Mississippi River Dries Up As Food
Prices Surge
The worst drought in more than 50 years
is having a devastating impact on the
Mississippi River. The Mississippi has
become very thin and very narrow, and if
it keeps on dropping there is a very
real possibility that all river traffic
could get shut down. And considering the
fact that approximately 60 percent of
our grain (NYSEARCA:JJG), 22 percent of
our oil (NYSEARCA:USO) and natural gas
(NYSEARCA:UNG), and and one-fifth of our
coal travel down the Mississippi River,
that would be absolutely crippling for
our economy. It has been estimated that
if all Mississippi River traffic was
stopped that it would cost the U.S.
economy 300 million dollars a day. So
far most of the media coverage of this
historic drought has focused on the
impact that it is having on farmers and
ranchers, but the health of the
Mississippi River is also absolutely
crucial to the economic success of this
nation, and right now the Mississippi is
in incredibly bad shape. In some areas
the river is already 20 feet below
normal and the water is expected to
continue to drop. If we have another 12
months of weather ahead of us similar to
what we have seen over the last 12
months then the mighty Mississippi is
going to be a complete and total
disaster zone by this time next year.
Most Americans simply do not understand
how vitally important the Mississippi
River is to all of us. If the
Mississippi River continues drying up to
the point where commercial travel is no
longer possible, it would be an
absolutely devastating blow to the U.S.
economy.
Unfortunately, vast stretches of the
Mississippi are already dangerously low.
The following is an excerpt from a
transcript of a CNN report that aired on
August 14th....
You might think this is some kind of
desert just outside of Memphis. It's
not. I'm actually standing on the
exposed bottom of the Mississippi River.
That's how dramatic the drought impact
is being felt here. Hard to believe, a
year ago we were talking about record
flooding. Now, they are worried about a
new kind of record: a record low. The
river was three miles wide here, it's
now down to three tenths of a mile. And
that's causing all kinds of problems.
There are some benefits, I mean, take a
look over here: new beach front. In
fact, some quip that now the Mississippi
River has more beaches than the entire
state of Florida, which would be funny
if it didn't have an impact on trade.
A lot of stuff we use goes up and down
the Mississippi River. We are talking
steel, coal, ore, grain. The problem is
now a lot of those barges have had to
lighten their loads, and even doing
that, they are still running aground.
There is a real fear that there could be
a possibility of closing the Mississippi
River. If that happens, well, all that
product that used to be carried cheaply
by barge is now going to be carried more
expensively by truck or train. And guess
who is going to pay for all of that.
You can see video footage of what is
happening along the Mississippi right
here.
It really is amazing that last year we
were talking about historic flooding
along the Mississippi and this year we
are talking about the Mississippi
possibly drying up.
As I mentioned earlier, there are some
areas along the river that are already
20 feet below normal levels. The
following is from a recent article
posted on inquisitr.com....
Just outside of Memphis the river is 13
feet below normal depth while the
National Weather Service says Vicksburg,
Mississippi is 20 feet below normal
levels. Overall the Mississippi is 13
feet below normal averages for this time
of year.
The drying up river is forcing barge,
tugboat and towboat operators to
navigate narrower and more shallow spots
in the river, slowing their speeds as
they pass dangerously close to one
another. In some parts of the
Mississippi the river is so narrow that
one-way traffic is being utilized.
A lot of barges have been forced to go
with greatly reduced loads so that they
will sit higher in the river, and other
commercial craft have been forced to
stop operating completely.
For example, the Mississippi has dropped
so low at this point that the famous
American Queen Steamboat can no longer
safely navigate the river.
Down south, the Mississippi River has
gotten so low that saltwater is actually
starting to move upriver. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is fighting hard to
keep that contained.
Other waterways in the middle part of
the country are in even worse shape.
For example, a 100 mile stretch of the
Platte River has already dried up.
Millions of fish are dying as rivers and
streams all over the country continue to
get shallower and warmer as a result of
the ongoing drought.
The last time the condition of the
Mississippi River was this bad was back
in 1988. At that time, a lot of barge
traffic was stopped completely and the
shipping industry lost approximately a
billion dollars.
