Blogging the End of the World™
From Climate Progress: The prestigious journal Nature is publishing important new research on “Rapid sea-level rise and reef back-stepping at the close of the last interglacial highstand” (subs. req’d, abstract below). As Nature explains in a summary and author interview (subs. req’d): Some consequences of climate change are already unfolding. Glaciers and ice sheets are […]
KAMPALA (Reuters) – Overfishing on Lake Victoria has seen Nile Perch stocks drop 81 percent to 370,000 metric tons in 2008 from 2 million metric tons three years ago, “annihilating” the species, Uganda said Thursday. Fishing is one of Uganda’s leading export earners. The east African nation boasts four major lakes — Victoria, Lake […]
By Matt Walker, Editor, Earth News The Sidamo lark could soon be the first bird on mainland Africa to die out since modern records began, a survey shows. A survey has found that just a few hundred of the larks survive in Ethiopia. Unless action is taken to save it, the bird will disappear. While […]
HOR AL-HAMMAR, Iraq – A severe drought is threatening Iraq’s southern marshes — the traditional site of the biblical Garden of Eden — just as the region was recovering from Saddam Hussein’s draining of its lakes and swamps to punish a political rebellion. Marshes that were coming back to life a few years ago with […]
Decline of another 30 feet will trigger federal shortage declaration By HENRY BREAN Another below-average year on the Colorado River will soon shrink Lake Mead to a level not seen since President Lyndon Johnson unveiled his "Great Society" and the Beatles bared their "Rubber Soul." By next month, the surface of the lake is expected […]
By Peter Ker MELBOURNE’S dwindling water storages are on the verge of a historic low, a quarter of a century after the Thomson Dam was promised to drought-proof the city. The nine major dams are expected to fall to 28.4 per cent of capacity today, matching the record low set in June 2007. Despite rain […]
From Calculated Risk: How about this headline from Rex Nutting at MarketWatch: Biggest drop in industrial output since VE Day Industrial production is down 13.3% since the recession began in December 2007, the largest percentage decline since the end of World War II. … Factory output has fallen 15.7% during the recession, also the largest […]
World’s cruise industry sailing rough waters Cruise operators are desperately trying to attract passengers for 2009, slashing prices, offering last-minute deals, two-for-one pricing, shorter cruises, family packages in which children sail free, and home port cruising which avoids the cost of an airfare to reach an exotic departure port. Norwegian Cruise Line last month announced […]
MADRID (Reuters) – Overfishing will wipe out the breeding population of Atlantic bluefin tuna, one of the ocean’s largest and fastest predators, in three years unless catches are dramatically reduced, conservation group WWF said on Tuesday. As European fishing fleets prepare to begin the two-month Mediterranean fishing season on Wednesday, WWF said its analysis showed […]
Guardian poll reveals almost nine out of 10 climate experts do not believe current political efforts will keep warming below 2C David Adam, environment correspondentThe Guardian, Tuesday 14 April 2009 Almost nine out of 10 climate scientists do not believe political efforts to restrict global warming to 2C will succeed, a Guardian poll reveals today. […]
