Syria drought and wheat harvest

Akin to Australia, Syria is suffering through a drought and subsequent poor wheat harvest. From an iReport at CNN:

The most recent Syrian estimates place the harvest at 2 million metric tons – less than half the 4.1 million ton harvest of 2007, and the 2007 harvest was almost 1 million tons below a peak harvest.

Even the mighty Euphrates is not immune to the drought, discharge has decreased and pumps run incessantly drawing water from the river. Syria has promised to aid Iraqi farmers with releases of water, but by the time the flow reaches the border the salt content has doubled.

There is mention of aquifers and reservoirs being drained as well.  Syria has purchased wheat on the world market to make up for shortfalls, as several other countries have.

I noted in another post that for several years, world wheat harvest has been less than use.  This cannot continue for long before there is a breakdown in the global market, as panic hoarding and further export bans would arise.

Kelley Green Book

Or actually, Kelley Blue Book Green. Not so catchy, but a good resource.  Several videos of interest, including test drives of the Chevy Fuel Cell Equinox vehicle, and the Ford Escape Hybrid for 2008.  Also a good source for articles, where I found this snippet about a Volt design change:

For openers, despite the additional displacement, it will deliver better fuel economy numbers in a steady-state operating mode and offer greater output. Beyond that, this new super-clean and efficient four-cylinder is inherently quieter, smoother, better balanced and will provide more seamless transitions when the Volt does changeover from pure electric to extender-enhanced modes. If that’s not enough, the engine is also lighter and less expensive to build than the turbo three-cylinder.

I am tempted to think that the cost reduction might be even more important then the weight reduction.  I really have my doubts that the can sell this car for less than $40,000 and make money.

The top10 green cars listed at KBB Green show that no 2008 non-hybrid is rated by the EPA as having better mileage than my 95 Honda Civic.  This is simply astounding.  Of course, there are real world reports of drivers getting closer to 39-40 mpg for both the Yaris and the smart.  I hope so.

Another post states that over 3,000 people have put down $500 deposits for the Aptera Typ-1 (why not Type-1?).  That amounts to around two years of production at the current target.  Perhaps it is a good thing that they are only going to sell in California to begin with!