Maize Madness

More Maize for Fuel than Food

US ethanol refiners use more maize than livestock and poultry farmers

The ethanol refiners in the U.S. are consuming more maize than livestock and poultry farmers, a report said.

USDA says in the year to August 31 ethanol producers will have consumed 5.05bn bushels of corn, just over 40 per cent of 2010’s harvest, against 5bn bushels used for animal feed and residual consumption.

The Death of Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Part 1): “Our slaveholder, the car, is taking the food right out of our mouths. The late Ivan Illich, a renowned sociologist, reported in the 1970s that when the miles Americans drive are divided by the time spent in the car (sitting on congested roadways, driving, parking, and servicing) and paying for it, they average 5 mph-about twice slower than riding a bike. Today, the cars are getting fatter and running even slower.”

Other Amazing Maize Stats

• Ethanol production has pushed up the corn prices by 90 per cent compared with a year earlier.
• US ethanol production could reach a record high of 13.7bn gallons in 2011
• Both Brazil and China are importing US corn; China to import 2MMT tons this year.
• USDA predicts global farm consumption could reach a record of about 878MMT.
• Corn futures topped $7 per bushel.
• Ethanol futures are currently traded 30 cents per gallon cheaper than gasoline futures.

Notes:

1. A bushel of shelled maize (corn) weighs 56 pounds (25.40 kg).
2. MMT = Million Metric Tons.

Related Links

• US: One drought away from food crisis
• Are Extreme Precipitation Events Nature’s Defense Mechanisms?
• Biofuels

World’s Water Dreams

World Water Headlines – July 13, 2011

China forsaking farmers to feed ferocious energy demands

China says it is raising power production capacity to 1,440 gigawatts (GW) in four years, a rise of 490 GW.

The authorities are planning output at least 140GW of the added capacity from hydro power—equivalent of energy produced by seven Three Gorges dams, or the entire electricity production of France.

However, large-scale hydropower projects, as was the case with the construction of Three Gorges Dam, which impounded the Yangtzee River, will submerge vast areas of farming land under water forcing millions of people to relocate.

About 1.5 million people were relocated and at least 1,000 towns and villages were flooded to fill the reservoir area.

Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, Hubei Province central China, July 19, 2010.  The Dam Could Collapse

The water influx into the Three Gorges Reservoir reached 58,000 steres [cubic meters, m³] per second on Monday morning, setting a new record in this year’s flood season. Engineers will raise the rate of water outflux to 40,000 steres per second from 10 a.m. on Monday to face the biggest flood peak since the dam was established. (Xinhua/Zheng Jiayu). Image may be subject to copyright. More photos …

Water Shortages Caused by Hydropower Dams

Prolonged drought in the Mekong Basin threatened the livelihood of at least 60 million people last year. The water flows were the lowest for 20 years, said the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Adding that “water supply, navigation and irrigation are at threat.”

Many people in Southeast Asia blamed the unusually low water levels on Chinese dams.

NOTES:
1. Three Gorges dam has an installed capacity of 18.2GW
2. China’s hydropower capacity at the end 2010 was 213.4GW
3. Coal-powered plants will produce about 77 percent of the remaining 350GW of China’s planned capacity boost.

Related Links

• China warns of ‘urgent problems’ facing Three Gorges dam

Dangerous heat spreads to Mid-Atlantic

Heat Warnings/Advisories in Effect for Half the U.S. Population

Much of the Eastern, Southern and Mid-Section U.S. Experiencing Dangerous Heat

As oppressive heat gripped much of the eastern U.S. spreading into the Capital, triple-digit temperatures and heat indices hovered around the 115-degree mark, and air quality took a nosedive.

• In Wichita, Kansas the temperature exceeded 100 degrees for the 20th consecutive day.
• In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, temperatures hovered around 100 degrees for the 14th consecutive day.

Heat Warnings and Advisories issued Monday for a large portion of the U.S. mid-section have been extended to the Mid-Atlantic states, as moist air from the Gulf of Mexico combined with dangerously high   “temperatures to perpetuate the dangerous heat illness threat across the South and East.” NWS said.

“Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect today from parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas eastward across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys and the Gulf States to the northern Eastern Seaboard and Mid-Atlantic. Triple digit high temperatures and high humidity are expected for the Nation’s Capital.”

U.S. Max Temp Forecast for July 13-14.

Max Heat Index and Probability Forecast – July 13, 2011

Image Source: NOAA/HPC. Click image to enlarge.

U.S. Weather Summary

• Severe weather forecast for wide areas from the central High Plains across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys into the Mid-Atlantic Coast.
• Heavy rain over flooded river valleys across the northern and central Plains could exacerbate ongoing flooding.
• Flash Flooding possible over parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah and Colorado.

Weather Forecast Map July 12, 2011. Click to enlarge.

Air Quality

Air quality alerts are in effect in parts of Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as of posting

Severe Weather

Severe weather extending from southeastern Wyoming to the Mid-Atlantic Coast, including parts of 14 states is possible today, NWS said.

“Parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina are at Slight Risk for severe weather. Another Slight Risk area covers most of Montana and the fringe area of north-central Idaho.”

Wednesday and Thursday Forecast: Parts of Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska are also at Slight Risk for severe weather, NWS said.

SPC received 526 reports of severe weather on Monday: 474 reports of high winds and 52 reports of large hail. [Report was later filtered to 351/318/33.]

Related Links

• Dangerous heat, exceptional drought, severe storms, major flooding
• Mega Heatwaves Could Kill Thousands in the U.S.
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Brace for the Worst Ever
• WARNING: Global Disasters to Intensify
• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING