Pope Tells Oil Executives to Act on Climate: ‘There Is No Time to Lose’

God gave people ears for hearing and eyes for seeing, yet oil executives can't seem to hear or see. If that is the case there is medical research that provides eyeglasses, surgery for cataracts, electricity to light a reading lamp, medical research has supplied cochlear implants and hearing aids for the older executive. With all this support for hearing and seeing the real world, the oil executives can't seem to get past living in "cloud city" or the "ivory tower."

This is Pope Francis. He is a hero to at least 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world. Somehow that makes no impression on the people that effect the Earth's climate with their industrial product that renders greenhouse gas pollution.

There are currently 7.6 billion people on Earth. Pope Francis speaks for 1.2 billion of those people. No one heeds his words? Really?

June 9, 2018
By Elisabetta Povoledo

Pope Francis has called for swift action to care for the environment and the planet.

Rome — Three years ago, (click here) Pope Francis issued a sweeping letter that highlighted the global crisis posed by climate change and called for swift action to save the environment and the planet.

On Saturday, the pope gathered money managers and titans of the world’s biggest oil companies during a closed-door conference at the Vatican and asked them if they had gotten the message.

“There is no time to lose,” Francis told them on Saturday.

Pressure has been building on oil and gas companies to transition to less polluting forms of energy, with the threat of fossil-fuel divestment sometimes used as a stick.

The pope said oil and gas companies had made commendable progress and were “developing more careful approaches to the assessment of climate risk and adjusting their business practices accordingly.” But those actions were not enough....

Agriculture is a vital part of the Italian economy, what happens if it ends because farmers can no longer afford water?

October 24, 2018
By Somini Senguta

Trevi, Italy — It (click here) was in June, the time of year when the first olives normally burst from their blossoms in the mild warmth of early summer, when Irene Guidobaldi walked through her groves in blistering heat and watched in horror as the flowers on her trees began to wither and fall.

The only way to save her family’s precious orchard in the hills of Umbria was to buy the most precious thing of all in this summer of drought: water.

Lots and lots of water.And so, Ms. Guidobaldi, an eighth-generation olive grower, bought water by the truckload, nearly every day, for most of the summer.

The heat wave that swept across southern Europe this summer, which scientists say bore the fingerprints of human-induced climate change, is only the latest bout of strange weather to befall the makers of olive oil.

Some years, like this one, the heat comes early and stays. Other years, it rains so much — as it did in 2014 — that the olive fly breeds like crazy, leaving worms inside the olives. Or there’s an untimely frost when the fruits first form, which is what happened in Beatrice Contini Bonacossi’s groves in Tuscany. Or, an early hot spell is followed by a week of fog and rain, which is what happened on Sebastiano Salafia’s farm in Sicily a few years ago, leaving the trees confused, as he put it, about when to bear fruit.

“Every year, there’s something,” Mr. Salafia said.

Gone are the days when you could count on the mild “mezze stagioni,” or half-seasons, that olives rely on before and after the heat. Gone, too, is the cycle you could count on: one year good, next year not good....

...“I hesitate to say this because I love the Mediterranean and I want people to have Mediterranean olive oil,” she said, “but I think California is going to be more and more important in the years ahead and places like Australia and New Zealand.”...

"It's time New York City puts its money where its mouth is, divests from Wall Street, and—through a public bank—invests in us."

 June 5, 2018
By Julia Conley

Chanting, "Wells, Chase, B of A, public bank's a better way!" (click here) social justice groups rallied at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday to demand that New York City divest from Wall Street banks and establish a public bank that is "expressly chartered to serve the public interest."

"New York deserves a public bank that will invest in community needs, and be accountable to New York City residents—one that will prioritize housing...and not prey on low-income New Yorkers," said Scott Hutchins, a member of the grassroots social justice group Picture the Homeless.

The more than two dozen groups that gathered on Wall Street also included New York Working Families, the Pan-African Community Development Initiative, and Food & Water Watch.

