A lesson in water management from Down Under

The Murray needs a miracle. Or a whole new approach. Southeastern Australia's wine growing regions are facing their toughest water challenge in over a century and nobody's quite sure what to do. The region's worst drought in 117 years has dried up the streams, the lakes, the aquifers. The Murray River, which flows down from the north, once accounted for 10 percent of the water supply for the city of Adelaide's one million people. Because everything else has dried up, the people of Adelaide now count on the Murray for 90 percent of their water.

It's a tale of drought, climate change and decades of overuse. Not only is the Murray greatly reduced in volume, the water in it is turning salty. And some environmentalists Down Under are thinking about about letting freshwater wetlands turn into salty estuaries, like the Chesapeake Bay.

It's a cautionary tale not just about climate change, but about situations more regions will face as fresh water becomes an increasingly valuable resource we can ill afford to mismanage. You can read the tale of the Murray here: http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject

The livestock above, the livestock below and the gasbags in between. Troy Bishopp, a farmer and a Lancaster Farming contributor, uncorks some earthy wisdom for the elucidation of those who would tinker with the cow's digestive tract as a way to solve global warming. He also reveals embarrassing tidbits about his own digestive process.

So...what goes on at your family reunions?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6EYrqIn0yI