If a similar thing were to happen now,
the consequences could potentially be
far worse.
As I wrote about recently, a standstill
along the Mississippi would cost the
U.S. economy about 300 million dollars a
day.
In fact, one towing company that works
on the Mississippi says that it has
already been losing about $500,000 a
month since May.
In the end, who is going to pay for all
of this?
In fact, this crisis could end up
costing American consumers a whole lot
of money....
So here's the math. If you want to raise
the average barge one inch above the
water, you've got to take off 17-tons of
cargo. To raise it a foot, you're
talking 200 tons.
And since, according to the American
Waterways Operators, moving cargo by
river is $11 a ton cheaper than by train
or truck. The more that now has to be
moved on land, well, the more the costs
go up. Steven Barry says, "And,
eventually, the consumer's gonna pay
that price somewhere along the line."
And considering the fact that we are
already facing a potential food crisis
due to the drought, the last thing we
need is for the Mississippi River to dry
up.
So is there any hope on the horizon for
the Mississippi?
Unfortunately, things do not look
promising.
The fall and the winter are typically
drier than the summer is along the
Mississippi River. That means that
conditions along the river could
actually get even worse in the months
ahead. The following is from a recent
Time Magazine article....
But without significant rainfall, which
isn't in any long-range forecasts,
things are likely to get worse. As
summer turns to fall, the weather tends
to get drier. Lower temperatures
generally mean fewer thunderstorms and
less rainfall.
"Take away the thunderstorm mechanism
and you run into more serious problems,"
says Alex Sosnowski, expert senior
meteorologist for AccuWeather.com. And
while droughts tend to be a temporary
setback, longer-range forecasts are
troublesome. Sosnowski says he is
anticipating an El Niño weather pattern
next year, which would mean below-normal
snowfall and above-average temperatures.
Let us hope and pray that we don't see
another 12 months similar to the 12
months that we have just been through.
The U.S. economy is already in bad
enough shape.
We don't need any more major problems on
top of what we are already dealing with
[link to www.sott.net]
Prices Surge
The worst drought in more than 50 years
is having a devastating impact on the
Mississippi River. The Mississippi has
become very thin and very narrow, and if
it keeps on dropping there is a very
real possibility that all river traffic
could get shut down. And considering the
fact that approximately 60 percent of
our grain (NYSEARCA:JJG), 22 percent of
our oil (NYSEARCA:USO) and natural gas
(NYSEARCA:UNG), and and one-fifth of our
coal travel down the Mississippi River,
that would be absolutely crippling for
our economy. It has been estimated that
if all Mississippi River traffic was
stopped that it would cost the U.S.
economy 300 million dollars a day. So
far most of the media coverage of this
historic drought has focused on the
impact that it is having on farmers and
ranchers, but the health of the
Mississippi River is also absolutely
crucial to the economic success of this
nation, and right now the Mississippi is
in incredibly bad shape. In some areas
the river is already 20 feet below
normal and the water is expected to
continue to drop. If we have another 12
months of weather ahead of us similar to
what we have seen over the last 12
months then the mighty Mississippi is
going to be a complete and total
disaster zone by this time next year.
Most Americans simply do not understand
how vitally important the Mississippi
River is to all of us. If the
Mississippi River continues drying up to
the point where commercial travel is no
longer possible, it would be an
absolutely devastating blow to the U.S.
economy.
Unfortunately, vast stretches of the
Mississippi are already dangerously low.
The following is an excerpt from a
transcript of a CNN report that aired on
August 14th....
You might think this is some kind of
desert just outside of Memphis. It's
not. I'm actually standing on the
exposed bottom of the Mississippi River.
That's how dramatic the drought impact
is being felt here. Hard to believe, a
year ago we were talking about record
flooding. Now, they are worried about a
new kind of record: a record low. The
river was three miles wide here, it's
now down to three tenths of a mile. And
that's causing all kinds of problems.
There are some benefits, I mean, take a
look over here: new beach front. In
fact, some quip that now the Mississippi
River has more beaches than the entire
state of Florida, which would be funny
if it didn't have an impact on trade.