Investment in Wall Street banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of Americas, and JPMorgan Chase is synonymous with harming the environment, propping up private prisons, and putting working families at risk for financial collapse as well as pushing them out of New York neighborhoods, argued the groups....

Here again is an European country that has a very consistent population, this time of 60.6 million.

Italy population is equivalent to 0.78% of the total world population.

Italy ranks number 23 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.

The population density in Italy is 202 per Km2 (522 people per mi2).

The total land area is 294,140 Km2 (113,568 sq. miles)

71.8 % of the population is urban (42,587,390 people in 2018)

The median age in Italy is 46.3 years.

The graph below is extends to the 1960s. Italy has been reducing it's carbon footprint no differently than most of Europe and they are winning. The USA is far too greedy to actually win the battle everyone is facing in the climate crisis.

Italy - CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita)

CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) (click here) in Italy was reported at 5.2709 in 2014, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

Carbon dioxide emissions are those stemming from the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement. They include carbon dioxide produced during consumption of solid, liquid, and gas fuels and gas flaring. 

Migrating species due to changing sea temperatures and discharge bilge from ships are causing problems for native marine life.

30 May 2018

Crab holiday homes or "condos" (click here for article with video) are being rolled out to entice Asian paddle crabs - but no pleasant stay is planned for them.

Three months ago, a Ministry for Primary Industries survey found the aggressive crabs in Tauranga Harbour. They could have devastating consequences for fisheries in the Bay of Plenty.

"They detected two Asian paddle crabs, Charybdis Japonica, a male and a female in a pot by the Matapihi Bridge," said biosecurity officer Hamish Lass....

The species Charybdis japonica, the Asian paddle crab, is a species of swimming crab in the family Portunidae.... It is a native species in the waters around Japan, Korea and Malaysia, but has become an invasive species in New Zealand and the Adriatic Sea where it is rare.

It is classified in New Zealand as a pest,

It is an aggressive crab (click here) that can outcompete with native species for food and habitat. It is also known to carry the White Spot Syndrome Virus that can impact native and farmed prawns, crabs and lobsters....

Italy (click here) is the world’s ninth biggest economy. Its economic structure relies mainly on services and manufacturing. The services sector accounts for almost three quarters of total GDP and employs around 65% of the country’s total employed people. Within the service sector, the most important contributors are the wholesale, retail sales and transportation sectors. Industry accounts for a quarter of Italy’s total production and employs around 30% of the total workforce. Manufacturing is the most important sub-sector within the industry sector. The country’s manufacturing is specialized in high-quality goods and is mainly run by small- and medium-sized enterprises. Most of them are family-owned enterprises. Agriculture contributes the remaining share of total GDP and it employs around 4.0% of the total workforce....

Tourism is a growing sector in Italy. It is important the climate doesn't discourage this growth.

"Delaying climate action costs human lives."

June 9, 2018
By Jake Johnson

"Growing our dependence (click here) on fracked gas further delays the transition to renewables and energy efficiency we need," Alan Palm, director of organizing with 350 Massachusetts and the Better Future Project, said in a statement.

As the 86th annual U.S. Mayors Conference kicked off in Boston, Massachusetts on Friday, environmentalists took to the streets—and the Boston Harbor—to demand that local leaders "walk the talk" on climate and commit to bold action as the Trump administration caters to the whims of the fossil fuel industry.

In addition to rallies calling on the gathering of more than 200 U.S. mayors to work toward fossil fuel-free cities, over a dozen kayaktivists also coordinated in the Boston harbor Friday night demanding a total ban on fracking.

"Growing our dependence on fracked gas further delays the transition to renewables and energy efficiency we need," Alan Palm, director of organizing with 350 Massachusetts and the Better Future Project, said in a statement. "Delaying climate action costs human lives."...
                                                 

Decarboniztion is among the highest priority for Italy's government.

May 6, 2018
By Megan Darby

Teresa Ribera has been put in charge of Spain's energy, climate and environment ministry 

Government shake-ups (click here) in Spain and Italy this week may bring some good news for the climate.

