Blogging the End of the World™
Spain loses 90% of its glaciers thanks to global warming, threatening drought as rivers dry up by Giles Tremlett The Pyrenees mountains have lost almost 90% of their glacier ice over the past century, according to scientists who warn that global warning means they will disappear completely within a few decades. While glaciers covered 3,300 […]
MELBOURNE, Feb 26 (AFP) Feb 26, 2009 – Hundreds of Australian schools and childcare centres will be closed Friday because of a resurgent threat from wildfires that have already killed more than 200 people, officials said. … Temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) are expected across the state on Friday, raising fears that […]
From Calculated Risk: The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 309 thousand. This is the lowest sales rate the Census Bureau has ever recorded (starting in 1963). The graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions for the last 45 years. New Home sales have fallen […]
By Tara Ravens NORTHERN Australia is facing a fresh wave of potentially catastrophic mammal extinctions, experts warn. Australia has the worst mammal extinction record in the world, with 22 mammals becoming extinct in the last 200 years. Scientists now say the evidence suggests Australia is on the cusp of another wave. Over 40 scientists […]
Black Saturday Recount By Ioan Thomas The fire that hit Victoria on “Black Saturday” was one that had never been seen in Australia before. Victoria had gone through “Ash Wednesday” in 1983 and “Black Friday” in 1939. Australia’s capital city, Canberra, was badly damaged in 2004 by bushfires, with over 500 houses destroyed and four […]
By Michael Wines QIAOBEI, China: In this tiny hamlet in northern China’s wheat belt, Zheng Songxian scrapes out a living growing winter wheat on a vest-pocket plot, an eighth of a hectare carved out of a rocky hillside. One might think he would greet the chance this winter to till new land as cause for […]
AP – Antarctic glaciers are melting faster across a much wider area than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday — a development that could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels. A report by thousands of scientists for the 2007-2008 International Polar Year concluded that the western part of the continent is warming up, not […]
From Calculated Risk: Both the monthly indices (20 cities and 2 composites) and the quarterly national index were released this morning. I’ll have more on the national index shortly. The Composite 10 is off 19.2% over the last year. The Composite 20 is off 18.5% over the last year. These are the worst year-over-year price […]
From Calculated Risk: This graph shows the overall consumer confidence index from the Conference Board (graph from Northern Trust). The Present Situation Index (not shown) is low, but not as low as in some earlier recessions (the Present Situation Index is at 21.2, it fell to 16.2 in 1982). What pulled down the overall index […]
From Not Exactly Rocket Science: In late 2007, seabirds off the coast of California began to die in record numbers. The waterproof nature of their feathers and been wrecked, and they were soaked to the skin. Without an insulating layer of air trapped within their plumage, the damp birds were suffering from extreme cold. These […]
