Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Human factors suspected in mass whale beaching

by Lewis Smith Conservationists are demanding an immediate and thorough inquiry into what they say is the suspicious stranding of 200 whales and dolphins. Fears that the mass stranding on an Australian beach on Sunday was caused by human disturbance were raised because two species of cetacean came ashore simultaneously. Most of the animals were […]

Chesapeake dead zone covers 40% of bay; crab fishery declared federal disaster

By Andy Sullivan REEDVILLE, Virginia (Reuters) – It doesn’t look like a disaster area. Crab boats dart back and forth on this inlet of the Chesapeake Bay as they have for generations. On the shore, million-dollar vacation homes catch the morning sun. But watermen aren’t pulling blue crabs out of the Bay this winter. After […]

Graph of the Day: Saudi Crude Oil Production

If Saudi Arabia’s oil production has peaked, then global production has peaked. From The Oil Drum: Saudi Arabia’s historical crude oil production indicates a peak of 9.6 million barrels/day in 2005. In 2008, crude production was 9.3 mbd. In 2009 it is forecast to be 8.1 mbd followed by an increase in 2010 to 8.5 […]

Glacier National Park to be glacier-free by 2020

From Climate Progress: [I welcome your ideas for a new name for the park. The pictures below are Grinnell Glacier circa 1940, top, and 2004, bottom.] National Geographic News reports the oft-repeated statistic that the glaciers at Montana’s Glacier National Park will disappear by the year 2030 is being revised: But Daniel Fagre, a U.S. […]

India mango crop fails due to changing climate

Vishnu Pandey / Kanpur March 2, 2009, 0:37 IST Rising global temperatures have quashed the hopes of thousands of farmers in Uttar Pradesh. While the trees have blossomed prematurely due to the climatic changes arising from high temperatures, farmers are now worried about the huge losses of the crop, which may occur if there is […]

Dolphins and whales starving as prey species vanish

By Alison Auld, THE CANADIAN PRESS HALIFAX, N.S. – Dolphins, sharks and other large marine species around the world are going hungry as they seek out dwindling supplies of the small, overlooked species they feed on, according to a new study that says overfishing is draining their food sources. In a report released Monday, scientists […]

Median home price in Detroit is $7,500; 1,000 people leave every month; “Nobody left to kill”

From The Big Picture: Here is your utterly insane stat for the weekend: According to the Chicago Tribune, the median price for a home sold in the month of December 2008 in Motor City is Seven Thousand, Five Hundred dollars. I had to write it out that way because I simply couldn’t wrap my head […]

California declares drought emergency

  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday declared a state emergency due to drought and said he would consider mandatory water rationing in the face of nearly $3 billion in economic losses from below-normal rainfall this year. As many as 95,000 agricultural jobs will be lost, communities will be devastated and […]

Graph of the Day: New Home Sales, 1963-2009

From Calculated Risk: New home sales in January 2009 (309 thousand SAAR) were 10.2% lower than last month, and were 48% lower than January 2008 (597 million SAAR). See link for graphs of sales and inventory. There was some discussion that the seasonal adjustment might be distorting the sales number. The following graph of the […]

In India's Sundarbans, Ghoramara Island loses half of its land to rising sea

Sunderbans (West Bengal), Feb 25 (IANS) West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi Wednesday said the shrinking of the Ghoramara Island due to rising sea levels posed a threat not just to India, but to the world as well. ‘The accelerated shrinking of the Ghoramara due to the advancing sea is a threat not just for […]

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