Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Floods and droughts: How climate change is impacting Africa

By CHRISTOPHER THOMPSON / KALOTUM Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 When one enters the northern Kenyan village of Kalotum, the overwhelming impression is one of things missing. There are a dozen conical thatched huts and a clutch of spindly thorn trees. But there are no crops, animals or water. A quick look around reveals no men, […]

Destruction of Indonesia peatlands wreaks as much damage as all the vehicles in the U.S.

TARUNA JAYA, Indonesia – Across a patch of pineapples shrouded in smoke, Idris Hadrianyani battled a menace that has left his family sleepless and sick — and has wrought as much damage on the planet as has exhaust from all the cars and trucks in the United States. Against the advancing flames, he waved a […]

Graph of the Day: Sea Level Rise at Australia coastline, Early 1990s – June 2009

The net relative sea level trend in mm/year after subtracting the effects of the vertical movement of the platform and the inverse barometric pressure effect utilising all the data collected since the start of the project up to the end of June 2009. Australia National Tidal Centre, Bureau of Meteorology, The Australian Baseline Sea Level […]

Australia temperature records fall and fires burn

By DEBORAH SMITH SCIENCE EDITORNovember 20, 2009 FIVE major fires are burning in NSW as the state swelters in a heatwave that has seen decades-old records fall. The state has experienced both its hottest November day and hottest November night since observations began. The mercury soared to 46.4 degrees at Tibooburra in the north-west of […]

Using fish as livestock feed threatens global fisheries

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com, November 18, 2009 Fish doesn’t just feed humans. Millions of tons of fish are fed every year to chickens, pigs, and even farmed fish even in the midst of rising concerns over fish stocks collapses around the world. Finding an alternative to fish as livestock feed would go a long way […]

Physicians for Social Responsibility: Coal's Assault on Human Health

Physicians for Social Responsibility has released a groundbreaking medical report, “Coal’s Assault on Human Health,” which takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. This report looks […]

Thailand's rising tide of problems

By Fiona Walker Thailand’s coast is best known to many Scots for its beaches and backpackers. But just round the corner from the sunbathers is a world where the rising sea level has taken their homes. Not just once – some families have had to move 11 times to escape the encroaching water and the […]

Sea level rise eroding island in Scotland

By Fiona Walker When you talk to people in South Uist about climate change, many already know what may be in store for them. They really live the weather, noting down its changes and understanding its impact upon their lives. Where Seumas MacDonald grew up he says people used to plough land that’s now under […]

Plastic chemicals 'feminise boys'

Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys making them “more feminine” and uninterested in rough games, say researchers. Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys’ toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found. The University of Rochester […]

South Australia braces for another catastrophic bushfire day

November 19, 2009 – 11:00AM (AAP) — South Australia faces a second day of catastrophic bushfire danger today. Temperatures are expected to soar into the 40s across the state, with Adelaide also forecast to have a top of 43 degrees. With low humidity, strong winds and the possibility of dry thunderstorms, the conditions prompted authorities […]

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