Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

New vision required to stave off dramatic biodiversity loss, says UN report

Nairobi, 10 May 2010 – Natural systems that support economies, lives and livelihoods across the planet are at risk of rapid degradation and collapse unless there is swift, radical and creative action to conserve and sustainably use the variety of life on Earth. This is one principal conclusion of a major new assessment of the […]

Video: Air Force sprays oil dispersant — ‘I don't even know where to pick a spot out, it's everywhere’

U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft aerial spray aircraft maintainers from the 910th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Youngstown-Warren Air Reserve Station, Ohio, remove the ground load station after refilling a C-130 with oil-dispersing chemicals on the runway of the Stennis International Airport, Miss, on May 9, 2010. Members of the 910th Airlift Wing are in […]

Gulf winds turn against BP as oil containment plan snarls

By Edward Klump, Mark Chediak and Aaron Kuriloff – May 10, 2010 Weather forecasts in the Gulf of Mexico indicate shifting winds will push an oil slick toward Louisiana in the next few days after the failure of BP Plc’s latest attempt to stem the gushing oil leak offshore. “The winds may play a huge […]

South pole has warmest year on record

By Brett IsraelLiveScience Staff Writer The South Pole experienced its warmest year on record in 2009, according to newly released data from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The average temperature at the South Pole last year was still a bone-chilling minus 54.2 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 47.9 degrees Celsius) in 2009, making it the warmest year […]

Graph of the Day: Projected Oil Spill Path to 13 May 2010

BP continues to work on solving the problem of ice-like methane hydrate crystals that accumulated inside of the dome intended to capture the leaking oil. A process known as a “junk shot”, in which debris is injected into the blow out preventer, is being examined. The drilling of the relief wells continues. The latest trajectory […]

Helicopters drop sandbags to protect Louisiana marshes from oil spill

PORT FOURCHON, La. (May 10, 2010) — Crews of Black Hawk helicopters were picking up sandbags Monday to be dropped on five points east of Port Fourchon in an effort aimed at protecting Lafourche Parish marshes from the massive oil slick. The spill began creeping farther west of the Mississippi River last week. On Sunday, […]

After Gulf oil spill, scientists envision devastation for region

By Joel AchenbachWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, May 5, 2010 The urgent question along the polluted Gulf of Mexico: How bad will this get? No one knows, but with each day that the leaking oil well a mile below the surface remains uncapped, scientists and energy industry observers are imagining outcomes that range from bad to […]

Oil spill threatens the endangered Mississippi Delta sperm whale

By Marc KaufmanMay 9, 2010; 11:38 AM ET As oil from the Deepwater Horizon gushes out and spreads, one noble creature that few would imagine is in grave danger is a subspecies of the huge and officially endangered sperm whale. A population estimated to be around 500 is known to live in the deep waters […]

Invisible disaster unfolding in Gulf of Mexico

  By Staff Writers Venice, Louisiana (AFP) May 6, 2010 – Oil may not yet be washing ashore in large quantities in Louisiana but an environmental disaster is already unfolding deep down in the Gulf of Mexico and in the swirling currents on its surface, experts warned Thursday. “Everyone is focusing on the beaches and […]

EU orders Finland to protect critically endangered seals

By John Platt Finland’s Lake Saimaa is home to one of the world’s rarest seals, the Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis). Just 260 or so of these critically endangered animals remain in the freshwater lake, and now the European Union has told Finland that the country is not doing enough to protect the species. […]

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