A lot of stuff we use goes up and down
the Mississippi River. We are talking
steel, coal, ore, grain. The problem is
now a lot of those barges have had to
lighten their loads, and even doing
that, they are still running aground.
There is a real fear that there could be
a possibility of closing the Mississippi
River. If that happens, well, all that
product that used to be carried cheaply
by barge is now going to be carried more
expensively by truck or train. And guess
who is going to pay for all of that.
You can see video footage of what is
happening along the Mississippi right
here.
It really is amazing that last year we
were talking about historic flooding
along the Mississippi and this year we
are talking about the Mississippi
possibly drying up.
As I mentioned earlier, there are some
areas along the river that are already
20 feet below normal levels. The
following is from a recent article
posted on inquisitr.com....
Just outside of Memphis the river is 13
feet below normal depth while the
National Weather Service says Vicksburg,
Mississippi is 20 feet below normal
levels. Overall the Mississippi is 13
feet below normal averages for this time
of year.
The drying up river is forcing barge,
tugboat and towboat operators to
navigate narrower and more shallow spots
in the river, slowing their speeds as
they pass dangerously close to one
another. In some parts of the
Mississippi the river is so narrow that
one-way traffic is being utilized.
A lot of barges have been forced to go
with greatly reduced loads so that they
will sit higher in the river, and other
commercial craft have been forced to
stop operating completely.
For example, the Mississippi has dropped
so low at this point that the famous
American Queen Steamboat can no longer
safely navigate the river.
Down south, the Mississippi River has
gotten so low that saltwater is actually
starting to move upriver. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is fighting hard to
keep that contained.
Other waterways in the middle part of
the country are in even worse shape.
For example, a 100 mile stretch of the
Platte River has already dried up.
Millions of fish are dying as rivers and
streams all over the country continue to
get shallower and warmer as a result of
the ongoing drought.
The last time the condition of the
Mississippi River was this bad was back
in 1988. At that time, a lot of barge
traffic was stopped completely and the
shipping industry lost approximately a
billion dollars.
If a similar thing were to happen now,
the consequences could potentially be
far worse.
As I wrote about recently, a standstill
along the Mississippi would cost the
U.S. economy about 300 million dollars a
day.
In fact, one towing company that works
on the Mississippi says that it has
already been losing about $500,000 a
month since May.
In the end, who is going to pay for all
of this?
In fact, this crisis could end up
costing American consumers a whole lot
of money....
So here's the math. If you want to raise
the average barge one inch above the
water, you've got to take off 17-tons of
cargo. To raise it a foot, you're
talking 200 tons.
And since, according to the American
Waterways Operators, moving cargo by
river is $11 a ton cheaper than by train
or truck. The more that now has to be
moved on land, well, the more the costs
go up. Steven Barry says, "And,
eventually, the consumer's gonna pay
that price somewhere along the line."
And considering the fact that we are
already facing a potential food crisis
due to the drought, the last thing we
need is for the Mississippi River to dry
up.
So is there any hope on the horizon for
the Mississippi?
Unfortunately, things do not look
promising.
The fall and the winter are typically
drier than the summer is along the
Mississippi River. That means that
conditions along the river could
actually get even worse in the months
ahead. The following is from a recent
Time Magazine article....
But without significant rainfall, which
isn't in any long-range forecasts,
things are likely to get worse. As
summer turns to fall, the weather tends
to get drier. Lower temperatures
generally mean fewer thunderstorms and
less rainfall.
"Take away the thunderstorm mechanism
and you run into more serious problems,"
says Alex Sosnowski, expert senior
meteorologist for AccuWeather.com. And
while droughts tend to be a temporary
setback, longer-range forecasts are
troublesome. Sosnowski says he is
anticipating an El Niño weather pattern
next year, which would mean below-normal
snowfall and above-average temperatures.
Let us hope and pray that we don't see
another 12 months similar to the 12
months that we have just been through.
The U.S. economy is already in bad
enough shape.
We don't need any more major problems on
top of what we are already dealing with
[link to www.sott.net]
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