Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Morgan Stanley to underwrite coal mining on Borneo

www.mongabay.com September 01, 2010 Morgan Stanley, CIMB Securities, and Credit Suisse will underwrite the initial public offering of PT Borneo Lumbung Energi (Borneo Energy), a company that owns Asmin Koalindo Tuhup, a mining company that operates in Central Kalimantan in Indonesia Borneo, reports ANTARA. The listing aims to raise roughly $250 by selling 30 percent […]

Millions of Pakistan flood victims need rescuing

UPISept. 1, 2010 at 9:58 AM LONDON, Sept. 1 (UPI) — Only 20 percent of Pakistan’s flood victims have been rescued due to the enormity of the crisis, an international relief official said Wednesday. Gareth Owen, emergencies director of Save the Children in Britain, said the logistical challenges of reaching tens of thousands of people […]

Amazon deforestation falls significantly in 2010, according to preliminary data

By Rhett A. Butler, www.mongabay.comAugust 31, 2010 Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down significantly since last year, according to preliminary estimates released by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Imazon, a Brazil-based NGO that tracks forest loss and degradation across the Amazon. Analysis of NASA MODIS data by Imazon found some 1,488 […]

If the world is going to hell, why are humans doing so well?

By David BielloSep 1, 2010 06:00 AM For decades, apocalyptic environmentalists (and others) have warned of humanity’s imminent doom, largely as a result of our unsustainable use of and impact upon the natural systems of the planet. After all, the most recent comprehensive assessment of so-called ecosystem services—benefits provided for free by the natural world, […]

Climate change implicated in decline of horseshoe crabs

LEETOWN, W. Va. — A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes. The new research also indicates that horseshoe crabs numbers may continue to decline in the […]

Devastating psychological effects of BP Gulf disaster — ‘Really unfathomable and profound despair’

New Rochelle, NY, August 30, 2010—Anger, depression, and helplessness are the main psychological responses being seen in response to the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and they are likely to have long-lasting effects, according to an interview in Ecopsychology, a peer-reviewed, online journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). […]

Fears for wildlife in UK waters

BBC30 August 2010 Last updated at 02:48 ET The Firth of Clyde in Scotland was once known for its stocks of cod, halibut and herring, but scientists have warned that it faces ecological meltdown. The decline is echoed in many other seas around the UK that have suffered as a result of over-fishing. Richard Bilton […]

Photo album tells story of wildlife decline in Sumatra

NEW YORK (August 30, 2010) – With a simple click of the camera, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Zoological Society of London have developed a new way to accurately monitor long-term trends in rare and vanishing species over large landscapes. Called the “Wildlife Picture Index,” (WPI) the methodology collects images from remote “camera […]

Does Japan’s affair with tuna mean loving it to extinction?

By MASAMI ITO, staff writerTuesday, Aug. 31, 2010 Japan is known as the biggest consumer of tuna. Be it raw for sushi or sashimi or fried, broiled or canned, tuna is an important element of the food culture. But concerns are growing because tuna is disappearing, and this is putting Japan in a difficult diplomatic […]

‘Triple threat’ unfolding in Pakistan, says WFP chief

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) 31 Aug 2010 ISLAMABAD — It only took a few minutes on board a helicopter scudding across the wasteland that is the Pakistan flood zone for WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran to understand the full extent of the crisis currently facing the country. Hectare after hectare of prime farmland […]

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