Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Photo gallery: Phoenix dust storm – Longtime residents call it ‘Worst they’ve seen’

[It would be very wrong of Desdemona to connect this with the largest wildfires in Arizona’s recorded history.] By MARY HUDETZ, Associated Press6 July 2011 PHOENIX – The air around the Phoenix area was a hazy shade of brown and a layer of dirt coated cars and buildings Wednesday following a massive dust storm the […]

Japan citizen groups alarmed by radioactive soil, call for evacuation of children and pregnant women

TOKYO, July 4 (AFP) – Soil radiation in a city 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Japan’s stricken nuclear plant is above levels that prompted resettlement after the Chernobyl disaster, citizens’ groups said Tuesday. The survey of four locations in Fukushima city, outside the nuclear evacuation zone, showed that all soil samples contained caesium exceeding Japan’s […]

Fukushima soil survey finds widespread radioactive cesium exceeding legal limits – Residents dumping irradiated soil in forests and parks

TOKYO, July 5 (Kyodo) – […] A survey of soil at four locations in the city of Fukushima on June 26 found that all samples were contaminated with radioactive cesium, measuring 16,000 to 46,000 becquerels per kilogram and exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 becquerels per kg, citizens groups involved said Tuesday. The city, about […]

Thyroid gland radiation found in 45 percent of 1,080 children tested in Fukushima

By arevamirpal::laprimavera5 July 2011 The Nuclear Safety Commission headed by Haruki “Detarame” Madarame disclosed on July 4 that the test conducted in late March had found 45% of 1,080 children tested in Fukushima Prefecture had internal radiation exposure at thyroid gland, according to Tokyo Shinbun. 3 months, that seems to be the amount of time […]

A hidden risk of climate change: More property damage from drought-induced soil subsidence in Europe

Zurich, July 4 (Swiss Re) – Europe is witnessing a dramatic increase in property damage as a result of soil subsidence. Climate change could magnify those risks, a new Swiss Re publication shows. A new loss model developed by Swiss Re and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) suggests that soil subsidence will […]

Video: Daily life in Fukushima: ‘It was like visiting another universe’

Uploaded by RussiaToday 3 July 2011 Jan Beranek, who is with a team of Greenpeace activists investigating the fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, says Japanese are encouraged to return to their normal lives unaware of the dangers they face in the contaminated area. “I personally find it very disturbing, because on the one hand […]

How rising temperatures change weather and produce fiercer, more frequent storms

By John Carey29 June 2011 Editor’s note: This article is the second of a three-part series by John Carey. Part 1, posted on June 28, is “Storm Warning: Extreme Weather Is a Product of Climate Change“. Part 3, “Our Extreme Future: Predicting and Coping with the Effects of a Changing Climate” was posted on June […]

Water in India’s Goa ‘unfit for bathing’

July 3 (AFP) – Indian scientists on Friday said that the water in the holiday resort state of Goa was unfit for bathing and fishing due to high levels of bacteria from untreated sewage. The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), which is based in the former Portuguese colony, said that the level of faecal coliform […]

New Mexico fire encroaches on sacred Native American grounds – ‘This is a fire like we’ve never seen before’

By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times2 July 2011 Several Native American tribes are lamenting the damage to sacred land and archeological sites caused by the largest fire in New Mexico state history. The Las Conchas fire has charred about 13,000 acres within the Santa Clara Canyon, an area of great significance to those who live […]

Los Alamos evacuees return to ‘charred and smoldering landscapes’ – Wildlife roving the city for food and shelter

By Danielle Flores, KOB.com3 July 2011 Los Alamos County reports that as of 8 a.m. Sunday, residents are allowed to return to their homes. State Road 4 remains closed west of Drive South and all access points to the Jemez Mountains and from Los Alamos County remain closed. The massive 121,000 acre Las Conchas fire […]

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