Key water source is affected by global warming, report finds

Global warming will worsen drought and reduce flows on the Colorado River, a key water source for several western states, according to a report released Wednesday.

The study, prepared by a National Research Council committee, paints a sobering picture as the water needs of a rapidly expanding population test the limits of a river system strained by the effects of climate change.

"The basin is going to face increasingly costly, controversial and unavoidable trade-off choices," said Ernest Smerdon, who chaired the panel of academicians and scientists who wrote the report. "Increasing demands are impeding the region's ability to cope with droughts and water shortages."

Such measures as conservation, desalination and water recycling would be helpful, the authors said, but wouldn't offer a panacea.

The report, which examined climate modeling and tree ring data, reaffirms a more pessimistic assessment of river hydrology that has emerged in recent years.

Scientists have concluded that the Colorado river system, which supplies water to 25 million people and several million acres of crop and ranch land, has been drier and more prone to severe drought than was the case in the early 20th century, when the river's flows were divvied among the seven basin states.

It turns out that period was unusually wet, which prompted an overly generous estimate of how much water would be available to farms and cities. Ancient tree rings, which provide graphic evidence of past precipitation patterns, indicate it had been three centuries since the basin was last awash with that much water.

"Now that is not a happy picture," Smerdon said. "What we want people to do is to be aware of these scientific facts and take them into account as they plan for development, for drought-contingency plans."

Global warming will only make matters worse, said Connie Woodhouse, a University of Arizona associate professor of geography who helped write the report.

Although the river's flows returned to normal in 2005 after five years of dramatic lows, they fell again last year. Federal scientists say that if they remain below average or even average, Lake Mead might never completely refill.

"All of the models are predicting very significant warming in the future," said Smerdon, a former engineering college dean at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Judge rejects NBC complaint over `Webisodes'

In a victory for the Writers Guild of America, a National Labor Relations Board judge has rejected an NBC Universal complaint that the union illegally hampered the production of Web episodes of such TV shows as The Office and Heroes.

NBC had alleged that the guild pressured "show runners" — writer-producers who oversee shows — to refrain from overseeing the writing of "Webisodes." The network argued the work is covered under existing labor agreements, while the union argued that writers wanted to negotiate fair terms for the extra work.

The judge ruled there was no evidence the union "restrained or coerced" the show runners, recommending the complaint be dismissed.

"While we disagree and are disappointed with the judge's decision, we are pleased it serves to clarify that the guild cannot prevent show runners and writer-producers from supervising the writing of Webisodes and other content made for the Internet," an NBC spokesman said.

The issue of how writers are compensated when their work appears on the Internet has been a major source of labor friction in Hollywood and will be central in upcoming contract talks.

"Our focus remains on reaching a fair and negotiated settlement for work in these new technology markets," guild Executive Director David Young said.

More incendiary is another dispute over ABC's decision to pay residuals for downloads of the TV network's shows from Apple's iTunes store under a discounted formula that applies to home video. Talent unions last year griped that ABC violated collective-bargaining agreements by imposing the rate instead of consulting with them.

Makers are asked to add warnings to ADHD medication

The makers of Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera and other drugs treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were advised by the government Wednesday to give patients and their parents an additional warning that those medicines can cause serious psychiatric and heart problems, including sudden death.

Patients would receive two-page "medication guides" upon picking up a prescription. The guides warn about possible side effects and urge patients to notify doctors immediately after any sign of heart or psychiatric problems such as chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting or hallucinations.

Dr. Tom Laughren, director of psychiatry products at the Food and Drug Administration, emphasized that the move was precautionary and should not frighten patients away from taking the drugs, which he said were safe. He expected the manufacturers of the 15 drugs to comply with the request within the next 30 days.

An estimated 3.3 million children and 1.5 million adults take ADHD drugs, whose sales exceed $3.5 billion a year. Their use has been dogged by concerns about overuse in children and side effects, prompted by scattered reports of children dying suddenly. Some of the children were later determined to have had heart defects.

The latest action expands upon a move the government made last year, when the FDA asked manufacturers to revise ADHD drug labels to alert prospective patients with heart problems and warn of hallucinations in one child out of a thousand.

Dr. Richard L. Gorman, a pediatrician who served on an FDA advisory panel that recommended the warnings about ADHD drugs, said the medication guides "are in line with" what the committee recommended. Gorman said parents must pay close attention to their children's reactions to the drugs because children may take them for years.

Laughren said it took until now to work out the wording of the medication guides, which are more simply worded than drug labels. Companies may tweak the language that the FDA proposed, he added.

The proposed guides warn that the drugs have been linked to stroke and heart attacks in adults and sudden death in patients with heart problems or defects.

Patients are urged to give doctors a full history of cardiovascular or mental problems and tell physicians if they take antidepressants, seizure medicines or blood thinners, the FDA advises. It says ADHD drugs shouldn't be taken by patients with heart disease, blood pressure problems, hyperthyroidism or glaucoma.