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Wild rice on the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin is in the floating leaf stage by early June, with a single shoot lying on the water’s surface. This is considered one of the most critical—and and dangerous—stages in the rice’s life cycle. The plants are just beginning to change physiologically from exchanging gases with the water column to exchanging gases with the air. Therefore, they are very susceptible to heavy rains and flooding events that can either rip out the young plants by the roots, or drown them. June 6, 2011.

Where Food Grows on Water: Environmental and Human Threats to Wisconsin’s Wild Rice

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For generations, the upper Great Lakes region has boasted harvests of wild rice, growing in Lake Superior and other watersheds within the basin. But disease, dams, and climate change are now endangering the uncultivated bounty.
The Horn of Africa

Worsening Humanitarian Crisis: Unprecedented Drought and Famine in Horn of Africa

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The drought has gripped large regions of eastern Africa, leaving an estimated 11 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and is likely to continue for much of the year, according to the United Nations.
France Drought Europe

Extreme Weather Hampers Grain Production — Droughts in France and Germany, Floods in Ohio

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Two of the world's most important crops, corn and wheat, are on track to meet global demand, despite water woes.
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China’s Other Looming Choke Point: Food Production

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The Yellow River Basin is the center of a contest over water, energy, and agriculture.

EPA Releases Draft Assessment of Environmental Effects of Biofuels

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Preliminary report describes an infant cellulosic biofuels industry with a mandate to grow up fast.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease—Are Mass Animal Burials Causing Water Contamination in South Korea?

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As animal bodies pile up, public fears water sources will become contaminated.

Infographic: Biofuels 101 — Water Use from Plant to Power Source

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Production of ethanol, the most commonly used biofuel, has prompted concerns about water use and food supply.

Asian Carp — On the Docket in D.C. and Chicago; On the Menu in Michigan

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Federal judge rejects Asian carp injunction as Congress passes a ban on their import.

Illinois Company Receives Grant to Export Asian Carp to China

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Asian carp are heading home, 40,000 pounds at a time.

Climate Extremes Will Strain UK Agriculture

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New report shows that U.K. farming faces changing and more variable climate.

Murray-Darling Basin Plan Angers Australian Farmers

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A government plan to reduce irrigation diversions has farmers up in arms.

India and Pakistan Dispute Water Use for Hydropower, Agriculture

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India strives to redirect water, currently used for Pakistani agriculture, on the Kishanganga River for 330 megawatts.