Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Oil spill off Australia coast poses major threat to marine life

Nine weeks after a ruptured oil rig sprang a leak, the catastrophic consequences are becoming apparent. By Kathy Marks Sea birds are dying and thousands of marine creatures are at risk from a massive oil spill in the Timor Sea, off north-west Australia, warn the first scientists to survey the isolated site. A ruptured drilling […]

Tablas de Daimiel wetland: then and now

This is the future of peat wetlands all over the world, wherever humans are drawing down the water table. Thousands of illegal wells were drilled around the Tablas de Daimiel wetland in Spain, a UNESCO biosphere site, to irrigate local fields. The water table fell 12 meters (40 ft), the underground peat dried out, and […]

Graph of the Day: Historic Texas Drought, October 2009

Technorati Tags: drought,agriculture,heat wave

Spanish wetland facing destruction as farming starves it of water; EU investigates

• Less than 1% of Tablas de Daimiel remains as lagoons• Fires burning underground as illegal wells dry out peat   By Giles Tremlett, in Madrid The EU has begun an investigation into a unique Spanish wetland park that is being devastated by underground fires. Local officials have admitted that mismanaged water resources at the […]

Africa readies united front for crucial climate talks

By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22 (IPS) – As African leaders meet in Ethiopia to discuss the devastating impacts of climate change, the United Nations has released a report warning that the economically-troubled continent will be one of the hardest hit by the ravages of global warming. “Projected climatic changes for Africa suggest a […]

Himalaya glaciers could be gone by 2035

Deep in the Himalayas, the disappearance of glaciers is threatening the kingdom of Bhutan. Anjali Nayar trekked through the mountains to see how the country is adapting to a warming world. By Anjali Nayar …Glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating faster than in any other part of the world and they could disappear completely by […]

Four-year drought pushes 23 million Africans to brink of starvation

By Tristan McConnell in Mwingi “The last time I had a good harvest was 2003 — there has been nothing at all for the last three years,” said Mutindi Maithya, 36, a widow who lives with her six children on a four- acre plot of sun-baked land. Sitting beneath a thorny acacia tree, she picks […]

Lester Brown: the rising tide of environmental refugees

By Lester R. Brown, October 22, 2009  Our early twenty-first century civilization is being squeezed between advancing deserts and rising seas. Measured by the biologically productive land area that can support human habitation, the earth is shrinking. Mounting population densities, once generated solely by population growth, are now also fueled by the relentless advance of […]

Graph of the Day: Impact of a Global Temperature Rise of 4°C (7°F)

A new map illustrating the global consequences of failing to keep temperature change to under 2 °C was launched today by the UK Government, in partnership with the Met Office. The map was developed using the latest peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists. The poster highlights some of […]

Rains came too late for Kenya wildlife

By STEVEN BULL, Thursday, October 22 2009 The rains are finally here, heralding a new start for the agricultural masses. But welcome as they are, they came a bit too late for the country’s prime tourist attraction – the wildlife. According to the Kenya Wildlife Services, hundreds of animals died solely due to the drought. […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial