The continued worst drought in a generation is pushing food prices up and leaving scientists to conclude the world may be forced to go vegetarian by 2050. The drought kept U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack busy: The man in charge of America's forestry and fisheries admitted that the drought had him literally down on his knees, praying for rain. "If I had a rain prayer or a rain dance I could do, I would do it," he said.
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Thousands of farmers filed crop insurance claims in 2012 as drought and triple-digit temperatures burnt up much of the corn belt. (Nati Harnik/AP Photo)
Superstorms and Scorchers: #9 Drought
By Year In Review StaffThe presidential election was one of the biggest news stories of the year. More » Top news: Election 2012
Here are the top 10 obsessions that, as ranked by their search volume and percentage spike compared with 2011 on Yahoo!. More » The year's top obsessions
One daredevil captivated the globe. More » Space: A record jump
A purple-hued squirrel was found in a Pennsylvania backyard and folks were flummoxed as to how it got its unusual colori … More » Animals: Purple squirrel
Since 2001, Yahoo! has dipped into billions of searches to uncover our … More » Decade of top searches
Inspiring and astounding moments from around the world. More » Video: Astounding moments
Lindsay Lohan, Octomom, and Hulk Hogan are just a few of the celebs who stuffed us full of their nonsense this year. More » Celebrity turkeys of 2012
From Disneyland to Dollywood, Yahoo! searches for travel spots are all over the map. More » Travel: Top tourism
