Texas Drought Cost $2 Billion More Than Previously Thought

HOUSTON -- Agriculture officials say losses from Texas' historic drought are more than $2 billion more than previously thought.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service now estimates crop and livestock losses at $7.62 billion for 2011. The extension service's preliminary estimate of $5.2 billion in August already topped the previous record of $4.1 billion in 2006.

Extension service spokesman Blair Fannin gave The Associated Press the data on losses Wednesday before it was publicly released.

Texas has a long history of drought. Since 1998, it has cost the state's agriculture industry more than $14 billion.

2011 was the driest year in state history.

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Comments

[Anniebody]

08:24 AM on 04/13/2012

Wow! Droughts and hailstorms. I think Rick Perry has seriously pissed off god.

[Kommonman]

01:10 AM on 03/28/2012

Wonder if Sicky Ricky is gonna ask for federal help again...All that praying was ineffective so what's he gonna do now....Wonder if texans have learned to drink that oil yet or use it to water their crops

[Publicola]

11:19 PM on 03/25/2012

Conservative Climate Scientist Dr. Barry Bickmore:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve recently been involved with other scientists and scholars in Utah trying to stop the spread of outright lies, half-truths, abuses of data, and distortions about climate change. Much of this disinformation is coming from (or through) some Republican members of the Utah Legislature, and the other Republican (and some Democratic) members have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker...

In addition, I’m a Republican myself, and it galls me that my own party has locally fallen for a bunch of conspiracy theories and scientifically incompetent trash. In my opinion, something has to be done to save the party from disaster in the long run…

Democracy depends on accurate information being readily available to the public, and I see people who propagate such disinformation campaigns as enemies of Democracy.

http://bbickmore.wordpress.com/about-this-blog/

[Gottlieb]

10:25 AM on 03/27/2012

Thanks for the link. Good to read Utah politicians have someone watching them and trying to educate them.

[Psalms]

10:56 PM on 03/24/2012

this is amusing so many people arguing over other peoples opinions and to force a carbon tax on people . So who is going to collect the money from the volcanoes ? which pump out Billions of Co2 every year Way more than the human race can in a 1000 years . This is the most childish Way of Debate . I mean really what you going to do Pump concrete in them ? That wont work .

Theres nothing we can do to stop Volcanoes is there No . Do the math .
Smart People with stupid Theory The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, θεωρία, meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action.[1] Theory is especially often contrasted to "practice" (from Greek praxis, πρᾶξις) a Greek term for "doing", which is opposed to theory because theory involved no doing apart from itself.

Has anyone really tryed to figure out how much the valcanos contrubute ? So quit saying its
because of man kind . if you want to slow it down Build cars and trucks that run on water ?
Sounds Crazy maybe but posible if people worked together instead of arguing over stuff we dont have the power to control at all .

[canuckhoser]

12:41 PM on 03/25/2012

humans emit 100x more than "valcanos"...not knowing this, while calling people who do "stu pid" and childish says what about you...?

[Psalms]

05:39 PM on 03/25/2012

what you have just said is a Lie do you have proof to back it up . In till you have actual data what you have said is a Fantasy .

[Publicola]

03:28 PM on 03/25/2012

Humans Emit Over 100 Times More CO2 Than Volcanoes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Psalms: "volcanoes... pump out Billions of Co2 every year Way more than the human race can in a 1000 years ."

Wrong.

Absurdly wrong.

-------------------
EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union
Volume 92, June 2011

Volcanic Versus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide

Which emits more carbon dioxide (CO2): Earth’s volcanoes or human activities? Research findings indicate unequivocally that the answer to this frequently asked question is human activities…

In fact, present-day volcanoes emit relatively modest amounts of CO2, about as much annually as states like Florida, Michigan, and Ohio…

The projected 2010 anthropogenic CO2 emission rate of 35 gigatons per year is 135 times greater than the 0.26-gigaton-per-year preferred estimate for volcanoes.

http://www.agu.org/pubs/pdf/2011EO240001.pdf

[Psalms]

05:43 PM on 03/25/2012

Im not wrong ive studyed Volcanology . Have you ? Or are you willing to believe any lie the world throws at you ?

[Publicola]

11:16 PM on 03/25/2012

Psalms: "Im not wrong ive studyed Volcanology ."

Sure you have.

Care to provide actual peer reviewed science to support your absurdly wrong claim?

[ILoveFiction]

07:08 AM on 03/24/2012

Things aren't looking so good in Zacatecas, either, you know.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1E8ELU6Q20120321

[StephenBP]

08:20 PM on 03/24/2012

From the article...."Mexican President Felipe Calderon, an outspoken advocate for mitigating and adapting to climate change, has ordered his government to start getting ready for tougher times."

Prolonged local drought really does seem to get people to give more thought to weather and climate.

