to attacks.4 High temperatures stimulate bark beetle reproduction cycles and allow them to survive colder seasons.4 Throughout the nation, bark beetles have decimated billions of conifers.4 Hence, there is a loss of animal habitat, change in climate, and less absorption of greenhouse gases. In the stream ecosystem, salamanders help maintain balance of nutrients in waterways and play a key role in the food chain.5 However, they have disappeared by 30 percent as a result of water levels sinking to a 110-year low.5 This is because their larvae must be completely immersed underwater for metamorphosis.5 Without higher water levels, under one percent would live through a four year drought.5 An effective solution would be to preserve and enlarge riparian areas to stop erosion to increase the survival of stream animals.With greater evaporation each year, it is anticipated that by 2013, 30 states will experience water shortages.6 For example, the Permian Basin of West Texas has been projected to exhaust its water supply as soon as summer 2013.7 Also, more than 88 percent of Oklahoma and Kansas is experiencing severe drought.6 Following years of extreme heat and little rainfall resulted in loss of water bodies.6 Agriculture is mostly to blame. Due to irrigation practices, huge amounts of water are evaporated from farm land; this is partly due to the growing of specific food, like rice, which requires lots of water, and the raising of livestock.8 In fact, in California alone, 25 percent of all water use is evaporated from raising cattle.8 An efficient solution would be to install drip irrigation, convey water from wet to dry zones, choose crops that require small quantities of water, and time water applications conservatively.8 Another solution would be to rely less on groundwater because this is a non-sustainable practice that leads to water quality degradation, freshwater bodies reduction, and land subsistence problems. There has been enough evidence to say that the drought crisis is evident and needs to be fixed. The preservation of all water bodies, control of water usage, and protection of wildlife continues to be of integral importance. All we can hope for is stronger implementation of sustainable solutions to keep the environment in healthy condition for the future. Indonesia is known for its dynamic culture, fine cuisine, and tropical rainforests. However, what the people don’t know is that since 2008, Indonesia has been the world leader for palm oil production.1 A severely endangered species that has been majorly affected are the orangutans.2 The immense deforestation of Indonesian forests has caused native orangutans to lose 80 percent from their population in the past 75 years to a mere 6,600 orangutans today.3 Once regarded as a sustainable practice, palm oil production leads to habitat loss for endangered species, loss in biodiversity, and increase in deforestation.
