By Staff
Drought hurting whole state
Think the drought isn't affecting you much in south Alabama beyond some brown grass and wilting flowers?
Think again.
Alabama Power just won state Public Service Commission approval to raise its rates for power customers because the low lake levels have meant lower power production at state dams.
Area farmers are losing crops like corn, which mean fewer fresh vegetables heading to your table.
The state last week added seven more central Alabama counties to a burn ban, which means residents there likely won't be able to shoot fireworks this fourth of July.
While none of those developments could be considered a tragedy necessarily, the drought is serious business for our state.
And while south Alabama has not encountered the severe drought that our northern and central Alabama neigbors are experiencing, we remain under dry conditions, even after nearly two days of rain last week.
What can you do, other than perform some rain dances? Voluntary conservation of water, for starters. Watch how much you are watering your lawn and how you're using it at home.
And with conditions so dry, don't burn anything that isn't necessary, and make sure you have a permit and take precautions if you do burn anything on your property.
Area fire departments have been responding to more and more grass fires this past spring, and those blazes not only threaten homes, fighting them takes time, effort and money.
While we aren't in as dire straits in south Alabama, we still could use a good dousing of rain again. While no one hopes for a hurricane, a tropical storm with a lot of rain sure would help.
So how about that rain dance?