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Nati Harnik / AP
Dead fish lie on a sand bar at the Platte River near the Louisville State Recreation Area in Louisville, Neb., on July 17. The water level has dropped even further since then.
It's not just on land where drought is taking a toll: a 100-mile stretch of the Platte River has dried up, while barges along the lower Mississippi are having to carry less cargo in order to navigate shallower water.
The Mississippi impact is one that goes far beyond the immediate area: About 60 percent of the nation's grain, 22 percent of its oil and gas, and 20 percent of the nation's coal goes down the river. Lighter barges mean longer waits for those products.
The Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with dredging parts of the river where barges ground, and business is booming.
"We're dredging around the clock," Bob Anderson, a spokesman for the Corps' Mississippi Valley District, told NBC News.
The latest grounding happened Thursday about 10 miles south of Greenville, Miss., backing up several tows before it was cleared and traffic resumed Friday morning, Anderson said.
The situation is the opposite from last year when flooding saw the Mississippi crest at nearly 48 feet above the baseline near Memphis, Tenn.
Lately the river has been six to seven feet below the baseline -- 12 feet below normal for this time of year.
It could drop another 2.5 feet by the end of August, National Weather Service meteorologist Marlene Mickelson told Reuters, calling that a "worst-case scenario."
And while it's not as bad as the historic low of 10.7 feet below baseline, recorded in 1988, it is unusual in that it's so early in the season, Mickelson said.
Anderson said locals are hoping rain will raise the water level by four feet or so over the next few weeks. But "if we don't get more rain" it'll then start to fall again, he added.
For the barges, every inch of water counts.
Barges must unload 17 tons of cargo for every one-inch loss of water and 204 tons for every one-foot loss of draft, Tom Allegretti, president of the American Waterways Operators, said in a recent statement. Draft is the distance between a ship's waterline and the lowest point of its keel.
"When you consider that a typical tow on the upper Mississippi or Ohio Rivers has 15 barges, a one-foot loss of draft will decrease the capacity of that tow by 3,000 tons," Allegretti said. "The tows on the lower Mississippi River are larger, consisting of 30-45 barges, resulting in decreased capacity of over 9,000 tons."
He said it would take 130 semi trucks or 570 rail cars to haul the freight unloaded by one large barge under those conditions.
Locals are doing everything in their power to manage -- and that means barges are loading less, the Coast Guard is constantly resetting buoy lines that help navigate, and the Corps is dredging.
"Right now everyone is working together to keep the river open," Anderson said.
River conditions were even worse during the 1988 drought, when a 100-mile stretch south of Memphis was closed. At one point, more than 700 barges were backed up on the river near Greenville, Miss.
Lessons learned then prompted changes in how the Army Corps of Engineers maintains the river and, as a result, have lessened the impact of this year's drought. Those changes include new dikes and other structures that direct water in key areas.
On the Platte River, meanwhile, sand, plants and tire tracks are now the dominant features along a stretch near near Columbus, Neb.
Someone with a dry sense of humor even put up a cactus in the middle of the river, TheOmahaChannel.com reported.
"This is the worst I've ever seen it, and I've been on the river since I was a pup," Dan Kneifel, who runs Geno's Bait and Tackle Shop, told TheOmahaChannel.com.
The river is essentially dry from Columbus to Kearney, about 100 miles away.
"You may find a little trickle in some stretches of that, but nothing to support fish," Daryl Bauer, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission staffer, told the Lincoln Journal-Star.
"The river was full of fish, and to see them all die is a travesty," said Kneifel.
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Just charge more, there is no global warming.
It's worth remembering that hundreds of years ago the Platte was so shallow that traders and trappers couldn't reliably use it for canoe travel.
It's also worth noting that these drought ridden states, aka the grain belt, has many republicans who do NOT expect the market to mresolve this. They will receive a bail out, and subsidy. Hypocritical thinking from selfish shortsighted people, whom put us all in this situation since 1982. Yes money should be given to subsidize natural disasters. But money has been re-concentrated to the wealthiest, making it impossible to cover all these ERRORs, aka the stalemate on warming. Obstructionists in the middle, on the right, have ruined this country and many more. Revenge is hollow, so I don't wish anyone ill. But let this be the beginning of where we become proactive, and not reactive to our now long-term problems. All of those by the way, emanate from a change in thought from when Carter was run out of the White house, and hated, and Reagan was lauded for his administration's policies. Those policies, based on selfishness, have ruined America. This here is but one output, and outcome. We will not sacrifice short term, and the issues grow to become staggering, and staggering in cost. That cost is passed on to the same ignorant GOP voters who look to a silent God for solutions. Really irresponsible to dump their errors on God, and really unfortunate for all of us that greed and power since 1982 has affected so many in such a negative way. And yes, the first to suffer are women, children and the environment.
