Helping animals cross the road and other obstacles

Veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder number about one-fourth of military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, roughly 500,000 veterans so far. Inmates in prisons nationwide train dogs as companions for these war veterans, providing a sense of healing for all.

A robust population of grizzly bears can be an indicator of healthy land; however, the bears also can destroy grain bins, consume vegetation, and kill livestock. Ranchers work with the Canadian government and local conservation groups to protect their resources with bear-proof grain bins and electric fences.

As a state with robust populations of wildlife, Montana has had its share of roadkill. Its Department of Transportation developed animal shelving, a type of wildlife crossing, to enable safe passage for small animals who need to cross the road. The measure, combined with other types of crossings, has reduced animal-vehicle collisions by half.

Farmers in California increasingly face water shortages. To help solve the problem, some are looking to Australia, where a national water market has provided an economic solution. By buying and selling water rights, farmers have incentives to reduce consumption.

The U.S. government has developed different sensors for irrigation devices that gauge water demand and help conserve use. as water shortages caused by drought have increased across the globe, and farmers are faced with economic burdens, such technology is focusin on sustainability for the future.

The El Paso Times reports from the heart of the Rio Grande Basin - where drought has led to dramatic decreases in water supply, and serious changes in management of river resources are called for - on how the region plans to tackle the effects of climate change. Citizens work to increase water regulations and frugality in order to find a solution to the dwindling water problem.

In Australia, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council was formed after a severe drought to bring together federal, state and regional governments and bridge parochial concerns. It was meant to manage the basin as a whole and end overuse and salinization of farm land, leveraging new technologies to adapt to new realities.

Population growth, historical dryness and predictions of a warming climate all mean a future of scarce water in the Rio Grande's Upper Basin. Farmers and the irrigation districts are left to try and find ways to conserve what river water they have - and there's a lot to be saved. To minimize such losses, both irrigation districts have taken a number of steps.

Most of Texas has emerged from a drought that started in early 2011, but water supplies are still far below normal. Scientists are using new technology to monitor ground water levels and contemplate potential conservation methods and broad-scale solutions, while trying to convince policy makers of the reality of these climate-based changes.

In just the next couple of decades, the World Bank says, farmers across Africa could lose more than half their cropland to drought and heat - the issue is considered so pressing that, a few years ago, Malawi's Department of Meteorological Services added "Climate Change" to its name. A new aid group group now works with farmers in more than 60 villages — with plans to expand — helping them become more resilient to a changing climate.