Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Global rankings study shows America in rapid decline – U.S. #1 in incarcerated citizens per capita, adult onset diabetes, and belief in angels

By CJ Werleman9 April 2014 (AlterNet) – If America needed a reminder that it is fast becoming a second-rate nation, and that every economic policy of the Republican Party is wrongheaded, it got one this week with the release of the Social Progress Index (SPI). Harvard business professor Michael E. Porter, who earlier developed the […]

Drought drives U.S. beef prices to all-new highs

By Jeff Spross    9 April 2014 (Climate Progress) – USDA choice-grade beef hit a record $5.28 in February, according to the LA Times, and drought is the culprit. Years of sometimes record-setting dry spells have punished the western and southern United States recently, cutting down crops like hay and corn that serve as cattle feed. […]

Death toll in Valparaiso wildfire rises to 16 – 10,000 residents evacuated, 500 homes consumed – ‘It’s been one of the worst fires in history’

By Nelson Quinones and Matt Smith; with additional reporting by Michael Roa and Ben Brumfield13 April 2014 (CNN) – Chile poured firefighters and police into the battle against a wildfire that swept through hundreds of homes in the Pacific coastal city of Valparaiso, leaving at least 16 dead, according to Chile’s National Emergency Office’s website. […]

FAO Food Price Index rose sharply for a second consecutive month

3 April 2014 (FAO) – The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices, weighted with the average export shares of each of the groups for 2002-2004. » The FAO Food Price […]

New York Times publishes dishonest attacks on Showtime’s landmark series about climate change

By Joe Romm    9 April 2014 (Climate Progress) – The good news is the video of episode one of Showtime’s climate series, Years Of Living Dangerously, has been getting great reviews in The New York Times and elsewhere. The bad news is the Times has published an error-riddled hit-job op-ed on the series that is […]

Unprecedented floods leave half of Solomon Islands’ capital without access to water

9 April 2014 (Radio Australia) – Authorities say it could be weeks before water supplies to the capital of Solomon Islands are restored. Last week, unprecedented flooding in the Pacific island nation claimed the lives of 23 people and left 9,000 homeless. It also wreaked havoc on Honiara’s water mains, with around 50 per cent […]

Heartland Institute’s Joe Bast attacks climate science on Fox News

By SHAUNA THEEL8 April 2014 (Media Matters) – Fox News is suggesting a report by the Heartland Institute “debunked” a top climate change report while obscuring the background of the organization, which previously denied the science demonstrating the dangers of tobacco and secondhand smoke. On Fox News’ America’s Newsroom and America’s News Headquarters, Heartland Institute […]

Video: Warmer winters killing New Hampshire moose as ticks eat them alive – ‘Literally, this is the walking dead’

7 April 2014 (NPR) JUDY WOODRUFF: In northern New England researchers are increasingly worried about what’s happening to one of the region’s iconic animals, the moose. Their numbers are significantly declining, and investigators are trying to find out whether warmer winters in recent years may be a big part of the problem. Hari Sreenivasan reports […]

From seals to starfish: polar bears radically shift diet as habitat melts

By Andrew Mann 7 April 2014 (mongabay.com) – One of the most iconic species of the ongoing climate change drama, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have dropped in numbers as their habitat melts, with previous estimates forecasting a further 30 percent reduction within three generations. However, their situation may not be as dire as it seems. […]

Beneath U.S. cities, a decaying tangle of gas pipes –‘It’s like Russian roulette’

By PATRICK McGEEHAN, RUSS BUETTNER, and DAVID W. CHEN23 March 2014 (The New York Times) – It is a danger hidden beneath the streets of New York City, unseen and rarely noticed: 6,302 miles of pipes transporting natural gas. Leaks, like the one that is believed to have led to the explosion that killed eight […]

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