Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Factcheck: Is Europe getting off coal?

11 April 2017 (Greenpeace) – Last week EU energy industry group Eurelectric released what seems on the surface to be a seismic announcement.With just a few exceptions, Europe’s utilities pledged that they would stop investing in new coal plants after 2020.The Guardian declared it “the end of coal” in Europe, and the story even found […]

Indigenous and environmental rights under attack in Brazil, UN rights experts warn

8 June 2017 (United Nations) – Human rights experts from the United Nations and an inter-American organization have denounced attacks on indigenous and environmental rights in Brazil, expressing concern over a Congressional report that accuses the UN of being “a confederation of non-governmental organizations influencing Brazilian policy.”“The rights of indigenous peoples and environmental rights are […]

Polluted environments kill 1.4 million in Europe and Central Asia annually

13 June 2017 (United Nations) – As some 1.4 million people in Europe and Central Asia die prematurely each year from polluted environments, United Nations agency heads at high-level meeting call for regional leaders to scale up action to stem environmental deaths and diseases.“In the era of Sustainable Development, we can prevent the 1.4 million […]

Ongoing forest destruction has put Asia-Pacific at risk of missing global development targets – “Forests continue to be degraded and lost at a rate of 3.3 million hectares per year”

15 May 2017 (United Nations) – The destruction of forests in many Asian countries continues apace, threatening the realization of global sustainable development goals by the 2030 deadline, according to the United Nations agricultural agency.“While forests are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they continue to be degraded and lost at a rate […]

Global warming is catching up with gardeners: just look at the Chelsea flower show

By Robbie Blackhall-Miles 9 June 2017 (The Guardian) – It hit me like a smack in the face. This year’s RHS Chelsea flower show was quite blatant in showcasing the effects of climate change; you may not have noticed though. Most people visiting the show or tuning into the BBC coverage were homed in on […]

Experts identify 12 major epicenters of climate risks to international security

Oxford, UK, 9 June 2017 (The Center for Climate and Security) – Security experts have identified 12 key climatic risks to international security that may shape the geostrategic landscape of the 21st century. These 12 risks are explored in a multi-author volume by the Center for Climate and Security and partners titled Epicenters of Climate […]

Trump administration cancels new protection for endangered West Coast whales

By Ellen Knickmeyer 12 June 2017 SAN FRANCISCO (Associated Press) – The Trump administration on Monday threw out a new rule intended to limit the numbers of endangered whales and sea turtles getting caught in fishing nets off the West Coast, even though the fishing industry had proposed the measure. The National Marine Fisheries Service […]

Peatlands, already dwindling, could face further losses – “There is a tremendous amount of peatland in Southeast Asia, but almost all of it has been deforested”

By David Chandler 12 June 2017 (MIT News) – Tropical peat swamp forests, which once occupied large swaths of Southeast Asia and other areas, provided a significant “sink” that helped remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But such forests have been disappearing fast due to clear-cutting and drainage projects making way for plantations. Now, research […]

Scientists just published a study refuting EPA head’s claim of “leveling off of global warming”

By Chris Mooney 24 May 2017 (The Washington Post) – In a sign of growing tensions between scientists and the Trump administration, researchers published a scientific paper Wednesday that was conceived and written as an explicit refutation to an assertion by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt about climate change.The study, in the journal Nature […]

The Larsen C ice shelf collapse hammers home the reality of global warming

By John Abraham 12 June 2017 (The Guardian) – Very soon, a large portion of an ice shelf in Antarctica will break off and collapse into the ocean. The name of the ice shelf is Larsen C; it is a major extension from of the West Antarctic ice sheet, and its health has implications for […]

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