"...it would take 130 semi trucks or 570 rail cars..."
I'm sure that end to end on a thirty degree slope they would stretch three quarters of the way from Hooterville to Cow Flats but there's something so wrong with that math, why even include the thought?
Warprofiteer...geeze, give it a rest. Life is more than politics. I come here for news, not some political BS.
You can read the news without coming to the comment section.
@cheetah,
I think they have their numbers skewed as a rail car is considerably larger than a semi.
Should be 570 semis or 130 rail cars as it is well known that hauling freight by rail is far more efficient than by truck; and 1 barge takes the place of either or...that's a LOT of freight.
"He said it would take 130 semi trucks or 570 rail cars to haul the freight unloaded by one large barge"
Correction: 570 semi trucks or 130 rail cars.
--
It is a fact government never helps us so let's be sure to get rid of the Army Corp of Engineers, along with all other government agencies.
Surely a for profit corporation can do a better job dredging river channels at a much lower cost.
Yeah, we don't need no stinking government!
Since went was the Army Corp of Engineers responsible for rainfall. What good is dredging a dry river?
Your right, we don't, at least NOT government intervention into our daily lives. I think maybe the fate of the Russian Czars and certain French nobility may be what's in the offing here.
You're right, we don't need government intervention into our daily lives. I don't need the government telling me I can't have an abortion etc.
@dmze,
Get off the ubamaganda already. It's YOUR side that keeps cutting the military. If you want to know the truth about Conservatives, all you have to do is read the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution spells out the function of govt...what it CAN do and what it CAN'T do. It really is that simple.
How about the Republicans pay for the farm bill with reductions to oil company subsidies or defense spending?
Oh, sorry. What was I thinking? Silly me.
Could you point to those oil company subsidies? According to BOEMRE they amount to around $4.5B annually max and vary drastically. Most of those subsidies are in fact tax credits. Compare that to say the the subsidy the dairy business gets at $4.9B (USDA) or the more than $11.9B+ given to big agricultural conglomerates. And then before you get on your high horse, lets just consider that the oil industry generates approx $40B annually in fuel taxes and $10.2B in lease and royalty payments. Oh wait you thought that farm bill actually went to support little mom+pop farming operations....
Iowa farmers alone get over a billion a year in welfare, just under 60% of that going to the top 10% wealthiest REPUBLICAN farmers. Senator Jerry Behn, the senate minority leader takes $55,000 a year, more than the average soldier makes, more than the average Iowan makes for that matter. And a lot of their drought problems are the result of their own farming practices.
Exactly. And let's not forget the huge subsidies given to grow corn as a crop for ethanol which we then export anyways. The notions that farm subsidies help everyone with their weekly grocery bill are vastly overplayed.
You all better be carefull for what you wish for or you will one wake up to empty shelves and only sawdust to eat. Maybe even Soylent Green.
To find out who gets Federal farm subsidies and how much they receive check out www.farm.ewg.org/farm. You will find it listed first by state, then by county.
Rail cars haul less than the normal 53 foot trailer that a semi carries. Most of the cars on the train are 43 to 48 footers. Just a thought.
stack train dude, stack train, get with the times
A rail car can carry 4 times the weight of a truck trailer. It's not a question of volume but allowable weight.
A railroad box car is wider and higher than a semi-trailer, and has a greater volume as well as a higher weight capacity.
This country begins legalizing gay marriage and suddenly we have one of the worst droughts on record. Coincidence? Well, I don't think so, for God is wielding his mighty sword among us. Repentance is our only option. Praise be unto our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and glory be to our Father. †
you are one seriously impaired individual to even try to claim that homosexuals are responsible for this. If it were indeed an act of God punishing this nation for it's collective sins, those sins would be greed, vanity and HETEROSEXUAL sin before gays would even be noticed. People like you are followers of the spirit of the anti-christ, it was your kind that nailed the Lord to the cross to begin with because He told you what was wrong with you and your arrogant pride. why don;t you go to door with your studity coward, come to mine and you'll find we defend the Lord in this house from satan worshipping losers like you. Osama Bin Laden has more reddeming qualities than idiots like you.
