As if high temperatures, wildfires, and dried up crops weren't enough, the drought plaguing the US is now crippling the nation's largest river.
The Mississippi River is one of the nation's main arteries of commerce. More than 500 tons of grain, coal, and other goods pass along its banks every year. With water levels on the Mississippi so low, barges are having trouble getting through creating delays in shipping crucial goods can costing hundreds of millions a day.
The drought of 2012 is shrinking the river. In some places, it's been reduced to half its size. The Army Corp of Engineers is struggling to keep water levels at nine feet, the legal level to keep the Mississippi open for traffic. River levels haven't been this low since the late 1980s, and they're getting dangerously close to breaking the all-time low record.
In one stretch of the Mississippi, several barges got stuck. The situation prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to close an 11-mile section of the river, stranding 97 boats and barges. Dredge operators are hard at work trying to make the water deep enough for the barges to pass through. Barges carrying lighter loads to help navigate the shallow waters. But the less they carry, the more consumers pay. More than 400,000 jobs depend on the flow of traffic in the Mississippi River.
If the Mississippi is forced to close, it will cost the U.S. economy $300 million a day and food prices will soar. Corn and soybean prices are at record highs. The price of corn is up 68 percent from June and soybean prices are up 39 percent.