Spain’s incoming centre-left prime minister Pedro Sánchez named climate hawk Teresa Ribera on Tuesday to lead a new super-ministry spanning energy and environment.

Ribera previously served as secretary of state for climate change 2008-11. Since then, she became director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (Iddri) in Paris and sat on the board of several climate-related organisations. She is known as an advocate for clean energy and international cooperation on climate change.

Laurence Tubiana, a key French architect of the Paris Agreement, and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark were among the first to congratulate her on the appointment.

The change of government follows a vote of no confidence in former premier Mariano Rajoy on 1 June, after leading members of his party were convicted of corruption.

Based on her record, Ribera can be expected to promote a faster transition away from coal to clean energy. A member of Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), Ribera has previously criticised Rajoy’s ousted government over its resistance to closing coal plants. “There is still an incredible inertia on the subject of climate,” she told Euractiv in November 2017.

Sánchez does not have a majority in parliament, however, which may constrain his government’s ability to effect change....

National Geographic Pristine Seas: Expedition to Seychelles Outer Islands (click here for National Geographic article)

May 11, 2011
By Timothy Stenovac

The secret is out: (click here) Prince William and Kate Middleton are spending their honeymoon on a private island in the Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean famous for its exclusive white sand beaches, majestic coral reefs and tropical climate.

The former British colony attracts high-profile guests. Sir Paul McCartney, Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek are among the celebrities reported to have vacationed there.

Here is some essential information about this island nation:

Geography:

The Republic of Seychelles is a group of islands that is about 1,000 miles off the eastern coast of Africa and northeast of the Republic of Madagascar....

Se

Italians concern themselves with the climate crisis.

1 December 2015

To the left is the Caldero Glacier in 1958.

Twenty percent of Europe's Alpine glaciers (click here) melted between 1980 and 2000. With the speed of melting picking up, the glaciers could be gone by 2050, according to the fifth annual report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

A case in point would be Europe's most southerly glacier, the Calderone, which sits on the Gran Sasso massif in Abruzzo. Climate change has already sealed its fate and experts now say it will be gone by 2020.

As Italy's Alpine glaciers recede, the melted water contributes to rising sea levels. The loss of glaciers also increases global temperatures as the large tracts of white ice are no longer present to reflect the sun's rays back out to space.

It's not just glaciers that are melting either. Fragile Alpine environments are particularly susceptible to climate change and are warming at three times the rate of coastal areas, something which threatens Italy's ski industry.

Figures from Italy's Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea show that the predicted end of the century changes of 4C in the Alps would eliminate nearly all snow cover under 2000 meters, while snow at higher altitudes would arrive later and melt sooner.

That would be bad news for Italy's 286 ski resorts, whose half-pipes, ski lifts and chalets may soon be nothing more than abandoned features in mountain meadows....

16th july 2005. (click here) Calderone glacier seen from Corno Grande Eastern Summit. Calderone Glacier (elevation: 2650 m - 2850 m) is an almost extint glacier: the ice still stands under a layer of gravels, and it appears only in few spots. It's covered in snow for the most part of the year, but in the warmer years or after a dry winter it could be almost completely uncovered before the first snowfalls of the season...

It's Sunday Night

Competent, young, (click here) good-looking: at 34 years old she is changing Italy. She is Italy’s Minister for Constitutional Reforms and for Parliament Relationships, one of Europe’s 28 most influential personalities

She is Italy’s Minister for Constitutional Reforms and for Parliament Relationships, she is 34 years old, and grew up in Laterina, near Arezzo, Italy. A brilliant lawyer, she is changing the Constitution over 18 months. No small thing, indeed. She has always believed in what she does, working with the utmost dedication and sense of commitment since she was in charge of the committees during the first primary elections in  2012 with Matteo Renzi, but also in her institutional role, studying and researching non-stop. A master in self-control, she responds to attacks with a smile, with patience and great class. Competent, young, beautiful, to those who accused her of not having the necessary experience she responded with her actions: changing Italy. And she succeeded, remaining true to herself, keeping his blonde hair and high heels, and wearing a nice skirt. 

