Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Winds and fire-department cuts push fires through dozens of Detroit homes

Wind-whipped flames swept through at least three Detroit neighborhoods, destroying dozens of homes, including many that were vacant, officials said. By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press WriterWednesday, September 8, 2010 at 6:49 AM DETROIT — Wind-whipped flames swept through at least three Detroit neighborhoods, destroying dozens of homes, including many that were vacant, officials said. A […]

Mass extinction threat: Earth on verge of huge biological reset?

By Jeremy Hsu, LiveScience Senior WriterThu Sep 2, 2:30 pm ET Mass extinctions have served as huge reset buttons that dramatically changed the diversity of species found in oceans all over the world, according to a comprehensive study of fossil records. The findings suggest humans will live in a very different future if they drive […]

Ecuador’s tallest waterfall to be destroyed by dam

www.mongabay.com September 07, 2010 San Rafael Falls, Ecuador’s tallest waterfall, is threatened by a Chinese-funded hydroelectric project, reports Save America’s Forests, an environmental group. The 1,500 megawatt Coca-Codo Sinclair Hydroelectric Project will divert water flow away from the 480-foot San Rafael Falls, leaving it “high and dry.” Worse, the project, which is scheduled for completion […]

Berm controversy rises — Permit process for sand barrier rouses critics

By MARK BALLARD AND AMY WOLD, Advocate staff writersPublished: Sep 5, 2010 – Page: 1A Gov. Bobby Jindal’s controversial project to build sand barriers in the Gulf of Mexico to block oil from invading Louisiana’s marshes is reaching a critical juncture. As Jindal attempts to get permits to expand the project — plus more funding […]

20 years left: Australia mammals plunge into extinction

By Ben Cubby ENVIRONMENT EDITORSeptember 2, 2010 AT DUSK, the dry savannah of the Kimberley was once alive with the scuttling and foraging of the burrowing bettong, a marsupial whose ”countless numbers” were marvelled at by early surveyors. Along with many species of quolls, bandicoots, possums and marsupial rats, the bettongs had thrived for millions […]

Invasive mollusk disrupting base of Lake Michigan ecosystem — ‘We have a system that’s crashing’

  By Marcia GoodrichSeptember 7, 2010 12:23 PM September 2, 2010 — Something has been eating Charlie Kerfoot’s doughnut, and all fingers point to a European mollusk about the size of a fat lima bean. No one knew about the doughnut in southern Lake Michigan, much less the mollusk, until Michigan Technological University biologist W. […]

Critically endangered whales fleeing Russia oil and gas exploration

ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2010) — Russian oil and gas company Rosneft is conducting oil and gas exploration work that may have caused the critically endangered western gray whale to flee its main feeding ground. Tests and offshore installment of equipment by Rosneft for a major seismic survey began in late August, despite repeated calls from […]

Despite pledge to crack down, illegal logging continues in Madagascar rainforest parks

www.wildmadagascar.orgSeptember 06, 2010 Despite government assurances that it would crack down on the rosewood trade, illegal logging continues in Madagascar’s rainforest parks, according to new information provided by sources on the ground. The sources report logging in three parks: Mananara, Makira, and Masoala. All three are known for their high levels of biodiversity, including endangered […]

Graph of the Day: Water Volume of Lake Mead, 1935-2009, and Lake Powell, 1963-2009

The filling of Lake Mead (green) was initiated in 1935, and that of Lake Powell (blue) in 1963. In 1999, the lakes were nearly full, but by 2007, the lakes had lost nearly half of their storage water after the worst drought in 100 years. The Colorado River system supplies water to over 30 million […]

First high-resolution maps of carbon emitted by deforestation

Palo Alto, CA—By integrating satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys, scientists from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, with colleagues from the World Wildlife Fund and in coordination with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), have revealed the first high-resolution maps of carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted […]

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