Desdemona Despair – Page 127 – Blogging the End of the World™

Undated photos of Susan and Carl Chase show them in their teenage years. They chose to end their lives on 27 October 2019, writing, “Dying is natural, and inescapable. We see nothing good about stretching the process out over as many years as possible.” Photo: Carl and Susan Chase / The Ellsworth American

December 1, 2019

Together, a Maine couple left the world, provoking a debate about death and choice – “The pressure of over-population is bringing about the destruction of civilization and will eventually cause the extinction of our species as we make the planet unfit for ourselves”

By Eric Russell 24 November 2019 (Portland Press Herald) – They wanted to leave this world together, on their own terms, and so on 27 October 2019, Carl and Susan Chase held hands in their favorite spot at home overlooking Horseshoe Cove in Brooksville until death came. Carl, an accomplished sailor and musician, was 77. […]

Animation showing the age of the Arctic sea ice between 2015 and 2019. Video: NASA

December 1, 2019

35 years of climate change in one video

By Johnny Wood 18 November 2019 (WEF) – Q: If you subtract 95 percent from something, what’s left? A: An environmental crisis. The “something” in question is the oldest and thickest solid layer of frozen water in the Arctic Ocean, which is melting so rapidly that just 5% of its original mass remains. Scientists from the […]

GHG emissions in GtCO2e materials production by material and by the first use of materials. In 2015, the production of materials caused GHG emissions of approximately 11.5 GtCO2e, up from 5 GtCO2e in 1995. The largest contribution stems from bulk materials production, such as iron and steel, cement, lime and plaster, other minerals mostly used as construction products, as well as plastics and rubber. Two thirds of the materials are used to make capital goods, with buildings and vehicles among the most important. While the production of materials consumed in industrialized countries remained within the range of 2–3 GtCO2e, in the 1995–2015 period, those of developing and emerging economies have largely been behind the growth. In this context, it is important to keep in mind the discussion about the point of production and points of consumption. Graphic: UNEP

November 26, 2019

World must cut carbon emissions by 7.6 percent every year for next decade to meet 1.5°C Paris target – “It is very disturbing that in spite of the many warnings, global emissions have continued to increase and do not seem to be likely to peak anytime soon”

GENEVA, 26 November 2019 (UNEP) – On the eve of a year in which nations are due to strengthen their Paris climate pledges, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report warns that unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year between 2020 and 2030, the world will miss the opportunity to […]

Evacuees from the Camp Fire have congregated in tents and in their vehicles as they seek shelter in a Walmart parking lot in Chico, California, on 13 November 2018. Photo: Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times / TNS

November 26, 2019

Research shows where former Paradise residents went after town was incinerated in the Camp Fire – “People who didn’t have the wherewithal and couldn’t figure out what to do just ended up without anything,”

By Michael Finch II 20 November 2019 (The Sacramento Bee) – Like many, David Stromeyer and his wife made a terrifying escape from Paradise as the Camp Fire threatened their home a year ago. Fortunate than most, the Stromeyers found a rental within a week, joining the thousands of people who temporarily moved to the […]

Toni Doherty rescues a koala from a bushfire in New South Wales, 19 November 2019. Video: Guardian News

November 26, 2019

Video: Woman risks life to save burnt koala from Australia bushfire – “I knew if we didn’t get him down from the tree, then he would have been up there amongst the flames”

By Eric Todisco 20 November 2019 (People) – Amid the raging bushfires in South Wales, Australia, a hero emerged to save the life of a young koala. [Warning: Desdemona has a pretty thick skin when it comes to doom, but this video made me weep like a child. –Des] The dramatic rescue was caught on […]

Cover of “The Climate Files” by Fred Pearce, first published on 27 July 2010 by Random House UK. Graphic: Random House UK

November 25, 2019

“Climategate” 10 years on: what lessons have we learned? “British climate science was subjected to huge scrutiny by the world’s best journalists and it stood up to the test”

By Robin McKie 9 November 2019 (The Guardian) – The email that appeared on Phil Jones’s computer screen in November 2009 was succinct. “Just a quick note to encourage you to shoot yourself in the head,” it said. “Don’t waste any more time. Do it today. It is truly the greatest contribution to mankind that […]

$Globally averaged CO2 mole fraction (a) and its growth rate (b) from 1984 to 2018. Increases in successive annual means are shown as shaded columns in (b). The red line in (a) is the monthly mean with the seasonal variation removed; the blue dots and line depict the monthly averages. Observations from 129 stations have been used for this analysis. Graphic: WMO$

November 25, 2019

Greenhouse gas concentrations in atmosphere reached yet another high in 2018

GENEVA, 25 November 2019 (WMO) – Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, sea level rise […]

A koala with burns suffered from Australia’s unprecedented early bushfires receives treatment for dehydration at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in November 2019. Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty Images

November 24, 2019

Koalas are not functionally extinct, but they need our help

By Jackson Ryan 24 November 2019 (CNET) – The koala is one of the most iconic Australian marsupials. The grey fuzzballs spend nearly all their time in the trees, surviving on a diet of toxic gum leaves and a healthy routine of extended naps. As Australia suffered through unprecedented bushfires in the past two weeks, […]

Animation showing deforestation in Brazil’s Mato Grasso state, 1984-2018. Graphic: William Neff / The Washington Post

November 23, 2019

Brazil’s Bolsonaro calls Amazon deforestation “cultural”, says it “will never end”

By Marina Lopes 20 November 2019 SAO PAULO, Brazil (The Washington Post) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro shrugged off a government report that deforestation in the Amazon reached an 11-year high on his watch, saying Wednesday he expects the destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest to continue. “Deforestation and fires will never end,” the […]

People walk on catwalk set up on the occasion of a high tide, in a flooded Venice, Italy, 12 November 2019. Photo: Luca Bruno / AP Photo

November 23, 2019

Venice is drowning. It’s a warning of what’s to come.

By Editorial Board 15 November 2019 (The Washington Post) – Venice has always been linked closely with the water that surrounds it. The city is thought to have been founded by refugees seeking protection from Germanic invaders by sheltering in the northwestern Adriatic Sea’s islands and marshes. By the 12th century, the doge would annually […]