Starvation and thirst can really mess up one's ideological game.

[acmickey]

10:58 PM on 03/23/2012

Hmmm... perhaps Governor Perry should have accepted that healthcare funding after all.

Money doesn't grow on trees Mr. Perry - and beggars can't be choosers.

[Razpooten]

12:13 AM on 03/24/2012

After Perry praying for rain, nothing grows on trees in Texas.

[Gottlieb]

10:36 AM on 03/27/2012

Trees are dying in Texas and this includes drought resistant Juniper

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Up-to-500-million-Texas-trees-died-from-drought-2413045.php

http://texasclimatenews.org/wp/?p=4460

[StephenBP]

09:24 PM on 03/23/2012

Even with the good news of recent rains, the present state of Texas agriculture is still precarious according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples...
"We're by no means out of the woods yet in this drought, even with the recent rains that we've had that we're very thankful for," warned Staples.
"The rain we've gotten so far makes it less likely this is going to be one of those extended droughts like we saw in the 1950s," confirmed Texas State Climatologist Nielsen-Gammon. "But we still have a long way to go to recovery completely throughout the state."

[davold]

02:48 PM on 03/23/2012

So...here's a question...what is the most effective way in which to respond to posters who are 'serial mis-representers'?- You know- "well there was a dust bowl in 30s and AGW didn't cause that, so that means it could not have caused this, blah-blah-blah, etc. I have a very strong suspicion that most of them know very well that their points are gibberish and 'white noise' as another poster put it. It is as though they are continually chucking rocks into a pond simply to obscure the water. 1) Do we patiently and consistently point out their errors for other readers who may be looking to be educated ? 2) do we simply ignore them as we would a 7 year old who endlessly repeats something like "I know you are, but what am I"? 3) Do we satirize and parody their efforts? (a la Stewart or Colbert). I'll say this, they are quite the thorn in the side-irritating and, possibly, dangerous. In this sense, they do their jobs well. and, perhaps if some of those who habitually engage in magical thinking--'let's all ignore physics together and malign the scientists who don't"---respond to this comment, I will get to choose from one of the 3 response options stated above!

[curryandwebster]

03:26 PM on 03/23/2012

I suggest that you'd provide some evidence to support your idiotic re-writing of history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl

[davold]

04:26 PM on 03/23/2012

I'm gonna go with...Option #2 !!!!!!!

[Gottlieb]

10:43 AM on 03/27/2012

Looks like you have been responded to with the classic argumentum ad hominem from curryandwebster.

I like to use http://www.realclimate.org/ for a quick reply with facts since this site has indexed links to debunk most of the common points of confusion.

[Frank Shrirachi]

02:14 PM on 03/23/2012

We are blessed in Texas. The grass is again green and tall, the cattle are being stocked, the blessed oil is producing jobs and keeping the price of oil lower than it would be. Thank you Lord.

[old soil guy]

02:33 AM on 03/24/2012

Enjoy your short term time of green grass and happy cows this year. Doesn't look like it's going to last much longer; or your next weather pattern will be floods. Things are a changing down south.

[Frank Shrirachi]

05:56 PM on 03/26/2012

Sounds good to me. I am sure the Creator of the Universe knows what he is doing!

[Psalms]

10:14 PM on 03/24/2012

The rain is coming .

[Kenz300]

01:14 PM on 03/23/2012

Maybe Texas is being punished for electing Republicans.

[StephenBP]

06:34 AM on 03/23/2012

Nationally, the US suffered a major decrease in overall agricultural output in 2011. Sorghum was down 13%, Rice was down 24%, Soybeans were down 8%, and cotton was down 13%.

What part of this decrease was due to human caused global warming is impossible to sort out at this point in time. Does that mean we should keep re-arranging deck chairs on this cruise ship by arguing about how this will effect oil company profits, while no one is looking forward?

How much do you spend on food each week? How much do you spend on gasoline? How long can you live without affordable gasoline? How long can you live without affordable food?

What's Your priority?

[stickwelder]

05:02 PM on 03/23/2012

That's tricky business since the food distribution network is run with gasoline/diesel so the two are inextricably linked. Without affordable fuel, we don't get affordable food if any at all. And to add insult to injury we turn corn into fuel.

Also, Oil companies don't re-arrange chairs, they hire people to do that.

[Dogs And Cats]

02:23 AM on 03/23/2012

I guess ignoring climate change isn't so good for the economy after all. The Chinese will certainly figure that out, and they'll end up surging ahead in mitigating climate change.

Whatever happened to American ingenuity?? Come up reasonable Republicans, are you still out there? Do you realize how many jobs could be created if we started cleaning up our act and more quickly developed alternative energy?

[Razpooten]

12:18 AM on 03/24/2012

They are praying for a solution.

[Psalms]

10:18 PM on 03/24/2012

Cars that run on water would be a start so people wouldnt have to pay for fuel . Its in the works now look it up Youtube .

