Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Romney and Obama ignore coal’s dark side

By the Editors 17 October 2012 Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have traded barbs over coal in both their debates, each accusing the other of failing to champion the fuel. It’s a shame that neither U.S. presidential candidate acknowledges the difficult economic reality coal now faces, or mentions that this form of power still produces […]

Combined pesticide exposure severely affects individual- and colony-level traits in bees

By Charlotte Stoddart21 October 2012 Bees, the most important pollinators of crops, are in trouble. All over the world, their populations are decreasing and scientists and farmers want to know why. In some cases, such as the widely reported colony collapses in North America in 2006, it is probably down to disease. But a blooming […]

Antarctica losing 190 million tons of ice daily, causing sea levels to rise 1 mm per year

By Ben Cubby, Environment Editor23 October 2012 ANTARCTICA is shedding an average of 190 million tonnes of ice daily – and causing sea levels to rise about a millimetre a year. Although parts of East Antarctica are growing, glaciers in West Antarctica are melting faster, leading to a net loss of ice across the continent, […]

Why the chill on climate change? Question absent in U.S. presidential debates

By Eugene Robinson18 October 2012 (The Washington Post) – Not a word has been said in the presidential debates about what may be the most urgent and consequential issue in the world: climate change. President Obama understands and accepts the scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels is trapping heat in the atmosphere, with […]

Photo gallery: Aerial view of deforestation at the Tar Sands mine in Alberta, Canada

By Mark Duell18 October 2012 These incredible pictures show the bleak landscape of bitumen, sand and clay created by the frantic pursuit of 173 billion barrels of untouched oil. The Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada, are the world’s third largest oil reserve – but lush green forests once blanketed an area there larger than England. […]

Nigeria state governor surveys flood damage: ‘The situation is pathetic’ – Sexual assaults in refugee camps ‘a daily occurrence’

By Emma Amaize21 October 2012 Managing the ravaging flood in Delta State has been a complicated affair for both the victims and the state government. In some camps established for the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the state, 18 at the time of this report, facilities have been over-stretched. Besides, in one or two communities, […]

Video: More than 100 economists, scientists warn of rising sea level in Florida

Over 100 scientists and economists signed a letter to both presidential candidates warning about the dangers of rising sea levels in Florida. Anna Werner reports. Economists, scientists warn of rising sea level in Fla. Technorati Tags: Florida,flood,coastal erosion,sea level,global warming,climate change,climate refugees,North America

Ocean geoengineering scheme condemned by scientists – ‘The consequences of tampering with nature at this scale are not predictable’

By Rhian Waller of NG Explorers18 October 2012 (National Geographic) – Unbeknownst to most scientists until a few days ago, two hundred thousand pounds of iron sulphate were dumped into North Pacific Ocean in July, with the aim to trigger a large plankton bloom. This experiment was conducted by the Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, under […]

Graph of the Day: Flood Extent and Standing Water in Pakistan, 9 October 2012

16 October 2012 (ReliefWeb) – Flash floods prompted by monsoon rains across Pakistan in the third week of August 2012 affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) provinces, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ & K) state. A second spell of monsoon rainfall started over the southern parts of the country from the end […]

UN warns of rising food costs after year’s extreme weather – ‘It’s been soul-destroying for the farmers’

By John Vidal, Rebecca Smithers, and Shiv Malik 10 October 2012 (The Guardian) – The UN has warned of increasing meat and dairy prices in the wake of extreme weather in the United States and across large parts of Europe and other centres of global food production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) […]

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