Italy National Anthem (2010 World Cup)

Italian National Anthem

"Il Canto degli Italiani"  

"The Song of the Italians"

Fratelli d'Italia,
l'Italia s'è desta,
dell'elmo di Scipio
s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
ché schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.

Brothers of Italy,
Italy has woken,
bound Scipio's helmet
Upon her head.
Where is Victory?
Let her bow down,
Because [as a] slave of Rome
God created her.

Fratelli d'Italia,
l'Italia s'è desta,
dell'elmo di Scipio
s'è cinta la testa.
Dov'è la Vittoria?
Le porga la chioma,
ché schiava di Roma
Iddio la creò.

Brothers of Italy,
Italy has woken,
bound Scipio's helmet
Upon her head
Where is Victory?
Let her bow down,
Because [as a] slave of Rome
God created her.

Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò! Sì!

Let us join in a cohort
we are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called! Yes!

Noi fummo da secoli
calpesti, derisi,
perché non siam popolo,
perché siam divisi.
Raccolgaci un'unica
bandiera, una speme:
di fonderci insieme
già l'ora suonò.

We were for centuries
downtrodden, derided,
because we are not one people,
because we are divided.
Let one flag, one hope
gather us all.
The hour has struck
for us to unite.

Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò! Sì!

Let us join in a cohort
we are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called! Yes!

Uniamoci, amiamoci,
l'unione e l'amore
rivelano ai popoli
le vie del Signore.
Giuriamo far libero
il suolo natio:
uniti, per Dio,
chi vincer ci può?

Let us unite, let us love one another,
For union and love
Reveal to the people
The ways of the Lord.
Let us swear to set free
The land of our birth:
United, by God,
Who can overcome us?

Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò! Sì!

Let us join in a cohort.
we are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called! Yes!

Dall'Alpi a Sicilia
dovunque è Legnano,
ogn'uom di Ferruccio
ha il core, ha la mano,
i bimbi d'Italia
si chiaman Balilla,
il suon d'ogni squilla
i Vespri suonò.

From the Alps to Sicily,
Legnano is everywhere;
Every man has the heart
and hand of Ferruccio
The children of Italy
Are all called Balilla;
Every trumpet blast
sounds the Vespers

Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò! Sì!

Let us join in a cohort
we are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called! Yes!

Son giunchi che piegano
le spade vendute:
già l'Aquila d'Austria
le penne ha perdute.
Il sangue d'Italia,
il sangue Polacco,
bevé, col cosacco,
ma il cor le bruciò.

Mercenary swords,
they're feeble reeds.
Already the Eagle of Austria
Has lost its plumes.
The blood of Italy,
the Polish blood
It drank, along with the Cossack,
But it burned its heart.

Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò.
Stringiamci a coorte,
siam pronti alla morte.
Siam pronti alla morte,
l'Italia chiamò! Sì!

Let us join in a cohort
we are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called.
Let us join in a cohort,
We are ready to die.
We are ready to die,
Italy has called! Yes!

There should be free expression by athletes at the World Cup.

International games have always been a safe place for athletes to express their love of country and to protest any form of oppression. Free expression during the World Cup by the athletes are vital to their passion for the game and they way they love their homeland.

June 10, 2018
By Jane Dalton

Researchers say teams that sing with real fervour and put their arms around one another, such as Wales at Euro 2016, are more likely to do well 

Teams who collectively sang (click here) with more gusto went on to concede fewer goals, although they did not necessarily score more goals the academics found.

The new study suggests that looking closely at how fervent players’ singing is can give strong clues to the outcome of a match.

Researchers at the University of Staffordshire examined 51 games at the Uefa Euro 2016 and the players involved, looking at both verbal and non-verbal clues of passion before kick-off....

...“We found that the level of passion displayed by players predicted their team’s success or failure in the subsequent match,” said lead researcher Matthew Slater....

To the right is the 1968 Olympics. The World Cup encompasses a great number of countries that focus on these games in their national identity. For some countries, this is their exclusive international platform of competition. The athletes need to be respected.

