Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Graph of the Day: Greenland Ice sheet Cumulative Mass Anomaly, 2003-2008

Cumulative SMB-D anomaly (2003–2008) and comparison with GRACE data (18). Short horizontal lines indicate GRACE uncertainty, dashed lines the linear trends. GRACE values are not absolute numbers, and the curve has been vertically shifted for clarity. The scatter plot in the inset shows a direct linear regression between the monthly GRACE values as a function […]

Fire crews on alert as Australia temperatures soar

November 14, 2009 (AAP) — Fire crews are on standby across Victoria as a severe fire danger rating comes into effect in the north-west of the state. The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) have warned that high and very high fire danger ratings will be in place in […]

Thousands of birds found dead on Australia coast

By JOHN ELDERNovember 15, 2009 THOUSANDS of muttonbirds – upon arriving in Australia to breed – have been found dead along the Victorian and NSW coasts in the past two weeks. The birds, properly known as short-tailed shearwaters, probably died from exhaustion and malnutrition following their migratory flight to Australia from the Arctic Pacific. The […]

Record snowfall destroys 9,000 buildings and strands 7.5 million in Northern China

Via reader Gail: Unusually early snow storms in north-central China have claimed 40 lives, caused thousands of buildings to collapse and destroyed almost 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of winter crops, the Civil Affairs Ministry said Friday. Nineteen of the deaths resulted from traffic accidents related to the storms that began Nov. 9, the ministry said […]

Illegal ivory trade on the rise as organized crime syndicates in Africa, Asia grow in strength

By Matthew McDermott, New York, NY  on 11.12.09 A couple weeks ago we learned that at present poaching rates Africa’s elephants will all be extinct in just fifteen years. Well, here’s so more on that: The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC brings word that the illegal ivory trade has increased markedly in the latest analysis, […]

Nuclear scars: Tainted water runs beneath Nevada desert

By Ralph Vartabedian, November 13, 2009 Reporting from Yucca Flat, Nev. – A sea of ancient water tainted by the Cold War is creeping deep under the volcanic peaks, dry lake beds and pinyon pine forests covering a vast tract of Nevada. Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the […]

One-third of Shoshone Forest killed by bark beetles

By RUFFIN PREVOST Gazette Wyoming Bureau | Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:20 pm CODY — Dozens of popular camping spots on public land around Yellowstone National Park could be closed next summer as the U.S. Forest Service focuses regional spending priorities on the effects of widespread bark beetle infestations in Colorado and southern Wyoming. […]

Evictions in Mau a constant cycle

By GEORGE SAYAGIE and JOHN NGIRACHU Posted Friday, November 13 2009 at 22:00 One moment you are in, the next, you are out. For some of the people moving out of the south western part of the Mau Forest Complex, this has come to be a familiar pattern of their lives. It is not the […]

China's record debt has economists worried

The nation is taking on record levels of debt to keep its economy humming. Some say that can’t last. By Bill Powell, contributorLast Updated: November 11, 2009: 12:21 PM ET (Fortune Magazine) — In a world still awash in economic worry, China has stood apart as the one country that has come through the global […]

Graph of the Day: Vegetation Decline Due To Drought in California's Central Valley

By the end of July 2009, California was well into its third dry year in a row. On average, the state’s reservoirs were running low. In particular, the San Luis reservoir had reached only 18 percent of its capacity by July 28, said the Drought Operations Center for the State of California. The San Luis […]

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