Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Graph of the Day: 2000-Year Reconstruction of Arctic Temperatures

Fig. 3. (A and B) Composite of 23 high-resolution proxy climate records from the Arctic. Values are 10-year means standardized relative to the reference period of 980 to 1800. (A) Records subdivided by source of proxy information: trees, ice, and lakes, with the running count of records. (B) Records subdivided by those that extend 2000 […]

Record-low sockeye salmon return expected for the Fraser River

By RICHARD J. DALTON JR., Vancouver Sun VANCOUVER — Sockeye salmon are expected to return to the Fraser River in record-low numbers this season due to an unknown threat in the ocean, experts say. When the last of the sockeye return late this month, 1.37 million are expected to have made the three-month journey — […]

Pacific bigeye tuna populations threatened by overfishing

Large-scale fishing imperils staple of sushi bars the world over, group says BANGKOK, Thailand – Environmentalists want tougher restrictions on the industrial-scale fishing of bigeye tuna in the Pacific Ocean after new research showed current measures are failing and will do little to sustain stocks of a fish that is popular in sushi bars the […]

Climate change and overfishing are altering the Atlantic ocean ecosystem

By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Maine – The basic makeup of the ocean waters off the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic region has fundamentally changed in the past 40 years because of climate change, commercial fishing pressures and growing coastal populations, according to a new report. The 2009 Ecosystem Status Report says fish populations […]

Mercury found in blood of one-third of American women

LOS ANGELES, California, September 1, 2009 (ENS) – The level of inorganic mercury in the blood of American women has been increasing since 1999 and it is now found in the blood of one in three women, according to a new analysis of government data for more than 6,000 American women. “My study found compelling […]

Fewer fin whales spotted in Biscay, prompting fears for fish stocks

Fin whales have not returned to the Bay of Biscay in their usual high numbers this year raising fears over the state of the fish stocks they feed on. Conservationists monitoring the animals’ annual migration into Biscay said the second largest whale on the planet had not appeared in large numbers this summer. While small […]

Rapid decline in freshwater fish populations

By Emily Sohn, Discovery News Sept. 1, 2009 — Just a few hundred years ago, the world’s rivers and lakes teemed with gigantic fish. Freshwater fish were so plentiful that they were used to feed farm animals and fishermen found it hard not to make a catch, according to a new review of historical accounts. […]

Graph of the Day: Forest Types in Vietnam, 1990-2005

Meyfroidt, P., & Lambin, E.F. (2009). Forest transition in Vietnam and displacement of deforestation abroad. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0904942106 Vietnam outsources deforestation to neighboring countries Technorati Tags: deforestation,habitat loss,agriculture

Humans causing erosion comparable to world’s largest rivers and glaciers

  (University of British Columbia) A new study finds that large-scale farming projects can erode the Earth’s surface at rates comparable to those of the world’s largest rivers and glaciers. Published online in the journal Nature Geosciences, the research offers stark evidence of how humans are reshaping the planet. It also finds that — contrary […]

Vietnam outsources deforestation to neighboring countries

In conserving its forests while its growing export-oriented wood products industry, Vietnam outsources deforestation to Laos, Cambodia, and China.   By Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com Taking a cue from its much larger neighbor to the north, Vietnam has outsourced deforestation to neighboring countries, according to a new study that quantified the amount of displacement resulting […]

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