Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

U.S. military prepares for global unrest amid climate fears

By Marlene Cimons, Climate Nexus12 July 2013 (LiveScience) – Though Earth’s shifting climate evokes many images, civil unrest usually isn’t one of them. Yet, a warming planet could have a profound impact on national security, both in the United States and abroad. This time, the threat isn’t from terrorism or a single enemy, but from […]

Does end time belief really cause climate change apathy?

By ROBIN GLOBUS VELDMAN 5 July 2013 (Religion Dispatch) – End time belief has an almost salacious appeal in America—and not just to the four out of ten Americans who believe that Jesus Christ will return to Earth by 2050. At least since the Millerites were laughed off the national stage in 1844, watching prophecy […]

Graph of the Day: State of the world’s fishery stocks, 1974 and 2009

(FAO) – Major marine stocks are shrinking rapidly. The proportion of stocks estimated to be under- or moderately exploited declined from 40 percent in the mid-1970s to 12 percent in 2009. In contrast, the proportion of overexploited, depleted or recovering stocks increased from 10 percent in 1974 to 30 percent in 2009. The proportion of […]

Renowned whale expert studying effect of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Gulf of Mexico sperm whales – ‘Every step of the food chain you get about a 10 times increase in the concentration of a contaminant’

By Dennis Pillion12 July 2013 PENSACOLA, Florida (al.com) – To get a better understanding of the full impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, renowned marine scientist Roger Payne is thinking big. That is to say, he’s looking at sperm whales, one of the largest inhabitants of the Gulf and the largest of the […]

Mexico’s cities not ready for climate change – ‘The municipalities are waiting for the federal government to act, because they are completely overwhelmed’

By Emilio Godoy12 July 2013 PROGRESO, Mexico (IPS) – Towns on Mexico’s Caribbean coast are behind schedule on the design and implementation of plans to face the challenges of climate change, in spite of the urgency of measures to reduce vulnerability. The country’s 2012 General Law on Climate Change requires state and municipal governments to […]

Kimmel Kartoon: You’re Screwed

“So, you’re saying my generation faces the imminent prospect of a bleak and potentially apocalyptic future?” 12 July 2013 Jimmy Kimmel Live – Kimmel Kartoon – “You’re Screwed” Jimmy Kimmel Live’s YouTube channel features clips and recaps of every episode from the late night TV show on ABC. Subscribe for clips from the monologue, the […]

Daily Telegraph misquotes Arctic oceanographer to dismiss concerns over sea ice decline

By Gavin Schmidt8 July 2013 (RealClimate) – At the weekend, Christopher Booker at the Daily Telegraph made another attempt (see previous) to downplay the obvious decreases in Arctic sea ice by (mis-)quoting a statement from Arctic oceanographer Ken Drinkwater and colleagues: Panic over Arctic ice – what else can the warmists get wrong? As evidence […]

Extreme heat reveals extreme infrastructure challenges

By Claire Thompson9 Jul 2013 (Grist) – Having trouble beating the heat this summer? Imagine how your infrastructure feels. Last summer, we told you about extreme heat leading to buckling roads, melting runways, and kinky railroad tracks. Now we’re also hearing about droopy power lines and grounded airplanes. NPR’s Science Friday hosted a discussion last […]

Sumatra haze fires concentrated in deforested peatlands, not forest areas, satellite analysis confirms – Palm oil and pulp and paper companies are responsible

10 July 2013 (mongabay.com) – A new mapping tool based on NASA satellite data confirms that the majority of fires that drove the recent haze over Sumatra and Malaysia were concentrated in deforested peatlands and scrub, rather than natural forest areas. The interactive fire risk tool, developed by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), […]

Murder of turtle conservationist highlights perils of protecting Costa Rica’s environmental wealth – ‘The same people who want to sell drugs are the same people who come to the beach and kill turtles’

By Lindsay Fendt 9 July 2013 (Tico Times) – The murder of 26-year-old Jairo Mora in late May exposed cracks in the country’s international environmental image, and proved that protecting nature sometimes has a terrible cost. Costa Rican park rangers switched out their muck boots for loafers and converged on San José two weeks ago […]

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