Fires burn in eastern Russia

June 03, 2011

140 hotbeds of wildfires with the total area 13 906.28 hectares have been registered in the Russian Federation within twenty four hours. 139 hotbeds with th area 4 832.88 ha have been extinguished. 167 hotbeds, including those emerged earlier and 16 large ones continue

Sandstorm over Iraq

June 03, 2011

A thick dust plume blew over Iraq on June 2, 2011, stopping just short of Iran and Kuwait. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image the same day.The dust forms a giant beige arc that

Texas suffer from "exceptional" drought

June 03, 2011

A report released Thursday from a consortium of national climate experts said over the last week, Texas saw the highest levels of drought — rated as "exceptional" — jump from 43.97 percent of the state to 50.65 percent of the state. Devastating drought tightened

China admits Three Gorges Dam has 'urgent problems' as drought persists

June 03, 2011

Chinese government has said the Three Gorges Dam - the world's largest hydropower plant - is having "urgent problems," warning of environmental, construction and migration "disasters" amid the worst drought to hit southern China in 50 years. China's State Council,

Old River and the Mississippi River control

June 03, 2011

The Mississippi River is highly “engineered,” as major rivers go. The battle between human civilization and the river is perhaps best exemplified by the Old River Control structures in central Louisiana. Completed in the 1960s, the system of levees, locks,