I find this iconic moment in 1968 for the USA athletes as relevant today as then.

I will be looking at Italy tonight, however, besides my interest there are several worlds colliding tonight over Italy.

Why would Donald Trump be so smug in regard to the G7? 

What if Donald Trump has a real affection for Russia and Vladimir Putin, but, he cannot deliver the demise of NATO to Putin as expected following his election? I mean there were even more sanctions placed on Russia after Trump took office that he had to sign. Would Trump just give up and figure his affection for Russia is unwise? No. Not at all.

The G7, including the US Congress, needs to pay attention to the extremist and White Supremacist Steve Bannon and the overthrow of European governments. Could Putin be involved? Most definitely.

Putin wants Europe dismantled, he does not care how he does it.

May 22, 2018
By Griffe Witt

Prague — Politics (click here) hasn’t been going Stephen K. Bannon’s way lately in Alabama, Mississippi or Nevada.

But at least the anti-establishment provocateur, a former Goldman Sachs banker, has the Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy. 

The man who helped mastermind President Trump’s election spread the gospel of working-class revolt in the gilded ballroom of a 19th-century neo-Renaissance palace on an island in Prague on Tuesday.

And as was the case the last time he toured Europe, in March, he had fresh victories to celebrate. 

Last month, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — a man Bannon has described as “a hero” — won a crushing reelection victory that has opponents fearing a crackdown in a country veering toward the autocratic.

This week, Italian anti-establishment parties are finalizing plans for what is likely to be the first truly populist government in Western Europe. The prospect has the European Union’s defenders nervous about a politically and economically damaging clash to come. But Bannon was delighted....

This title in Haaretz:

Trump ex-strategist Bannon famously called himself a Leninist, but he's more like Trotsky, wandering Europe whipping up revolutionary fervor for his global populist movement. In Italy, he found the perfect set of circumstances

This is what happens in Europe when someone like Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi allowed corruption, wild parties and abuse of women while keeping a seat in government. People are going to turn to those that reflect their values regardless of it being a lie. Populism are new faces, new candidates with no track record for the most part. It is an easy win when "identity politics" rules over those that can governor.

Europe needs to pay attention to the rise of populism. There are far too many White Supremacists and extremists that can seriously damage Europe's government. The USA is finding out how damaging an unqualified candidate that makes it into the presidency can be. 

Bannon has begun to replace Paul Manafort, yet. If he is seeking candidates that represent a shift out of democracy, he may fall under the FBI watch again. At least Interpol should be taking an interest.

March 6, 2018
Written by Annalisa Merelli

Steve Bannon’s “ultimate dream” (click here) came true last night in Italy: Anti-establishmentarianism, isolationism, xenophobia and populism won the country’s general elections on March 4.

On March 4, populist party Movimento Cinque Stelle (Five Star Movement) won the most votes. Meanwhile, radically xenophobic Lega Nord (Northern League) overtook center-right party Forza Italia. More than half of the parliament is now in the hands of upstart populist groups, with moderates both left and right of center crippled: The center-left Democratic Party received less than 19% of votes—the worst result in its history. Center-right Forza Italia received around 14% of the votes—the worst in leader Silvio Berlusconi’s political history.

No single party won enough votes to control the government, which means some combination of groups will have to form a coalition. And whoever’s in charge will face a changed Italy, in which voters appear to have swung a hard right....

More transparency. Kim Jong Un receives Russian diplomats at his residence. The openness of this young North Koeran leader is admirable.

Kim Jung Un appears to be a radically different North Korean leader. I don't recall the North Korean palace being treated similarly as the White House. The young North Korean leader is receiving diplomats at his residence in a fashion not familiar to the world.

I think Dennis Rodman has been to the palace, but, never any American diplomats. This is a different world. It is moving faster than is traditionally thought of as "advantageous" to a good outcome.

Kim Jong Un is beginning to become a world traveler. Now, he receives an invitation to Russia. The paradigm is quickly changing. Can the rest of the world keep up?

