Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Kenya: Poor rainfall worsens food insecurity

  By Susan Anyangu-Amu, 31 December 2009 The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) has raised a red flag over the worsening food security situation in the Horn of Africa. Mr Karel De Gucht, the European Commissioner in charge of development and humanitarian aid, attributes the disastrous situation to the terrible potential of climate change. […]

Climate change depletes Saudi surface water by 30 percent

By Hana Namrouqa (MENAFN – Jordan Times) With people in over 17 Arab countries living well below the water poverty line of 500 cubic metres annually, Arab decision makers on Monday called for coordinated efforts to address the impact of climate change on the limited resource. Experts said more than 75 per cent of the […]

Graph of the Day: Kenya Food Security, October 2009

The 2009 short rains season is underway across most areas of the country. Above‐normal rains have been reported in most of the eastern half of the country, while rains have picked up in some areas reporting lower than average cumulative October rainfall. Food insecurity remains high for severely drought–affected pastoral and marginal agricultural households (Figure […]

The Photography of Brian Ulrich: Ghosts of Shopping Past

Interview by Nozlee Samadzadeh Landscaping overgrows, walls develop mildew, ceilings cave in—a building can be shut down, but that doesn’t make it go away. Brian Ulrich’s photographs of closed-down malls and big-box retail stores reveal the potential ghost towns lying inside successful shopping complexes all across America. Photographer Brian Ulrich lives and works in Chicago. […]

Manatee death rate seven times sustainable level — boat strikes preventing species' recovery

SAN FRANCISCO- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized new stock assessments for manatees that puts the population of Florida manatees at about 3,800 and a Puerto Rico population at 72. The stock-assessment reports resulted from settlement of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity that sought updated assessments, since the Service […]

Phase two of Mau evictions to begin

By Kipchumba Kemei The Government will next month embark on the second phase of the controversial Mau Forest evictions. Kenya Forest Service sources say the exercise will kick off shortly after President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga tour the forest for a tree planting ceremony along Narok North-Molo districts borders. The first exercise ended […]

Graph of the Day: Fannie Mae Serious Delinquency Rate, Jan 1998 – October 2009

Here is the monthly Fannie Mae hockey stick graph. Fannie Mae reported today that the rate of serious delinquencies – at least 90 days behind – for conventional loans in its single-family guarantee business increased to 4.98% in October, up from 4.72% in September – and up from 1.89% in October 2008. “Includes seriously delinquent […]

California lakes warming twice as fast as regional air

  By Matt Weisermweiser@sacbee.comPublished: Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 1BLast Modified: Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009 – 1:31 am Lake Tahoe, Clear Lake and four other large lakes in Northern California and Nevada are warming faster than the surrounding atmosphere, suggesting climate change may affect aquatic environments faster and sooner. The findings […]

Global warming has pushed Taiwan isotherms 150 kilometers northward

The China Post News deskPublication Date: 29-12-2009 The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) on Tuesday published a study on weather changes in Taiwan over the past century, which showed that local temperatures had risen by an average of 0.8 degrees Celsius. The average temperature rose by 1.2 degrees in plains areas and 1.4 degrees in metropolitan […]

San Francisco Bay mussels to be studied for contamination by industrial chemicals

By Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, December 27, 2009 State scientists on Monday will cull mussels from the waters around Treasure Island as part of a national study of so-called “emerging contaminants” – certain compounds found in everyday items like shampoo, bedding and birth control pills. California and federal officials say such chemicals are […]

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