[ILoveFiction]

09:36 PM on 03/25/2012

You put a big tank about 20 feet up and use the water pressure to propel the car.

I built a prototype and it runs great as long as you don't have to cross under any traffic lights.

[curryandwebster]

12:17 AM on 03/23/2012

I seem to recall that the mid-West had a massive drought in the 1930s, which is well before the time that the climate quacks reckon man started becoming responsible for global warming. Billions of dollars are wasted every year on measures which are clearly failing to prevent natural disasters.

[jimboy71]

12:24 AM on 03/23/2012

Once again, you don't manage to get through a comment without using the word "quack", and without actually saying anything.

The Dutch have successfully prevented all kinds of flood disasters. So have other nations. Maybe it's just the US which is working on massive fail...like the levees that everyone knew wouldn't hold back a cat. 4...

I've got an idea...let's keep injecting fracking fluid into faults and see what happens.

[Andrew Harvey]

02:23 AM on 03/23/2012

The Dutch had an easier problem to deal with. Its easier to hold water back than to make it appear out of thin air.

give me an example of a fracking job that's been carried out on a fault line.

[Publicola]

01:38 PM on 03/23/2012

curryandwebster: "...1930s, which is well before the time that the climate quacks reckon man started becoming responsible for global warming."

If by climate "quacks" you mean climate *scientists* then your claim is once again fallacious.

Shocking, I know.

Who pays you to continually post climate science disinformation?

http://www.monbiot.com/2011/02/23/robot-wars/

[Kommonman]

12:58 AM on 03/28/2012

One would think their fingers would be crippled up from arthitus from all the postings they pump out to deny science and logic.

[Dallas Dunlap]

08:57 PM on 03/22/2012

Keep these costs in mind when the denialists argue that the expense of converting away from fossil fuels will bankrupt the economy.

[daccp2]

09:21 PM on 03/22/2012

No way to reply on other thread.
1. uncertain supply is caused by government policies and regulations.
2. alternative fuels or energy is an equally uncertain supply chain. And fossil fuels are still needed to manufacture key elements in alternative fuels or energy.
3. global warming...I don't subscribe to that theory. Weather cycles are proven and I subscribe to weather patterns.

[Dallas Dunlap]

07:02 AM on 03/23/2012

daccp2- That CO2 is causing the earth to heat up is proven. I've read many climate science studies and I have enough background to understand them. There is very little doubt in the scientific community that the measured warming is caused by higher CO2 levels. I don't know what you mean by "weather patterns are proven." Climate scientists predict more extreme weather as a result of a warmer environment and so far their predictions seem to be coming true.
Alternative fuels,once developed, are extremely reliable...electric cars powered by solar and wind energy, eg.
As to your first point, US supply has been increasing because extraction of crude is up and the industry is using synthetics and other liquids to make refinery product. The supply problem is happening because world production of oil peaked n 2005 and has only budged upward for very short time periods when oil prices were in the $130-$140 range. That isn't due to US regulations.

[silverwolf13]

11:20 PM on 03/30/2012

Uncertain supply of fossil fuels caused by government policies? No, it has always been a boom and bust industry, drilling when the price is high and not drilling when the price is low.

As for alternative energy, the wind is always blowing somewhere, so we need an electrical grid that can distribute the power from where the wind is blowing to where the power is needed. Also note that the sun is always shining during the day in a heat wave.

[curryandwebster]

12:14 AM on 03/23/2012

Well, the US has been investing billions of dollars in efforts to combat natural climate change, and has it made any difference? I don't think so.

[canuckhoser]

02:10 PM on 03/23/2012

What an inept post. Investing into alternative energy innovation doesn't equate to immediate results. And it doesn't matter if you agree or not with the millions of points of data, in dozens of different fields, by tens of thousands of scientists using the scientific method that has worked pretty good for us for almost 2 centuries...your conspiracy theory doesn't have one shred of proof against what is now verifiable science by even the most ardent "skeptic" that has actually looked at the data....

Your posts are white noise drivel.

[silverwolf13]

11:31 PM on 03/30/2012

Consider that the price of oil has been rising sharply lately, and that the price of coal has been rising just fast, if not faster. This has been due to increased demand from China and India and other Third World countries. On the other hand, the prices of capturing wind and solar power have been declining, and the prices of sunshine and wind have remained stable at zero for several eons.

Lastly, consider that the price of oil props up America's enemies, such as Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Iran only makes a profit if the world price of oil is over $90 per barrel. The most effective thing the US could do to stop Iranian nuclear development, as well as their support for Hezbollah and Hamas, would be to put a stiff tax on oil.

[GerryS]

08:51 PM on 03/22/2012

Wow,

Maybe the big Kahuna is sending the GOPhers in Texas a subtle message---------