Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

As continental U.S. freezes, Alaska gets record high temperatures

By Sam Carana4 February 2014 (Arctic News) – While much of the continental United States endured several cold snaps in January 2014, record-breaking warmth gripped Alaska. Spring-like conditions set rivers rising and avalanches tumbling. NASA Earth Observatory illustrates these words with the image above. The above map depicts land surface temperature anomalies in Alaska for […]

Global warming cuts winter ice season by 24 days, thinning Arctic lake ice – ‘We were stunned to observe such a dramatic ice decline during a period of only 20 years’

Contact: Nick Manning, University of Waterloo, 519-888-4451, 226-929-76273 February 2014 (University of Waterloo) – Arctic lakes have been freezing up later in the year and thawing earlier, creating a winter ice season about 24 days shorter than it was in 1950, a University of Waterloo study has found. The research, sponsored by the European Space […]

Republicans in U.S. face backlash for embracing climate science – ‘Andrew Breitbart called for the assassination of climate scientist Dr. James Hansen’

By D. R. Tucker4 February 2014 (Coffee Party USA) – I appreciate your courage in having Mr. Inglis on The Matt Lewis Show — and I do mean courage, since I recognize that it’s far easier to ridicule Inglis as a RINO (Republican in Name Only) than it is to engage with his arguments. You […]

Americans’ mental health is latest victim of changing climate – ‘I felt like the joy was out of my life. I still haven’t recaptured it.’

By Marlene Cimons   31 January 2014 (LiveScience) – For months after Hurricane Sandy sent nearly six feet of water surging into her home in Long Beach, N.Y. — an oceanfront city along Long Island’s south shore — retired art teacher Marcia Bard Isman woke up many mornings feeling anxious and nauseated. She had headaches, and […]

Alberta tar sands toxins with Keystone XL link underestimated – ‘The officially reported emissions are very likely too low’

By Bobby Magill3 February 2014 (Climate Central) – One of the biggest concerns about producing crude oil from the Alberta tar sands is its impact on climate change, which has been a major part of the debate about whether the Keystone XL Pipeline should be built. A new University of Toronto-Scarborough study published Monday says […]

Global warming reveals preserved bodies of World War 1 soldiers as glaciers melt in northern Italy

By Laura Spinney13 January 2014 (Daily Telegraph) – At first glance Peio is a small alpine ski resort like many others in northern Italy. In winter it is popular with middle-class Italians as well as, increasingly, Russian tourists. In summer there’s good hiking in the Stelvio National Park. It has a spa, shops that sell […]

Increased climate stress causing extensive change to Australia’s eucalypt ecosystems

By Lucy Cormack13 January 2014 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Australia’s standing as the home among the gumtrees could be challenged, with increased climate stress causing extensive change to Australia’s eucalypt ecosystems. A study by the National Environmental Research Program’s Environmental Decisions Hub has found that climate stress on eucalypts will mean many of Australia’s 750 […]

Graph of the Day: Worldwide population estimates of large-carnivore species

10 January 2014 (Science) – Worldwide population estimates of large-carnivore species. Error bars represent the low and high range of the estimates when available. Population estimates were not available for all species. Species ranges vary widely, and range sizes can have a strong influence on species population levels (table S1). Sources: Gray wolf (90), all […]

Mexico is saving sharks while Australia kills them

By Valerie Craig 30 January 2014 (National Geographic) – There was great news out of Mexico this week when the Mexican government announced a permanent ban on fishing for great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). The measure applies to national waters on both coasts and is notable because it means that white sharks caught accidentally – […]

California drought: 17 communities at risk of running dry

By Kurtis Alexander30 January 2014 (San Francisco Chronicle) – It is a bleak roadmap of the deepening crisis brought on by one of California’s worst droughts – a list of 17 communities and water districts that within 100 days could run dry of the state’s most precious commodity. The threatened towns and districts, identified this […]

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