Blogging the End of the World™
By Maryam Omidi MALE (Reuters) – The Maldives, threatened by rising sea levels because of global warming, on Monday pleaded with developed nations to reduce carbon emissions and said developing nations could change the outcome at climate talks in Copenhagen. The appeal by the Indian ocean archipelago came at a climate change summit grouping Bangladesh, […]
By James Pomfret and Tom Kirkwood GUANGZHOU/NAIROBI (Reuters) – Tucked into a grimy building in Guangzhou, a small band of Chinese master carvers chip away at ivory tusks with chisels, fashioning them into the sorts of intricate carvings that were prized by Chinese emperors. A passion for ivory ornaments such as these is what helped […]
By Rhett A. Butler, www.mongabay.comNovember 10, 2009 Forty percent of lowland forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) were cleared from 1990 to 2005, reports a high resolution assessment of land cover change in Indonesia. The research, conducted by Matthew Hansen of South Dakota State University, and colleagues, found that Indonesia lost 21.35 million hectares […]
By GUY CHAZAN Criticism is mounting against Italian energy giant Eni SpA’s plans to squeeze oil from the tar sands of the Republic of Congo, which campaigners claim could endanger one of the world’s largest tropical rain forests. Eni says the crude would be produced in areas of grassy savannah, and wouldn’t harm the local […]
By NATHANIAL GRONEWOLD of GreenwirePublished: November 9, 2009 First of a four-part series. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A hard rain can be deadly here. A family of four was reported killed late last month when rushing stormwater loosened soil under their hillside house and brought the structure down on them. The denuded slopes around this city […]
The chart reflects a number of trends. For one thing, more troubled properties are selling at auctions, known as trustee’s sales, and thus are not going back to the bank as REO. … Banks hold few foreclosures via Calculated Risk Technorati Tags: financial collapse
The international commission that sets fishing limits for tuna and other large migratory fish is meeting in Brazil. The commission faces a depressing reality: the bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean is headed toward commercial extinction. From time to time, the commission has marginally reduced the allowable catch, but never by as much […]
By JASON DOWLINGNovember 9, 2009 POWER blackouts could hit Melbourne again this summer if there is a repeat of January and February’s extreme weather conditions, electricity suppliers have warned. A spokesman for Australia’s national power industry body, Australian Energy Market Operator, said Victoria had enough power to cope with average summer temperatures, but would struggle […]
By BRIDIE SMITHNovember 9, 2009 MELBOURNE’S water storage is set to fall for the first time in four months this week, as a record string of hot November days coincides with reduced run-off and a lack of spring rain. While catchments were still benefiting from last month’s falls, water flowing into reservoirs has gradually decreased. […]
By Les Blumenthal | McClatchy Newspapers • Published November 07, 2009 WASHINGTON — Off the coast of Washington state, mysterious algae mixed with sea foam have killed more than 8,000 seabirds, puzzling scientists. A thousand miles off California, researchers have discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex roughly twice the size of Texas […]
