From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Is America drying up?

Hello again, I'm Oranalny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

After a year with almost no rain in

Southern California, almost a million people have been forced from their homes in just four days.

Across the country, dry weather's causing a slow motion disaster, with Georgia, Alabama, and Florida

forced to compete for the same dwindling water supply. It's also hotter and drier than usual in

Minnesota, the northeast,

and the mid-Atlantic. On to the point, is it a spell of strange weather, or long-term climate change?

What about global warming? Will industry, agriculture, and residential development have to change

to ward off future disaster? On reporter's notebook later on, it's the Red Sox and the Rockies in this year's World Series.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. California is tender dry. The southeast is facing a critical shortage of water. Winter is coming late to the northeast and the mid-Atlantic. On To the Point, is it just a spell of weird weather or long-term climate change? Will industry, agriculture, and residential development have to

adapt to stave off future disasters? On reporter's notebook, Colorado's miracle team begins the

World Series tonight. Are the Red Sox still lovable? We'll hear the latest baseball wisdom.

First, this news update, decreasing winds in Southern California are giving firefighters a chance to gain ground.

Some residents are being allowed to go home or to see what's left of their homes.

Others are still being evacuated.

...