MSNBC: Midwest Floods Send Food Prices Soaring

Beyond the short-term losses from physical damage and lost business, the
worst flood to hit the U.S. breadbasket in 15 years has added momentum
to the recent surge in food prices worldwide. Farmers were still assessing
the damage Tuesday, as millions of acres of farmland remain submerged.
The biggest economic impact — from rising grain prices — is already being
felt. Corn prices at the Chicago Board of Trade soared to an all-time high
Monday as the relentless rains and overflowing rivers raised fears Midwest
farmers will lose production on as much as six percent of the crop.

Des Moines Register: Sewage, Chemicals, Fuel Contaminate Waterways

The massive flooding in Iowa has caused a major environmental disaster,
state inspectors said Monday. For starters, excrement is everywhere. Raw
sewage is flowing into rivers throughout central and eastern Iowa. Exposure
to the wastes could give people intestinal illnesses, skin infections or worse.
Hog and cattle manure also is rushing downstream. Small chemical tanks
are popping off their foundations, sending a potentially explosive threat
down rivers. There also have been reports of runaway tanks and drums
holding propane, gasoline and farm chemicals floating downstream . . .

James Kunstler: Midwestern Floods will be this Generation's Dust Bowl

The vast majority of homeowners in Eastern Iowa did not have flood
insurance because the likelihood of being affected above the 500 year line
was so miniscule -- their insurance agents actually advised them against
getting it. The personal ruin out there will be comprehensive and profound,
a wet version of the 1930s Dust Bowl, with families facing total loss .

 

who put all those lakes on my land???