Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

That NASA climate science program Trump axed? House lawmakers just moved to restore it

By Jeffrey Mervis 17 May 2018 (Science News) – A U.S. House of Representatives spending panel voted today to restore a small NASA climate research program that President Donald Trump’s administration had quietly axed. (Click here to read our earlier coverage.)The House appropriations panel that oversees NASA unanimously approved an amendment to a 2019 spending […]

Illegal loggers “cook the books” to harvest Amazon’s most valuable tree

By Jenny Gonzales 24 May 2018 (Mongabay) – Brazil’s Ipê tree is one of the most valuable tree species in the world, and a chief target for illicit deforestation, with primary export markets for its illegally harvested timber especially found in the U.S. and Europe.In the past, a weak licensing system, along with continued indiscriminate, […]

Mussels off Seattle coast test positive for opioids – “There’s a lot of people taking oxycodone in the Puget Sound area”

By Christina Capatides 26 May 2018 (CBS News) – As more and more American communities grapple with opioid addiction, the human toll of the epidemic has grown in both scope and severity. And now, scientists at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have found evidence that drug’s impact has literally flowed downstream to affect […]

Record opium production in Afghanistan threatens sustainable development, latest survey reveals – “Unprecedented amounts of heroin will reach consumer markets across the world”

21 May 2018 (UNODC) – In 2017, opium cultivation in Afghanistan reached a record high with an estimated 328,000 hectares, up 63 per cent compared with 201,000 hectares in 2016.According to the latest survey report released today by UNODC, last year’s record levels of production has led to unprecedented levels of potential heroin production. From […]

Image of the Day: Light pollution from U.S. oil and natural gas fields

By Dipika Kadaba 21 May 2018 (The Revelator) – Humans increasingly live in a world of constant artificial lighting — so much so that it’s easy to forget about the environmental consequences of light pollution. “Light is a symbol of urbanity that changes the experience of any landscape from a human perspective,” says Travis Longcore, […]

Global warming to shift North American fish species north, disrupting fisheries – “Dislocations will happen all over the continent and on both coasts throughout the 21st century”

By Ken Branson 16 May 2018 (Rutgers Today) – Climate change will force hundreds of ocean fish and invertebrate species, including some of the most economically important to the United States, to move northward, disrupting fisheries in the United States and Canada, a Rutgers University-led study reports.The study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, […]

Record flooding expected in Billings, Montana as Yellowstone River rises – “There’s going to be a lot of people in a lot of places that have literally never seen floodwater before”

By Sam Wilson 24 May 2018 (Billings Gazette) – The Yellowstone River in Billings is expected to crest nearly 18 inches above its all-time record flood stage next week, according to updated forecasts released Thursday. The forecast represents a substantially more dire scenario than the flooding expectations on the river that had been forecast just […]

Emails show cooperation among EPA and climate science denialists at Heartland Institute

By Ellen Knickmeyer 26 May 2018 WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – Newly released emails show senior Environmental Protection Agency officials working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming, counter negative news coverage, and promote Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stewardship of the agency. John […]

Kenya flood deaths rise above 200, more than 300,000 displaced

By Simon Ndonga 24 May 2018 Nairobi (AllAfrica) – The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) says the number of deaths resulting from the ongoing heavy rains has risen to slightly over 200. Secretary General Abbas Gullet revealed that those displaced are about 300,000 and 22 counties have been placed under floods watch. “Those who have […]

Flash flood emergency in Ellicott City, Maryland, due to “potentially catastrophic” rainfall

By Jason Samenow 27 May 2018 (The Washington Post) – For the second time two years, Main Street in Ellicott City has been transformed into a raging river due to waves of thunderstorms unloading torrential rain. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the city at 4:40 p.m. and reported multiple water […]

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