Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Red tides kill seabirds with ‘soapy’ foam

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 […]

Argentina drought kills more than one million cattle

BBC – We have a special report from Argentina on a devastating drought that has killed more than a million cattle. The plight of Argentina’s farmers Technorati Tags: Argentina,drought,financial collapse

Graph of the Day: Deforestation in Papua New Guinea, 1972-2002

by Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com Nearly one quarter of Papua New Guinea’s rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002, report researchers writing in the journal Biotopica. The results, which were published in a report last June, show that Papua New Guinea is losing forests at a much faster rate than previously believed. Over […]

Desdemona has left the building

I’ll be in the woods, recharging my batteries. Next post on Monday.

Unprecedented global warming in past year

From Climate Progress: From January 2008 to January 2009, the planet warmed a remarkable 0.37°C (see data here). This is 20 times (!) the annual rate of warming in recent decades and 20 times what most climate models have projected we should be experiencing. The N.Y. Times and WSJ have made this stunning news of […]

Signs of the times: images of global glut

From Greenbang: Interested in seeing some visual evidence of the global financial meltdown? We’ve found some fascinating links to images that demonstrate clearly the crash in demand for consumer goods. For example, how many people aren’t buying cars these days? Check out The Truth About Cars’ “Worldwide Auto Inventory Glut in Pictures.” It’s pretty incredible. […]

Most southern hemisphere plant species face extinction

by Deborah Smith, Science Editor MOST southern hemisphere plants – except for weeds – will not be able to adapt to rapid climate change, a study of more than 11,000 species suggests. Researchers, including the Sydney botanist Peter Weston, traced the history of plants that live in a range of different habitats including bogs, alpine […]

Graph of the Day: Architectural Billings Index, 1996-2008

From Calculated Risk: The American Institute of Architects reports: Another Historic Low for Architecture Billings Index Note that historically there is an “approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending”. The ABI fell off a cliff in early 2008 and we are just starting to see that decline show up […]

Andean glaciers could disappear in 20 years: World Bank

LIMA (AFP) – Andean glaciers and the region’s permanently snow-covered peaks could disappear in 20 years if no measures are taken to tackle climate change, the World Bank warned Tuesday. A World Bank-published report said rising temperatures due to global warming could also have a dramatic impact on water management in the Andean region, with […]

Global warming destabilizing entire Arctic Ocean ecosystem

Scientists involved in the most comprehensive study of life in the oceans ever conducted have documented changes in species distribution in the polar regions as warmer oceans spur migration by Jessica Aldred Global warming is changing the distribution, abundance and diversity of marine life in the polar seas with "profound" implications for creatures further up […]

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