Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Photo gallery: The wake of Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines

Typhoon Bopha, an incredibly powerful typhoon, has killed hundreds, triggered landslides and floods and left immeasurable destruction in its path in the Philippines. The death toll stands at over 500 – entire families washed away – many still missing. At least 200 of the victims died in Compostela Valley alone. A muddy wasteland of collapsed […]

Video: Exxon hates your children

5 December 2012 (other98) – FINALLY: A TV ad that tells it like it is: EXXON HATES YOUR CHILDREN. Go to http://ExxonHatesYourChildren.com if you want to see it on national television! (And go straight to http://bit.ly/XuuWsK to donate.) What would YOU spend the $10 billion on instead? Exxon Hates Your Children via Tamino Technorati Tags: […]

2012: The end of Earth’s Arctic Era

By Larry O’Hanlon 6 December 2012 This year’s record ice melts in Greenland and the Arctic ocean aren’t flukes, but confirmation that the Arctic is racing ahead into a new and unknown climate state, said top US climate scientists today. The announcement came with the release today of the 2012 Arctic Report Card, which calls […]

Graph of the Day: Value of Logs and Sawn Timber Imports Into China From All Countries, 2000-2011

China is now the biggest importer, exporter, and consumer of illegal timber in the world. Its footprint impacts vital forest ecosystems ranging from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar to remote areas of Africa. With domestic forests incapable of meeting surging demand, China has a gaping and growing timber deficit that can only be filled by […]

Africa’s lion population plummets by two thirds in 50 years, study finds

By Miguel Llanos, NBC News6 December 2012 Africa’s lions are running out of habitat and some populations, especially those in West Africa, are running toward extinction, according to a study published Tuesday. Using new satellite data, a research team at Duke University found that about 75 percent of Africa’s savannahs were fragmented by farmers and […]

Doha climate talks stall over draft text wording

By Fiona Harvey7 December 2012 Doha, Qatar (guardian.co.uk) – Talks aimed at a global agreement on climate change appeared stalled on Friday, with countries failing to agree on the wording of the draft texts that will form the outcome of the fortnight-long UN conference in Doha. Delegates reported “tough going” and “frustratingly slow progress”, as […]

Death toll from Typhoon Bopha tops 500 in Philippines

NEW BATAAN, Philippines, 7 December 2012 (AP) – Rescuers were digging through mud and debris Friday to retrieve more bodies strewn across a farming valley in the southern Philippines by a powerful typhoon. The death toll from the storm has surpassed 500, with more than 400 people missing. More than 310,000 people have lost their […]

Asian cities’ air quality getting worse, experts warn

By BETTINA WASSENER5 December 2012 HONG KONG (The New York Times) – Air pollution has worsened markedly in Asian cities in recent years and presents a growing threat to human health, according to experts at a conference that began on Wednesday [Better Air Quality Hong Kong 2012]. Clean Air Asia, a regional network on air-quality […]

Global warming worries Indians

By Jayanta Basu 2 December 2012 Doha, Qatar (Telegraph India) – The majority of people in India, China and America believe their governments “should be doing more” to address global warming and climate change, says a study released today. About 54 per cent Indians want their government to be more proactive on climate, while the […]

Permafrost thaw to cause more global warming, not yet accounted for in climate predictions

Doha, 27 November 2012 (UNEP) – Permafrost covering almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere contains 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon, twice that currently in the atmosphere, and could significantly amplify global warming should thawing accelerate as expected, according to a new report released today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Warming permafrost can also radically […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial