Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Obesity rates reach historic highs in more U.S. states

By Sharon Begley; Editing by Ken Wills4 September 2014 NEW YORK (Reuters) – Rates of adult obesity increased in six U.S. states and fell in none last year, and in more states than ever – 20 – at least 30 percent of adults are obese, according to an analysis released on Thursday. The conclusions were […]

Tensions running high as annual dolphin slaughter starts in Taiji, Japan

TAIJI, Wakayama Prefecture, 2 September 2014 (Asahi Shimbun) – This coastal community’s annual dolphin hunt kicked off Sept. 1, and foreign anti-whaling activists were out in force to protest the slaughter as dozens of police officers stood by to keep the peace. Taiji is regarded as the cradle of traditional whaling in Japan. Ever since […]

33 whales slaughtered in Faroese Grind hunt – Danish Navy intervenes to protect whale poachers – 14 Sea Shepherd volunteers arrested

By Captain Paul Watson30 August 2014 Faroes Update Total Sea Shepherd Arrests 17 All taken by helicopter to Torshaven. Number of whales murdered: 33. Cheering adults and kids on the scene celebrating the death of the whales and the arrests, All excellent images for the case we intend to build against Denmark. Crew arrested from […]

TEPCO: More than 150 billion Bq per day of radioactive isotopes discharged to Pacific Ocean from Fukushima plant

26 August 2014 (SimplyInfo) – TEPCO made the startling admission today at a press conference that the plant is leaking 8 billion bequerels per day (8 gigabequerels). 5 billion bq of strontium-90 2 billion bq of cesium-137 1 billion bq of tritium (later corrected to 150 billion bq) This is the ongoing daily release to […]

Graph of the Day: Change in net worth of U.S. households from 2000 to 2011

By Robert Frank    21 Aug 2014 (CNBC) – The gap between the wealthiest and the poorest Americans widened over the past decade, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. It also grew between younger and older families. The report on household net worth showed that median net worth for the country as a […]

Choking the oceans with plastic

By Charles J. Moore25 August 2014 LOS ANGELES (The New York Times) – The world is awash in plastic. It’s in our cars and our carpets, we wrap it around the food we eat and virtually every other product we consume; it has become a key lubricant of globalization — but it’s choking our future […]

Video: Tourists rescue endangered sea turtles from poacher – Turtles were tied up and left to suffocate

By Kristina Bravo27 August 2014  (Take Part) – The sight of two suffocating turtles, on their backs with fins tied up, horrified tourists on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. Thanks to their quick thinking, the animals were returned safely to sea. A video posted on YouTube Monday shows tourists rescuing two loggerhead turtles, each weighing about […]

After 90 percent decline, Federal protection sought for monarch butterfly – ‘The widespread decline of monarchs is driven by the massive spraying of herbicides on genetically engineered crops’

Contact:  Tierra Curry, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 522-3681Abigail Seiler, Center for Food Safety, (443) 854-4368 Lincoln Brower, Sweet Briar College, (434) 277-5065Sarina Jepsen, Xerces Society, (971) 244-3727 26 August 2014 WASHINGTON (CBD) – The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety as co-lead petitioners joined by the Xerces Society and renowned monarch […]

Photo gallery: Drought in California

By Justin Sullivan20 August 2014 (theguardian.com) – As the severe drought continues for a third year, water levels in the state’s lakes and reservoirs are reaching historic lows. [more] Drought in California – in pictures Technorati Tags: California,North America,drought,freshwater depletion,climate change

Numerous methane seeps found on Atlantic sea floor – ‘They found that there was much more methane coming out than was suspected beforehand’

By Eric Hand24 August 2014 (Science) – And up through the ground came a bubbling greenhouse gas. Researchers have discovered 570 plumes of methane percolating up from the sea floor off the eastern coast of the United States, a surprisingly high number of seeps in a relatively quiescent part of the ocean. The seeps suggest […]

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