Kim Jong Un arrives in Singapore

The G7 was the first time since Trump declared war on diplomacy that the leaders met.

June 10, 2018

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (click here) on Sunday criticised US “unliteralism” in withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and said he appreciated efforts by China and Russia to maintain the agreement.

“The US efforts to impose its policies on others are expanding as a threat to all,” Rouhani told the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (Sco), a regional security grouping led by China and Russia where Iran has observer status....

What is Bolton doing in the room? Trump forget his lines? Or did he need an interpreter in more ways then one?

I thought this was the G7, not the G14. Can't Trump's Wall Street come up with $3 billion more?

June 10, 2018

Pledges worth nearly $3 billion dollars (click here) to help vulnerable women and girls, including refugees, get an education were announced at a G7 summit on Saturday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who hosted his fellow leaders at a Quebec resort, called it “the single largest investment in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations.”

Canada will provide $300 million of the total....

I think the Iowa Republicans could have it right. It is time for Republicans to depart from the extremist element of the party and find their own message.

Iowa farmers are among the one group of Americans vital to feeding the USA and the world. Climate is paramount to their very success. The USA should be leading on climate, not failing the world.

Knowing Bolton and the fact he never considers climate a priority, the discussion of the importance of US farmland never took place. Fools in a fools paradise is what the US Republican Party has become.

The Democrats need to have a strong message for American farmers. Their position should be well researched and based in reality, not food stamps.

June 9, 2018
By Austin Cannon

On his way out of Congress, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., (click here) told hundreds of Iowa Republicans that they need to deliver their party’s message in the upcoming election at the Central Iowa Expo outside Boone on Saturday.

Even before taking the stage, he received an enthusiastic reception, and at least some attendees lamented his upcoming departure. While he won’t be there anymore, he gave the crowd his take on how to build a conservative movement in the federal government.

Gowdy, (click here) who serves as the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced in January that he’d be leaving office when his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives ends early next year. In announcing his retirement, he joined dozens of other Republicans — including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin — who are also leaving Congress in 2019.


Iowa Farmland (click here)

And no, he told reporters Saturday, he’s not running for president. He told the media and later the crowd that he appeared at Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual Roast and Ride event because of his friendship for Iowa’s junior senator.

Gowdy’s appearance was a departure from the previous three Roast and Rides, which featured speakers like President Donald Trump (in 2016, before he took office), Vice President Mike Pence (2017) and several of the Republicans running for the 2016 presidential nomination (2015) — people either vying for public office or people already there and planning to stay, not someone like Gowdy....

US Drought Map (click here)

Iowa is considered part of the Midwest and not the High Plains. The cliamte crisis brings with it a new understanding about drought. Included now in drought assessments is "Flash drought" which occurs over a short period of time and not a decade or two.

As the surface of Earth heats, the incidence of evaporation of water increases. There are storms that pass over American land without dropping a single drop of water to the surface. The rain evaporates before it reaches the ground. The rain that does make it to the ground occurs in severe storms and torrential flooding.

...This week, severe drought (D2) was expanded across northwest Missouri, and approximately the eastern half of the moderate drought (D1) area in northern Missouri was expanded slightly southeastward. In Illinois, a north-south oriented, split band of heavy rain (3-6 inches) fell in the Peoria area very early in the drought week, associated with the departing remnants of Alberto. D0 was broadly expanded across a substantial portion of central and eastern Illinois, connecting up with the D0 over southwestern Indiana. This is related to the combination of short-term dryness and 90-degree temperatures, which appear to be causing water stress on corn and soybeans.

Incidentally, the importance of rapid loss of moisture through evaporation has become a very important consideration in early detection of flash drought; hence the increasing reliance upon the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI). High values of the 2-week EDDI (ED1 to ED3) across the Corn Belt are indicative of significant moisture loss, which must be balanced against any moisture gains that occur through precipitation. It is the interplay between evaporation, high heat, rainfall, soil moisture, and wind speeds that has a significant bearing on accurate drought prediction....