Come to the Lord and repent for your sinful preversion, for God will give you grace and forgiveness. Praise be unto our Father on high. †
Big Al, why then doesn't god smite the states and cities where homosexuals live and marry? Why focus on the heartland? Your god is a @!$%#ing moron. Not to mention why doesn't he strike the other countries where gay marriage is legal? Yeah, your imaginary friend seems to act at random - not exactly omnipotent if he can't tell the difference between San Francisco and Mississippi!
and btw - Big Al is the name of a gay man. No really, watch Southpark (if you think your head won't explode!)
Honestly, does anyone have time for people who stand around foretelling doom and praying like a blithering idiot at times like these? Pick up a shovel man, there's work to be done! Quit yer bitchin!
Big Al, Didn't god promise to to phuk with the rain any more in Genesis? Yep he did!
Big Al-1692063--------------------------There having a sell on tin foil at your local supermarket I think your out.
Big Al: Why does your god have such a fixation on sexual sin, and ignore the greed, cruelty, and other economic and social sins? It makes him seem almost human. Or maybe it IS humans presuming to speak for god.
Robert,
It is very simple. God does not have a problem with it, worshipers like Big Al do though and they juxtapose their hatred onto God. Normal, decent Christians do not care if someone is Gay or straight as long as they do not force themselves onto them. Only the Christians with the Phelps' idiocy gene get hot and heavy for homosexuals.
We better not see any of those welfared up red state goobers belly up to the taxpayer trough to pay for this drought...
too late, republican famrers are already begging for our tax dollars
We never had this problem 4 years ago under President Bush. Just under obama we had this type of drought in the Midwest.
@ rgculver and Big Al... Ok so who's fault is it? Is the gays or Obama's? Cause it can't be both, unless you now think Obama is gay which I really wouldn't put it past both of your hateful stupidity
Nope not had a problem like this since 1988 when Reagan was President. If God was going to punish us for thinks this country has done or not done why did he not start way back we we were killing all the Natives.
by the way Big Al God said to stop blaming Her for everything
So what? Every one else in the up North has to use trucks. The barge business is only a 5 million a year business. Up North the tourism business is 50 million just in the summer.
So who has the right to more water. The guys who have the Most to lose and that is the guys up north on the Missouri River.
The people who still use the barge system should have prepared for this day to come. It's a fact that sooner rather than later the water was going to get scarce. Get a tractor trailer like everyone else and stop bitching.
Huh? I think you meant $5M/day.... In 1988 when parts of the Mississippi became impassable it cost barge companies in excess of $1B in lost revenue. And obviously increased cost to consumers as it cost more by rail/road.
Are the trucks going to haul all the crops destroyed by this drought? There's nothing to haul. that's the point.
Wow, i cannot believe the stupidity on this site. First a $5mill/year biz??? The larger companies do well over $1bill / year alone! Secondly its not just the crops that arent there to bring south, its all the petrochemicals that are taken north to manufaturing facilities that support a mjority of other businesses and industries in the Mid-West, North east. They manufacture everything from plastics to dynomite with products that are delivered by barge.
Without the Mississippi being able to handle marine traffic look for the cost of goods to rise dramatically since the option to barging - ie.. trucking and rail, cost way more per ton to move the same amount of material.
Steven100...............................They were preparing for a drought until water in plastic bottles became such a problem dee2dee. How do you plan for a drought? a year or two ago they were haing record flooding maybe they should have stored the water at your house in case such an emergency arose.
"House Passes Drought Bill"
I wonder what those midwest Teapartiers think about government handouts now?
Free tax dollars with no way to pay for it.
I guess government handouts are OK as long as you get the money and not someone else!!!
Hit that one right out of the park, my friend. It's only a handout if you don't get any of it.
The river is drying up - THANKS A LOT OBAMA
(in my best Rush Limpbaugh voice)
Climate change is not real. Climate change is not real. Climate change is not real. Yeah, just keep being lazy about it.
Funny, where I sit typing this right now was covered with over a mile of thick, glacial ice less than 10,000 years ago. I bet they thought it was "climate change" back then too....
Ok in 1993 we had such severe flooding the river was out of its banks, a few years ago the same thing happened. Droughts happen every 18 years on average. In 1988 there was a bad drought, in the 1930's there was a sever drought that led to the dust bowl. England had a mini iceage many years ago, so does the climate change? Yes it does but some how in your mind it is you, me and the rest of mankind that has caused this.
And another thing seems funny how MSNBC and people like you push this global warming agenda to no end, (the same as the Gay story) but yet the main page is filled with the stupid Olympics. Just how much carbon is emitted just for those meaningless games? How do you people justify spending millions in fuel, millions in waste clean up. Some of these nations have no money to spend but they somehow have the funds to send athletes to play games, must be the bread and circuses need to keep the people entertained while they starve. What a bunch of hypocrites.
