Scientific and government officials discussed the complexity of aridity and drought. U.S. Geological Survey research scientist Margaret Redsteer said climate change would affect not only the magnitude but the severity and duration of droughts. Topics included the economic impacts from wild fires throughout the U.S. in 2012 to the famines that impact sub-Saharan Africa. 
“Aridity and Drought and their Consequences” was a plenary session of 13th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment, titled “Disasters and Environment: Science, Preparedness, and Resilience,” held for three days in the Ronald Reagan Building by the National Council for Science and the Environment.