Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Indonesia reaches ‘super-extreme level of weather’

By Nurfika OsmanAugust 19, 2010 Jakarta. Indonesia has been experiencing its most extreme weather conditions in recorded history, meteorologists warned on Wednesday as torrential rains continued to pound the capital. All regions across the archipelago have been experiencing abnormal and often catastrophic weather, an official from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said. “We […]

Image of the Day: Indus River Flooding Viewed from Orbit, 18 August 2010

In late July 2010, flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains began in several regions of Pakistan, including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and parts of Baluchistan. According to the Associated Press, the floods have affected about one-fifth of the country. Tens of thousands of villages have been flooded, more than 1,500 people have been killed, […]

Yellowstone bears go hungry after beetle infestation destroys whitebark pines

By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press WriterAugust 22, 2010 (AP) — Yellowstone’s grizzlies are going to be particularly hungry this fall, and that means more dangerous meetings with humans in a year that is already the area’s deadliest on record. Scientists report that a favorite food of many bears, nuts from whitebark pine cones, is scarce. […]

Mysterious biological residue washing ashore in Alabama

By Ben Raines, Press-Register Sunday, August 22, 2010, 5:30 AM     Scientists are intrigued by the heavy sheen and persistent clouds of dingy brown water washing up in pockets from Perdido Pass to Petit Bois Island since July. Waves carrying the brown water ashore leave a conspicuous amber stain on the white sand. A recent snorkeling […]

Suicide bomb attacks kill 36 in flood-weary Pakistan – US drone kills 20

VOA News23 August 2010 Pakistani officials say three separate bomb attacks have killed at least 36 people.   Police say three people died in a blast on the outskirts of Peshawar. The Associated Press identified the victims as the leader of an anti-Taliban militia, Israr Khan, and two aides. Earlier Monday, authorities said a suicide bomber […]

Disaster at the Top of the World

By THOMAS HOMER-DIXON, Aboard the Louis S. St-LaurentAugust 22, 2010 STANDING on the deck of this floating laboratory for Arctic science, which is part of Canada’s Coast Guard fleet and one of the world’s most powerful icebreakers, I can see vivid evidence of climate change. Channels through the Canadian Arctic archipelago that were choked with […]

Time short for Ladakh flood victims as winter looms

By Staff WritersLeh, India (AFP) Aug 16, 2010 Winters come harsh and early in India’s Himalayan region of Ladakh, where the waning summer spells more hardship for thousands left homeless by devastating flash floods. In Ladakh’s main city, Leh, around 800 families lost everything in the torrent of mud and water that invaded their homes […]

Climate change drives food crisis in Bolivia

Xinhua17:03, August 23, 2010 Persistent drought, cold weather and flooding, all attributed to climate change, are threatening Bolivia with a food crisis, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and experts have recently warned. FAO coordinator Einstein Tejada said one fifth of Bolivia’s territory now suffer from the effects of climate change, causing food […]

Haze from British Columbia fires expected to worsen in Alberta

By JENNA McMURRAY, QMI AgencyAugust 23, 2010 6:47am CALGARY – Though haze that settled over Calgary and much of Alberta last week due to wafting smoke from B.C. forest fires dissolved somewhat on the weekend, there’s more where that came from, according to Alberta Environment. Bob Myrick, manager for air policy, said though the air […]

Last of their kind: What is lost when cultures die? (preview)

By Wade Davis    From the September 2010 issue of Scientific American Over the past decade geneticists have proved that all people alive today are descendants of a relatively small number of individuals who walked out of Africa some 60,000 years ago and carried the human spirit and imagination to every corner of the habitable world. […]

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