Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Graph of the Day: Onset of Caribou Calving and Plant Growth Seasons in Greenland, 2002-2008

Complex responses to Arctic climate change that may have broader community and ecosystem consequences. A developing trophic mismatch between the timing of caribou calving (blue), which has not changed, and the timing of plant growth (red), which is advancing with warming in Greenland [updated from E. Post, M. C. Forchhammer, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B […]

Leaked emails reveal deadly cover-up of dumped toxic waste

By DAVID LEIGH, September 18, 2009 LEAKED internal emails have revealed a massive cover-up by the British oil trader Trafigura, in one of the worst pollution disasters in recent history. The emails obtained by The Guardian prove that Trafigura, which abruptly announced an offer to pay compensation to 31,000 West African victims, was fully aware […]

Deicing salt pollutes many urban streams at levels harmful to aquatic life

  Levels of chloride, a component of salt, are elevated in many urban streams and groundwater across the northern U.S., according to a new government study. Chloride levels above the recommended federal criteria set to protect aquatic life were found in more than 40 percent of urban streams tested.  The study was released today by […]

Polar bears run riot as ice melts

By Shanta Barley You can almost hear Sarah Palin cocking her rifle. As climate change causes sea ice to shrink, the number of “problem” polar bears appears to be increasing. “Hungry bears don’t just lie down – they go looking for an alternate food source,” says zoologist Ian Stirling at the University of Alberta in […]

Measures to protect Mediterranean tuna are failing

Confidential papers show how fishing boats in the region routinely fail to follow regulations put in place to protect tuna stocks By David Adam, Environment correspondent, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 September 2009 Measures to protect dwindling stocks of bluefin tuna fish in the Mediterranean have failed to curb illegal fishing practices, leaked papers show. The Guardian […]

Warming Arctic 'halts migration'

By Mark Kinver, Science and environment reporter, BBC News Milder winters in the Arctic region have led to fewer Pacific brants, a species of sea goose, migrating southwards, say researchers. A study by the US Geological Survey (USGS) found that as many as 30% of the birds were overwintering in Alaska rather than migrating to […]

Ghost fleet moored off Singapore: 12% of ocean shipping idled

The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination  –  and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year   […]

70 million NY ash trees killed by insect infestation

AMES, Iowa, September 15, 2009 (ENS) – The emerald ash borer is eating its way through all of the native ash trees across the United States, but Iowa horticulturalist Mark Widrlechner is locked in a battle with the devastating insect. He is collecting and storing ash tree seeds as fast as he can – seeds […]

Graph of the Day: Global Economic Mass Distribution

Economic mass is concentrated in North America, Western Europe, and Northeast Asia. And only East Asia has significantly increased its share of global GDP in recent decades. This global concentration matters greatly for the development prospects of today’s lagging world regions, and increasing their access to these large world markets must be a priority for […]

World Bank spends billions on coal-fired power stations despite own warnings

By Ben Webster, Environment Editor The World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change. The bank, which has a goal of reducing poverty and is funded by Britain and other developed countries, calls on all […]

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