Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

In Brazil, extreme weather stokes climate worries

By Stuart Grudgings ILHA GRANDE, Brazil (Reuters) – No one could say they hadn’t seen it coming. The sand dunes had been advancing for decades before, two years ago, they finally swallowed the houses of Raimundo do Nascimento and 12 other families in Ilha Grande, an island in the Parnaiba river delta in northeastern Brazil. […]

85 percent of oyster reefs gone in ‘unprecedented and alarming decline’

By Jeremy Hance The first global report on the state of shellfish was released today at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Washington, DC. Painting a dire picture for shellfish worldwide, the report found that 85 percent of oyster reefs have vanished. Threats such as over-development on coasts, destructive fishing practices, altered river flows, dams, […]

US unemployment claims at record 6.66 million

From Calculated Risk: The graph shows weekly claims and continued claims since 1971. The four-week moving average is at 628,500, off 30,250 from the peak 6 weeks ago. Continued claims are now at 6.66 million – an all time record. … Unemployment Claims: Continued Claims at Record 6.66 Million Technorati Tags: financial collapse

Toxic contaminants poison marine mammal brains

The most extensive study of pollutants in marine mammals’ brains reveals that these animals are exposed to a hazardous cocktail of pesticides such as DDTs and PCBs, as well as emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants. Eric Montie, the lead author on the study currently in press and published online April 17 in Environmental […]

Glaciers go, leaving drought, conflict and tension in Andes

In a dry land where almost everyone has their eye on their uphill neighbor’s water, the Andes are already seeing conflicts erupt as global warming changes water patterns. By Barbara FraserFor The Daily Climate ICA, Peru — Two decades ago, the strip of sand between the Pacific Ocean and the Andean foothills was empty except […]

Graph of the Day: Housing Starts, 1968-2009

From Calculated Risk: Total housing starts were at 458 thousand (SAAR) in April, the all time record low. The previous record low was 488 thousand in January (the lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking housing starts in 1959). Single-family starts were at 368 thousand (SAAR) in April; just above the revised record low […]

Bangladesh river pollution threatens millions

By Azad Majumder DHAKA (Reuters) – It was once the lifeline of the Bangladeshi capital. But the once mighty Buriganga river, which flows by Dhaka, is now one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste. “Much of the Buriganga is now gone, having fallen to ever […]

Drought worsens in Australia

New figures show the Big Dry is getting worse across New South Wales – with 60 per cent of the state being classified as in drought. This includes the western district, which takes in Broken Hill and Wilcannia, while Wanaaring in the Darling district is classified as being in marginal drought. Primary Industries Minister Ian […]

Australia’s Murray River too acidic to use

By Verity Edwards and Pia Akerman | May 18, 2009 FIRST it was salt, now it is acid preventing farmers at Currency Creek and along the Finniss River from using Murray River water. While it may have been a blessing at the time, heavy rains last month have mobilised acid in exposed soil beds in […]

Lampreys sucking the life out of Michigan's waterways

BY TINA LAM As the sun begins to sink along the Little Manistee River in northern Michigan, researcher Nick Johnson is excited and a little nervous. There’s a lot riding on what he’s about to do. It’s spawning season for the sea lamprey, a prehistoric creature that invaded the Great Lakes 80 years ago, and […]

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