Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Cleaning oil-soaked wetlands may be impossible

By MATTHEW BROWN (AP) NEW ORLEANS — The gooey oil washing into the maze of marshes along the Gulf Coast could prove impossible to remove, leaving a toxic stew lethal to fish and wildlife, government officials and independent scientists said. Officials are considering some drastic and risky solutions: They could set the wetlands on fire […]

Image of the Day: Controlled burning of Gulf oil spill

Controlled burns are conducted in the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to burn off some of the oil in the water, 19 May 2010. John Kepsimelis / U.S. Coast Guard via Reuters Gulf oil spill photo gallery Technorati Tags: oil production,oil spill,pollution,Gulf of Mexico,North America

Prolonged dry spells cause food security crisis in the Sahel

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Date: 19 May 2010 In 2009, agricultural production has been seriously affected in parts of the Sahel following late onset of rains, prolonged dry spells and significant pest infestations. The eastern and central parts of the Subregion were most affected with cereal outputs estimated to have […]

Graph of the Day: Latitudinal movement of US bird species by habitat, 1960s-2006

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) show that the warmer winters in recent decades have played an important role in shifting winter bird ranges to the north. CBC data from the mid-1960s through 2006 show that 170 (56%) of the 305 most widespread, regularly occurring species have shifted their ranges to the north, whereas only 71 species […]

Report on failure to halt wildlife decline is buried

  By Michael McCarthy, Environment EditorSaturday, 22 May 2010 A report showing that Britain is failing to halt the declines of many of its highest-priority wildlife species and habitats, from the red squirrel, the juniper and the common skate to chalk rivers and coastal salt marshes, was “sneaked out” this week by the Government with […]

Bill Nye the Science Guy reviews proposed oil spill solutions

CNN iReporters submit their ideas to solve the Gulf Coast oil disaster. CNN then asked Bill Nye to take a look. ‘Science Guy’ rates oil spill ideas Technorati Tags: oil spill,oil production,pollution,North America,Gulf of Mexico

Engineers will not use hair to soak Gulf oil spill

By GREG BLUESTEIN (AP)  COVINGTON, La. — Engineers will not use booms made out of hair to soak up the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Barbers have collected hair in hopes that it could contain the ooze as it invades deeper into coastal marshland. But crews said Saturday they concluded using the […]

Carp poisoning begins amid calls for stronger action

By Eartha Jane Melzer 5/21/10 11:17 AM Federal officials closed a portion of the Chicago canal system this week and began poisoning the waters with rotenone in order to kill any invasive Asian carp that may have made it across an electric fish barrier intended to keep them out of Lake Michigan. The Detroit Free […]

Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to breast cancer

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2010) — A study in mice reveals that prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, like bisphenol-A (BPA) and diethylstilbestrol (DES), may program a fetus for life. Therefore, adult women who were exposed prenatally to BPA or DES could be at increased risk of breast cancer, according to a new study accepted for publication […]

Oil spill may wipe out Gulf sperm whales — Just three dead whales could push the Gulf population over the edge

By Ker Than for National Geographic News Published May 21, 2010 If the Gulf of Mexico oil spill kills just three sperm whales, it could seriously endanger the long-term survival of the Gulf’s native whale population, scientists say. Right now between 1,400 and 1,660 sperm whales live year-round in the Gulf of Mexico, making up […]

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