@LynyrdSky
I guess when you refer to "people like you" you mean all the same smart people that brought you every technology that you depend on, safe food and water, and landed the equal to a car on Mars today. Heck ya, how could they possibly know what they are talking about with respect to climate change?
Funny, I didn't know liberals were in charge of the Olympic Games! How do you justify the hundreds of millions spent by conservatives spend on attack ads? "You People" are such hypocrites! See how easy that is to do! Couple of suggestions, first figure out the difference between weather and climate. Second, unplug yourself from all that technology, stop seeing a doctor, disconnect yourself from those fake science and technology liberal power, water, and sewer lines. Take yer kids out of school and stay off those public roads. Do all those things that you need to do to reject scientific and liberal ideas completely.
Less "you people" all be a bunch of hypocrites too.
And to make matters worse, some of the buoys and dikes are being sent to local Chick-Fil-A® restaurants as a diversionary tactic, really . . .
Really! :-o
People are going to swim in that water ? crazy (referring to pic of kids running to water in swimsuits)
They should pass a law making it illegal for the river to dry up.
Hard to imagine river drying up?... just keep in mind the Rio Grande. Yup less barge traffic hauling the product to be shipped to other countries, causing their populations to suffer because they cannot grow enough to feed their masses. I'll keep on growing my acre of garden veggies and fruit and keep the cow and chickens going. Sorry city folks, guess I didn't like relying on outsiders as easily as you. Keep your hands off the Great Lakes too.
If we are the Teabaggers, would that make you the Teabag-gee? (Ref: Tea-bagging; online gaming, hazing) Let me know where you live, so I can drop you a bag.
Now then, while I am against just about any Givernment Subsidy for anything or anyone, I do feel very strongly about having a safe and reliable source of food. And in my humble opinion, the American Family Farmer is our best hope for that continued source. Instead of bad mouthing and trash talking the most important people in our society, maybe you should be concerned about how they, as businesses survive this hardship. Because Carter's policies wiped out some 50 to 60 percent of the family farms in the '80s. Those that survived are all we have left. We lose those, and it is true corporate farming and on a big scale, (I am talking Walmart scale farms, with the accompanying price fixing) Yeah, you think big oil is bad, just wait 'til you have big food. Con-Agra, ADM and Tyson are bad enough. Having a little experience in that field, I know about IBP, Tyson, ADM, Cargill and Con-Agra and their manipulation of commodities prices. Do you really want to take what little control we have left out of the equation?
And I wonder, just how many of you will apply for food stamps, when those Corporate food processors jack up the prices like the oil refiners do when crude prices go up? You might find it interesting that 80% of the current Farm Bill is for food stamps and other "relief" and not for farmers. Because, all you dope smokin hippy liberals are nothing more than monkeys in a zoo. Your food is trucked in, your crap is piped out, and you have no Idea how any of it works.
Something else to consider is that the greatest share of "Givernment Assistance" for this drought will be in the form of loans, which must be paid back, unlike welfare.
@ leftrightcenter #5.2
I would like to see your source on that and your definition of "welfare". One might consider too, for an average farm in Ia, {according to .extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/pdf/c1-10.pdf} total cash expenses are ~$375K and most are well above that. What percentage is an earned income tax credit to a persons income?
to paraphrase Col. Nathan Jessep
'I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the bounty of the very food that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a hoe, and till a garden. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.'
DumbFarmBoy: RA!
Hey FarmBoy. It took you five paragraphs to try and write yourself around your first statement. Basically showing your lie. Your for any subsidy that goes to farmers. You pretty much lay out that paying subsidies to ADM, Con-Agra etc is OK as long as YOUR SPECIAL GROUP, small farmers keep getting thiers. You forget to add that its your own dear farm state Senators and Representives that keep holding small farmer aid for subsidies hostage to subsidies for MegaFarms. So your whole argument is a red herring. You think that subsidizing MegaFarms means we have more control over them? Now I know why its DumbFarmBoy, price maipulation is solved by jail time, not handouts.
You have federally subsidized water, crop insurance, free consultation from USDA and SCS, free flood control from the CoE. To paraphrase Col. Jessup. "What the F' else do you think you are entilted to, welfare farmer?"
PS. I grow most of my own food and live in an agricultural community where I get the rest.
You mean THIS Jimmy Carter, DumbFarmBoy?
@ Arsenic-2609663 #1.62
Are you just stupid or did yo' mama teach you how to read?
