Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Graph of the Day: Average Global Sea Surface Temperature, 1880–2009

This graph shows how the average surface temperature of the world’s oceans has changed since 1880. This graph uses the 1971 to 2000 average as a baseline for depicting change. Choosing a different baseline period would not change the shape of the trend. The shaded band shows the likely range of values, based on the […]

China to move tens of thousands for huge water scheme

  Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Paul Tait (Reuters) – China will move 345,000 people, mostly poor villagers, within about two years to make way for a vast scheme to draw on rivers in the south to supply the increasingly dry north, an official newspaper said on Tuesday. The forced resettlement for the South-to-North […]

Rats drive Malta lizard to extinction

  By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com June 29, 2010 The Selmunett lizard (Podarcis filfolensis ssp. Kieselbachi) is very likely extinct, according to Maltese naturalist Arnold Sciberras. One of four subspecies of the Maltese wall lizard, the Selmunett lizard was last seen in 2005. Although the lizard’s home—Selmunett Island—has long been uninhabited by people, that fact did […]

Image of the Day: BP / Gulf Oil Spill – RADARSAT Images, Trouble With Alex

Two radar satellite images (black and white) taken by the RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 satellites on June 27, 2010, show oil slicks and sheen extending across 19,112 square miles (49,500 km2) in the Gulf. The radar images were acquired at 6:48 am (long image on right) and 6:52 pm (image on left) local time: The color […]

Animal conservation groups to sue BP, federal agencies over turtles caught in oil spill burns

The Times-PicayunePublished: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 3:07 PM     Two animal conservation groups on Tuesday said they will sue BP and the U.S. Coast Guard to stop what they say are the deaths of turtles that are trapped in the controlled burns of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle […]

Tropical Storm Alex strengthening, expected to become hurricane tonight

Press-Register staff Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 4:08 PM    Tropical Storm Alex is strengthening and is expected to become a hurricane over the next few hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s winds have reached 70 mph and the Center says the storm is becoming better organized as it moves toward the south […]

US accepts international assistance for Gulf spill

WASHINGTON – The United States is accepting help from 12 countries and international organizations  in dealing with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The State Department said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. is working out the particulars of the help that’s been accepted. The identities of all 12 countries and […]

Sea temperatures at all-time high, mass coral bleaching underway

Coral reefs support a quarter of the world’s marine life, but rising ocean temperatures are killing them. The impact of their decline could be huge, says marine biologist Olivia Durkin A a result of rising sea temperatures, we are seeing the degradation and eventual destruction of one of the most beautiful ecosystems on Earth. Corals […]

Wildlife officials to move up to 50,000 sea turtle eggs to Florida’s east coast

By  Ryan Dezember, Press-Register Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 5:00 AM Federal wildlife officials plan to move tens of thousands of sea turtle eggs from oil-plagued beaches along the northern Gulf to Florida’s east coast, where the reptiles would hatch in a controlled environment and be released into the Atlantic Ocean. Made public over the […]

Asia coal imports seen hitting record in 2011

By Fayen Wong Thursday June 24, 2010 05:40:03 AM GMT PERTH, June 22 (Reuters) – Asia’s thermal coal imports are set to hit a record high next year, nearing 500 million tonnes, as economies in the region extend their recovery over the next 18 months, an official Australian forecast showed on Tuesday. Asian exporters, such […]

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