Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Record rainfall causes severe flooding in San Antonio, Texas – ‘We ask San Antonians to please stay off the roads and stay at home’

25 May 2013 (CNN) – Flooding has left one person dead and another missing in San Antonio, Texas, authorities said Saturday. The fatality occurred when a woman was swept from her vehicle, fire department spokesman Christian Bove told CNN. Her body was found along a creek, he said. Bove said the department has been involved […]

Why happy people hide from climate change

22 May 2013 (Takepart.com) – Ignorance may be bliss, but bliss also leads to ignorance—at least when it comes to climate change. New research found that when people have positive feelings toward climate change, such as hopefulness or excitement, they are more likely to avoid seeking information about it. Those who felt concerned, anxious or […]

UN Secretary-General warns: ‘Economic losses from disasters are out of control’

Contact the UNISDR press office: Denis McClean: +41-79-444-5262 (mobile) Maria Hasan: +1-917-367-72070 or +1-917-856-2014 (mobile) Andrew McElroy: +41-79-217-3023 (mobile) NEW YORK, 15 May 2013 – The United Nations today issued a stark warning to the world’s business community that economic losses linked to disasters are “out of control” and will continue to escalate unless disaster […]

Florida manatees dying in record numbers – 11 percent of total population died in January-May 2013 period

By Jennifer Mishler23 May 2013 (Sea Shepherd Jacksonville) – Manatees are beloved here in Florida, and we saw just how much at this year’s Manatee Festival in Crystal River raising awareness about the endangered animals. Aside from their lovable nature, manatees are important to the marine ecosystem as grazers of seagrass and other vegetation. However, […]

Delaware’s Sussex county declines to vote on proposed sea-level rise responses – Republican council member says climate scientists ‘Have no facts … no science. It’s almost B.S., to be honest with you.’

By Jeff Montgomery 24 May 2013 (The News Journal) – In a symbolic blow to state climate change adaption efforts, the Delaware county with most at stake in future sea-level rise forecasts abruptly declined to take any stand on the issue Thursday as a state panel approved dozens of recommendations for dealing with the threat. […]

Colorado state climatologist says the High Park Fire gave him the courage to talk about climate change – ‘I have feared persecution at times in the past. I don’t fear it now.’

By Bobby Magill 23 May 2013 (The Coloradoan) – Nolan Doesken used to have a hard time talking about climate change. The topic has become so politically combustible that some scientists and researchers find it difficult to speak of or write about. But, after the High Park Fire swept the foothills in 2012, Doesken decided […]

Russia to evacuate Arctic station over melting ice – ‘No chance of surviving through this summer’

23 May 2013 (BBC) – A Russian drifting Arctic research station is to be evacuated because the ice field around it is melting, the environment ministry in Moscow reports. The ministry has ordered an evacuation plan to be drawn up within three days for North Pole 40 and its staff of 16. It is sending […]

Study finds alarming declines in U.S. amphibians, even in protected areas – Many species will disappear from half of habitats in 20 years

By Timothy B. Wheeler22 May 2013 (The Baltimore Sun) – Some of springtime’s more notable heralds appear to be fading away, as a new study finds frogs, toads and salamanders disappearing at an alarming rate across the United States. In what they say is the first analysis of its kind, scientists with the U.S. Geological […]

Forget Peak Oil, start worrying about Peak Water – Between 1900 and 2008, the US lost 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles) of groundwater

By Todd Woody20 May 2013 (Quartz) – A report released today by the US Geological Survey (USGS) today shows that Americans are sucking dry the aquifers that irrigate their crops and supply their drinking water. Between 1900 and 2008, the US lost 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles) of groundwater. That’s twice the volume of […]

Climate-change disasters worry UN – ‘Natural disasters are not only becoming more frequent but are becoming more vehement’

New York, 22 May 2013 (AFP) – The world needs to wake up to the risk of a spike in natural disasters linked to climate change and strive to find ways to cut the human and economic cost, the United Nations warned yesterday. “We live in a time of huge natural disasters which are made […]

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