At what point did I say I agreed to paying subsidies to any conglomerate, especially those listed?
And please do define "Megafarm" I have never heard that term, is that another liberal speak term?
Nor did I say the current system of subsidy was the right system, yes it needs to be reformed to allow the family farms to survive and not be overridden by the so called Megafarms.
And you keep mentioning Megafarms, and with some disgust if I read it correctly, well if we don't fix the farm program, all we are going to have is Megafarms as I said before. (I am talking Walmart scale farms, with the accompanying price fixing)
And I have yet to read about anyone going to jail in the IBP price fixing probe. Tyson now owns IBP.
And just where is this federally subsidized water you speak of, it ain't in Kansas Dorothy. If anything they are putting the kibosh on new irrigation here. And free flood control? again, it ain't in Kansas Dorothy. My folks had to rebuild the levies themselves after the '73, '87 and '93 floods took them out. (but I'll check and see if the CoE had any reimbursement programs) But the farmer/landowner is responsible for maintenance. Oh, yeah, crop insurance, it's kinda like Unemployment insurance, it only pays about 1/3 of what you might normally get. And free consultation from a government employee, pleeaase. If anything all these guys do is make sure you terraces are up to spec and if they are not, send a letter to the USDA saying you're out of compliance and not eligible for assistance.
I am glad that you grow your own food, you should at least have some appreciation of how difficult it is, and I can only hope the agricultural community where you get the rest survives, so that your kids can continue your legacy.
You seem intent on blaming the farmer for piss poor politics, I never said the current or any farm program was well written or even fair. All I said was, if we are going to subsidies anyone, it should be those who provide us with a safe and secure food supply. And as I said, in my humble opinion, it is the FAMILY FARMER, not cotton growers. But hey, we need clothes too.
And yes it is the same SOB, and while I am not old enough to know all the specifics, a number of his policies in combination with many other inputs, along with his lack of leadership led to the get fiscal collapse of the midwest.
The article you posted is exactly why I am against any federal subsidy program, whether it is medicaid, social security, welfare, or even farm aid or anything else, it is subject to corruption.
And My argument is for a safe and secure food supply, and given the current conditions I don't know how else to secure that but through some federal assistance.
You seem to disagree with sentiment, What is your solution?
Look at the bright side. More sand for republicans to stick their heads in....
I'm sure Senator Inhofe will get to the bottom of this!!!!
Mother nature can be mean at times. Must be that time of the month.
ROFLMAO... well said.
Critical times hard to deal with, will be here.
Well one thing for sure besides higher food prices is that the oil industry will find a way to profit from it.
YAWN...Our local river was so high the other day i thought it would flood the trail. Ohhh i need to switch sprinklers...nah, what the heck, another vodka tonic...let er rip.
not sure what the big balooha is about. this drought is just part of the normal weather pattern. it has absolutely nothing to do with global climate change at all. its normal. it has nothing to do with the billions of green house gasses emitted since the industrial age began. just normal folks. so lets just deal with it and adapt. perfect time to hire thousands of truck drivers to compensate for the reduction in tonnage going down/up the mississippi.
I still blame Obama. He has not been a leader in this drought. All he has done is play golf with terrorists and apolgize to them while only campaigning to be re-elected instead of doing President stuff. From what I hear, he wasn't fast and furious enough to fix this so he got Michelle and Holder to talk to a black preacher who doesn't like America anyway. I just want my country back.
The President has been quick to respond when the governors have asked him to declare parts of their state "federal disaster areas." He can't do so unless they ask. But the GOP Governors of the States mentioned here do not want Obama to look like a savior in an election year and do not want to spend money on the non-wealthy. And you want your country "back"? You mean the way Bush and the GOP did "President stuff" after Katrina?
What do you want him to do, a rain dance? Funny how you conservatives always want the government to do less until it either effects you, or you can use it against Obama. Pathetic!
dave, I'm kind of late to this one, but that is just too funny. the sad part is that if Obama DID make it rain, those bozos would find something else to complain about...
you are right, a year ago, there were record floods. a dam was opened up for the first time in history. and farmers' crops were flooded.
now there is drought. i don't understand.
Poor water laws
The climate is all Obama's fault....
Mitt Romney will OFFSHORE THE HOT WEATHER and save us all by buying every family a case of bottled water.....
There is no global warming....it's a hoax by libruls....
BLM was blamed for holding too much water back last year so they probably made sure they had plenty of room for the runoff this year, too bad there wasent much of a runoff, but nobodys farm was flooded but with no water they still have no crops.