drought

Share the Water

Based on the book The Ripple Effect by Alex Prud’Homme, Last Call at the Oasis  makes its theater Last Call at the Oasis premiere in May 2012. Already screened at various spring film festivals across the country, the documentary has received praise from reviewers, including Huffington Post Green:

 If there’s one film that every human on earth should be required to watch, this is it.

—Stefanie Penn Spear

Director Jessica Yu puts the global water crisis center stage with this documentary that highlights the social challenges, politics, and mechanics of making sure everyone in the world gets an adequate supply of fresh water. The film features environmental activist Erin Brockovich, water experts, and others who present the problems and solutions.

See the trailer.

Florida under Exceptional Drought Conditions

A drought is gripping the nation, and according to a report issued April 10 by the U.S. Drought Monitor, the country has not been this dry in five years. The South Florida Water Management District has issued water restrictions in 16 counties, and Lake Okeechobee is two feet below its historical average level of 14.12 feet.

The interactive map on the U.S. Drought Monitor site shows drought areas across the nation, for regions and for individual states. Jacksonville has experienced the driest period this year since1921. Monitoring stations reported the driest such 6-month period on record for Florida, especially in north-central Florida, according to the Drought Monitor report. South Florida has had slightly more rainfall than the rest of the state, but there is still a lack of decent short-term precipitation.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a joint effort of the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Climate Prediction Center (U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA/National Weather Service; National Climatic Data Center (DOC/NOAA), and other agencies and academic organizations.

 

Florida Drought Levels