Europe Braces for Serious Crop Losses and Blackouts

Western Europes winter of 2010-2011 delivered low precipitation in March and April of 2011, setting the stage for low soil moisture. This, coupled with the warmer-than-average temperatures, has put major water stress on plants, and in particular, agricultural crops.

Up to now, 2011 has been one of the 10 driest years in Switzerland since 1864, and in France, spring was the driest period since 1975. In Germany, April this year was one of the 10 driest Aprils since 1881, WMO said. Springtime in Germany, it added, was the driest March-to-May period since 1893

One of the driest spring seasons on record in northern Europe has sucked soils dry and sharply reduced river levels to the point that governments are starting to fear crop losses and France, in particular, is bracing for blackouts as its river-cooled nuclear power plants may be forced to shut down.

French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire warned this week that the warmest and driest spring in half a century could slash wheat yields and might even push up world prices despite the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's predicting a bumper global crop due to greater plantings.

France has pledged hundreds of millions of euros in aid to its drought-stricken livestock farmers, who have watched feed supplies dwindle and prices rise. Water restrictions are in place in more than half of the country's administrative regions or departments.

www.scientificamerican.com...

flagged and starred will comment further later on , also the grain field fires in russia have contributed

reply to post by gambon


I am still left wondering about this part of the reports...I could say there is a conspiracy here...
As this article says that the reactors themselves would not over heat, however it would be the
rivers that over heat.

Record dry spring could drive up wheat prices, and lack of water may force nuclear reactors to shut down www.scientificamerican.com...

This here, the part about the rivers themselves overheating.

The problem appears to be not that the reactors might overheat because of the lack of water but that the depleted rivers might overheat, creating ecological havoc, when the water returns to them after cooling the reactors. www.scientificamerican.com...

I'm assuming it's h.a.a.r.p. being used to mess up the weather. I'm not surprise though if it is haarp.

Edit added: The reason I assumming haarp is that the elite plan to inflate food prices.

This is an article about Britain's soil: Britain's soil is as dry as a desert, study shows

It was once a green and pleasant land – but the spring drought has left parts of Britain as dry as a desert, soil tests have found.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

Star & flag

Its to warm to grow my winter vegtables in the garden, they all died off about 2 weeks ago.

The warmer water gets, the less oxygen it can hold. If the river's volume has decreased that much, that the reactor's heat isn't dissipated quickly enough, then all river animals in the area downstream will suffocate. As their bodies rot and release nutrients, this can lead to huge algae and bacteria blooms which in turn affect even more wildlife...hope that helps a bit

Sadly with too much problems in Europe I would foresee a future when a new Hitler comes to power. People in hard times would desperately try to get someone to help them even if it means to kill people

reply to post by celticpride


Yes thats the natural course of things there, for sure and not a pleasant scenario.
Not to say that they would use this terrible natural situation as an excuse to quietly shut
reactors that did not pass a safety test. Yet, I do think its a possibility.

During his appearance at the Environment Committee on Wednesday, Mr Oettinger spoke of the "mammoth earthquake that shifted Japan's position on the globe" and said that "as a result we are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster" and that "the site is effectively out of control".

He recalled that at Tuesday's meeting "There was no agreement as to whether or not this is a turning point for the EU future energy policy ... but here was a common view on the need for a safety review. The EU's 143 nuclear plants will be subjected to a European safety test and stress tests" taking into account risks as earthquakes, flooding, aircraft crashes, cyber or terrorist attacks, cooling systems and their stability and local electricity supply failure.

In the coming weeks, the Commission will start laying down the general standards for these stress tests. The standards should be defined by June and the safety checks carried out in the second half of the year. "Partner countries should be involved and have the same safety standards", he emphasised.www.europarl.europa.eu...'s-atomic-power-plants-after-nuclear-scare -in-Japan

I hope more countries stop using nuclear power like Germany says thay will...I don't live far enough away from 2 of them myself, and I'm pretty sure at least one of them is in a less than perfect state

Originally posted by celticpride
I hope more countries stop using nuclear power like Germany says thay will...I don't live far enough away from 2 of them myself, and I'm pretty sure at least one of them is in a less than perfect state

I would agree, and if there was a postive side of this story, that could possibly be it.
Hopefully, the tragedy in Japan will bring about some positive changes, realization that
nuclear power must be kept in check. Be safe.

reply to post by burntheships


yes that bit about the discharged water is a bit strange , if they cool it now ( which i dont know if they do) why would they not be able to then ?and need to discharge hot water ?

The water discharged from a nuclear plant that uses 'once-through cooling'...

Direct or "once-through" cooling. If the power plant is next to the sea, a big river, or large inland water body it may be done simply by running a large amount of water through the condensers in a single pass and discharging it back into the sea, lake or river a few degrees warmer and without much loss from the amount withdrawn[5]. That is the simplest method. The water may be salt or fresh. Some small amount of evaporation will occur off site due to the water being a few degrees warmer.

So, the water from the plant is warm when it enters the river

reply to post by celticpride


so why would the water temp be different enough to cause a river catastrophe if the river is low on water?

reply to post by burntheships

I'm just sure I remember some folks from Europe posting this past winter, that there was so much snow, there was fear of flooding when it all melted from the higher elevations in the Spring/Summer. I really am sure I remember this. I was in another dimension?

In any case, a rain dance for you folks, and one for me. It's dry as a bone here in SC. Severe thunderstorm warnings almost every night, but nary a rain shower. Ere, barely a sprinkle on a good day.

reply to post by gambon


The less water thats in the river, means the water will stay warmer for longer, taking out more oxygen...than if the river was at its normal level.

reply to post by starwarsisreal


Ive been predicting a "hitler" type rising again for a few years now, here in the uk, we have quite a problem with benefit/assistance immigrants, many other situations which seem to be pulling our economy towards disaster. Off topic, so I won't list the present day similarities with the weimer republic!!!!!!!!

We really do not need food prices rising any higher, this will affect the global economy and I guess that when people can't access food, they will start to wake up and smell the coffee, or chicory for the average person. lol

Seems even our weather is conspiring against us, although it could be said that starvation of the underclass ensures they are easy to manipulate, but I fear this latest problem, will actually push the average man totally the other way.

On a lighter note, we have had a fair amount of drizzle on the south coast lately, its not hard enough to damage crops, but plenty of it, so hopefully it will slowly soak the ground. Lets hope other areas are experiencing the same