Drought in Texas Could Last 8 More Years

In the fall of 2011 it was reported wild animals were facing difficult conditions due to the long drought in Texas and resorting to looking for water in human residential areas. For example, a coyote stole a watermelon from a man’s garden just to get the juice, a baby armadillo showed up in a front yard and drank water from a garden hose. Other animals such as racoons and feral hogs were also appearing in yards in search of water, while deer were walking on roads in the middle of the day. Donkeys were being abandoned at a high rate because the drought drove up the cost of feed. Wildfires, dried up land and very hot conditions might also have killed 500 million trees in the Lone Star state.

This drought isn’t likely to end any time soon; in fact, it has been predicted to last another eight years. So far it has caused an estimated $5.2 billion in agricultural damages.

The main cause of the drought appears to be related to a new La Nina, but climate change has been acknowledged by the Texas state climatologist to be a factor. 2011 was the driest year in Texas since 1917 with only 15 inches of statewide rainfall. Thirteen public water systems are projected to run out of water in 180 days or less. One water system serving 1,500 people could run out on March 1. Almost sixty percent of the state is either in severe or exceptional states of drought. Climate experts from Columbia University have said the drought is likely to get worse.

Image Credit: NASA, Public Domain

Read more: Conscious Consumer, Wildlife

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Winn A.

2:49PM PDT on May 17, 2012

Thanks

send a green star

Donna H.

11:35AM PDT on Apr 30, 2012

Thanks for the info.

Kenneth D.

11:35AM PDT on Mar 12, 2012

Sad news

Jane R.

4:07PM PST on Feb 26, 2012

Marie W. I beg to differ!! I wonder where you got your info from.

Naomi A.

6:31PM PST on Feb 6, 2012

In such a dry state, I am surprised that homes do not have their own water storage units for toilet water and watering the yard.
People need to take a good hard look at how they use water.
I live in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Im lucky my rental property has a dual flush toilet, I water my plants twice a week in the dry and I always wait until I have a full load for my 4 star water saving front loader washing machine.
Water is precious. There really isnt enough out there to drink.

Philip W.

9:38AM PST on Feb 6, 2012

I thought Rick Perry had a prayer vigil in 2011 to end the drought. Let's hope he doesn't pray for world peace and a cure for cancer. http://grist.org/climate-policy/2011-08-09-rick-perry-prays-for-an-end-to-drought-and-epa-regulations/

Michael C.

8:13AM PST on Feb 6, 2012

It's God's will, the revenge on the Repugnants.

Texass's are the spawn of the devil, Oh, I mean Bush and Rick Perry.

Bob P.

8:01AM PST on Feb 6, 2012

thanks for the info

Bruce S.

6:50AM PST on Feb 6, 2012

Maybe it's time to consider a national WATER pipeline instead of oil pipelines. With some areas of the country flooded and some areas suffering extreme drought, a pipeline could solve the long term problem. Think of it as a National Water Grid.

Cheryl H.

4:43AM PST on Feb 6, 2012

Marie W, thanks for the stats on Texas. Around 30 years ago I was talking to a man from Texas who said he had been laid off from his job at a solar heating company. The oil companies were buying up the solar businesses and liquidating them. I never heard anything else about this and I certainly believe that the man was telling me the truth. Remember, those were the Reagan years and one of the first things he did was take the solar panels off the Whitehouse that Jimmy Carter had put up. Something that seemed to confirm the man's story was that people that I knew had a house built that used solar and found it increasingly difficult to locate parts that they needed. The oil companies and their billionaires care nothing about the planet as long as they keep their wealth. The greed is pathological. They can destroy an environment and move anywhere in the world. GW bush has a piece of land in Paraguay that is about 100,000 acres over one of the biggest fresh water aquifers in the world. How many more of these greedy bastards are setting themselves up in pristine places after they trash it for the rest of us?