Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Trump disbands federal advisory committee on global warming – “We’re going to be running huge risks here and possibly end up hurting the next generation’s economic prospects”

By Juliet Eilperin 20 August 2017 (The Washington Post) – The Trump administration has decided to disband the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate the government’s climate analysis into long-term planning.The charter for the 15-person Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment […]

Scott Pruitt is dismantling EPA in secret for the same reason the GOP health care bill was secret

By David Roberts 14 August 2017 (Vox) – The New York Times had a big story on Friday about EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s propensity to operate in secret. It offers a detailed and damning review of the evidence, but it stops short of drawing the broader conclusion: namely, that the approach of serving industry under […]

Record breaking aerosol index values from Canada forest fires – “These are remarkably high values”

By Colin Seftor 15 August 2017 (NASA) – I plan to post more about smoke from the fires burning both in Canada and Russia. But I did want to post this particular item. Over the last couple of days, OMPS has recorded the largest aerosol index values ever seen since TOMS measurements started in 1978 […]

National Butterfly Center issues plea for help against imminent destruction for Trump border fence

20 July 2017 (National Butterfly Center) – The surveyor’s stakes marking the 150 ft “clearing zone” for Trump’s Border Fence appeared at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX, on Thursday, 20 July 2017, along with a work crew with chainsaws and heavy equipment.  When Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the nonprofit center confronted […]

Record flooding affects 16 million in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India – “This is fast becoming one of the most serious humanitarian crises this region has seen in many years”

18 August 2017 (Hindustan Times) – A humanitarian crisis is unfolding across large areas of South Asia, with more than 16 million people affected by monsoon floods in Nepal, Bangladesh and India, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in statement in Kathmandu on Friday.  “This is fast becoming one of […]

Global warming projected to increase harmful algal blooms in U.S. freshwaters significantly – “The impact of climate change goes way beyond warmer air temperatures, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers”

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, 15 August 2017 (Tufts Now) – Harmful algal blooms known to pose risks to human and environmental health in large freshwater reservoirs and lakes are projected to increase because of climate change, according to a team of researchers led by a Tufts University scientist. The team developed a modeling framework that predicts that the […]

CarbonBrief: Why U.S. carbon emissions have fallen 14 percent since 2005

By Zeke Hausfather 15 August 2017 (CarbonBrief) – Before 2005, U.S. carbon emissions were marching upwards year after year, with little sign of slowing down. After this point, they fell quickly, declining 14% from their peak by the end of 2016.Researchers have given a number of different reasons for this marked turnaround. Some have argued […]

Long wildfire season in British Columbia exhausting for firefighters, emergency personnel

By Greg Fry 19 August 2017 Williams Lake, B.C. (250 News) – This summer has been the worst wildfire season on record in British Columbia and as a result those fighting the blazes and others working in emergency management have been working harder than ever. However, Chris Duffy, executive director of operations with Emergency Management […]

British Columbia wildfires now worst on record

VANCOUVER, 19 August 2017 (Xinhua) – The Canadian province of British Columbia has extended its state of emergency to Sept. 1 as its residents and fire crews continue to deal with what has become the worst wildfire season on record. The province-wide state of emergency means that those fighting the fires and dealing with the […]

Alaska towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm as Trump pulls federal help – “It feels like a complete abdication of responsibility on climate change”

By Oliver Milman 10 August 2017 NEW YORK (The Guardian) – The US government’s withdrawal from dealing with, or even acknowledging, climate change may have provoked widespread opprobrium, but for Alaskan communities at risk of toppling into the sea, the risks are rather more personal.The Trump administration has moved to dismantle climate adaptation programs including […]

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