WorldWide Drilling Resource

59 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® NOVEMBER 2014 Drought in Latin America has Widespread Effects Adapted from Information Provided by npr.org and trust.org Drought in California and Texas has received widespread media coverage; however, the U.S. is not alone in facing historical water shortages. Drought has taken a devastating toll on LatinAmerican countries as well. The following are recent headlines from South America: e The Worst Drought in the Last 30 Years Ignites 47,000 Forest Fires in Bolivia. e Government Begins Emergency Water Rationing in Venezuela Amid Drought. e Colombia Drought Tr iggers Clashes. Some Communities Say they Haven’t Seen Rain in Two Years. e Desperately Seeking Solutions to the Worst Drought in Decades in Brazil. In Central America, drought has caused widespread famine. In August, the government of Guatemala declared a state of emergency for 16 of the 22 provinces. Guatemalans depend on corn and beans as the basis of their diet. In some regions, loss of these crops is as high as 70%, which means 170,000 families lost nearly all their crops. Other countries have also suffered overwhe lmi ng c rop l osses . I n El Salvador, losses hover around 60%. While in Nicaragua, the price of corn and beans has quadrupled since May, and thousands of cattle have died. If drought persists, shipping in the Panama Canal will be also be affected. The Canal Authority recently announced Panamanian lakes, which feed the locks, have lower levels that may cause restrict- ed ship traffic. The most likely result would be a requirement of lighter loads on ships so they don’t need as much water to pass through the locks. Canal fees would not be reduced however, so experts predict the price for consumer goods could increase in the U.S. by early next year. Scientists are trying to figure out whether these droughts are due to cli- mate change or if they are part of cycli- cal weather patterns. According to researchers, governments need to practice better water management and techniques to safeguard against insta- bility when extreme weather events occur. Given the current crisis, govern- ments in Latin America are running out of options for the moment. The Honduran government is giving out food and vita- min supplements, and food prices are being subsidized in Nicaragua. On the bright side, the government of Colombia said funds are in place to drill at least 12 new water wells, send in water tanks to the most affected areas, provide hel- icopters to distinguish forest fires, and give agricultural subsidies to farmers in response to the water shortage. Though Latin America is entering a rainy season, scientists agree the cur- A farmer transfers bags of food donated by the United Nations World Food Programme to families affected by drought. Photo by Jorge Cabrera, courtesy of utexas.edu rent water situation is a long-term prob- lem which will not be easily fixed with a good season. La Sequía en Latino América Tiene Efectos muy Amplios Adaptado de Información Proporcionada por npr.org y trust.org La sequía en California y Texas ha tenido una amplia cobertura en los medios de comunicación; Sin embargo, los EE.UU. no enfrenta solo la histórica escasez de agua. La sequía también ha tenido un efecto devastador en los países de Latino América. Las siguientes son las últimas noti- cias procedentes de América del Sur: e La Peor Sequía en los Últimos 30 años Enciende 47,000 Incendios Forestales en Bolivia. e Gobierno Inicia Racionamiento Emergencia de Agua en Venezuela en Medio de la Sequía. e La Sequía en Colombia Dispara E n f r e n t a m i e n t o s . A l g u n a s Hector Leos Translator & ! $ # & # " ! $ # & # & " & ! " & " $ # & & & ! & " & & "! " ! & " " ! ! ! !% $ # "! ! Drought trans. cont’d on page 70.