Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

A successful climate change conference in Paris is the best response to Daesh/ISIS brutality

By Corinne Lepage15 November 2015 (Huffington Post) – Certain people have perhaps been thinking, after the immense shock of the attacks of November 13, that the only thing that matters from now on, as a response to terrorism, is a security reinforcement, and of course, a reexamination of our priorities– since ISIS has declared war […]

At least half of coral around Hawaii island hit by ‘unprecedented level of coral bleaching’

By Graham Milldrum9 November 2015 KAILUA-KONA (West Hawaii Today) – The results of Bleachapalooza, the recent statewide attempt to survey coral bleaching, shows that it’s been more severe on West Hawaii compared to the east side of the state — with some species showing nearly 100 percent bleaching, one of the organizers reported. “These reports […]

Video: Pilot whale tied and drowned by Japan hunters as entire pod is slaughtered – One whale ‘heard crying out loudly as it swam through the water that had turned red with the blood of its family’

25 November 2015 (SSCS) – A pod of pilot whales driven into the infamous killing cove on Nov. 19 (Japan time) was traumatized and held without food or shelter for three days; one was later taken captive, the remainder were killed or dumped at sea. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s Cove Guardian volunteers have captured extremely […]

Japan under fire over decision to resume illegal whale slaughter in Southern Ocean – ‘The pristine waters of the Southern Ocean are once again under threat from poachers’

By Paul Gallagher28 November 2015 (The Guardian) – Japan is set to resume whaling early next year, after a break of more than 12 months, in defiance of an international court of justice ruling that it cease the practice. The Japanese government says it has taken into account the court ruling and its “scientific” whaling […]

As U.S. approaches Paris climate summit, Republicans push back – ‘It is fair to conclude that the whole point of this exercise is to chill and to deter NOAA scientists’

  By Alan Neuhauser 18 November 2015 (U.S. News) – As President Barack Obama and world leaders build momentum toward an international climate agreement next month in Paris, Republican lawmakers are digging in their heels deeper than ever. GOP Senators on Tuesday night voted 52-46 in two largely symbolic, mostly party-line votes to scuttle Obama’s […]

Hundreds of thousands can’t drink their water after massive mine flood in Brazil

By Samantha Page16 November 2015 (Climate Progress) – Nine people are dead, 19 are missing, and 250,000 still don’t have drinking water two weeks after two dams at a mine in Brazil collapsed, sending 15.8 billion gallons of waste-laden water and sludge though downstream towns in the state of Minas Gerais, about 250 miles north […]

El Niño may trigger floods, famine, and sickness in much of the world – ‘Some people like to say it has positive aspects, but generally speaking it’s doom and gloom’

By Monte Morin28 November 2015 (Los Angeles Times) – A fog of suffocating smoke settles over the Indonesian countryside, sickening hundreds of thousands of people and triggering an environmental crisis. In Peru, officials abandon plans to host the lucrative Dakar Rally and prepare instead for torrential rains and devastating floods. And in Ethiopia, crops perish […]

Paris global warming conference: Public support for tough climate deal ‘declines’

By Matt McGrath 27 November 2015 (BBC News) – Public support for a strong global deal on climate change has declined, according to a poll carried out in 20 countries. Only four now have majorities in favour of their governments setting ambitious targets at a global conference in Paris. In a similar poll before the […]

Pollution crisis in Lake Baikal – ‘All the sanitary and epidemiological indicators are far below standards’

By Olga Gertcyck20 November 2015 (Siberian Times) – Famed for the purest water on the planet, but this ‘is no longer true’ with ‘no drinking’ warning in southern part of lake. One of the wonders of the world, Baikal is Russia’s jewel, but it is now facing severe pollution, according to stark new warnings. It’s […]

U.S. breaks all-time wildfire record – More than 9.8 million acres burned in 2015

26 November 2015 (Desdemona Despair) – Because 2015 is certain to be the hottest year on record globally, it’s reasonable to expect that it will also be the worst year for wildfires. In the U.S., this has turned out to be the case: wildfires in 2015 have exceeded the record of 9.8 million acres (3.9 […]

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