Here are 2010’s most-viewed stories on Desdemona. A few have had further developments since they were posted, and I’ve noted this where appropriate. Not surprisingly, the most popular event was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with seven entries (that’s why this post is about the top twenty stories, instead of the top ten). Six of […]
By Jennifer Hattam 19 December 2010 Istanbul, Turkey — About 100 years ago, my grandfather emigrated to the United States from a village near Lake Urmia, in what is now northwestern Iran. He died long before I was born, leaving me with little connection to my ancestors in the region, but a strong desire to […]
December 19, 2010, UNITED NATIONS (APP): Even as people displaced by the devastating floods in Pakistan continue streaming back to their destroyed homes, the UN and its partners warned on Friday that humanitarian needs remain enormous amid dwindling resources. “Under-funding remains a challenge,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in […]
By Jason Burke in Delhi, www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 16 December 2010 21.30 GMT The Dalai Lama told US diplomats last year that the international community should focus on climate change rather than politics in Tibet because environmental problems were more urgent, secret American cables reveal. The exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader told Timothy Roemer, the US […]
By Gus Lubin Jul. 1, 2010 Legendary investor Jeff Gundlach gave one of the most depressing presentations you’ll ever hear at last week’s Morningstar Investor Conference (via Prag Cap). The bond guru and founder of Doubleline Capital combines debt apocalypse with negative indicators in the current recession, like the looming mortgage crisis, to say America […]
ISLAMABAD, 13 December 2010 (APP): The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that winter will worsen the threats of epidemic against children inhabited in flood hit areas, who already suffer high rates of acute respiratory infections and malnutrition. “The coming cold months will sharply increase the numbers of respiratory infections and malnutrition, two of the […]
By Hadi HusaniSource: International Medical Corps (IMC)13 Dec 2010 As floodwaters slowly recede across inundated areas of Pakistan, the international community and national authorities are discovering the true impact of this emergency. Given its flat terrain and semi-arid soil, significant parts of Sindh province in the south remain under water. Dadu District in Sindh has […]
By Katie Horner12.7.2010 at 2:57pm This past October, the Levant Desalination Association and NOSSTIA, an organization of expat Syrian scientists, arranged a conference in the capital city of Damascus to discuss Syria’s water crisis. Hydrology experts and research scientists at the conference reported that between 2002 and 2008, the national water supply fell from 1,200 […]
By Alison Brown, edie newsroom10 December 2010 A UN study has found that climate change increases exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heightens their toxic effects on humans and the environment. The study was previewed at the Climate Change Conference in Cancun this week. POPs are persistent and toxic and can affect generations of […]
By MARY FITZGERALD Foreign Correspondent for The Irish TimesSaturday, December 11, 2010 Dadu, southern Pakistan — The world has moved on from the disaster, but in villages and camps the horror is still unfolding THE IRONY of being surrounded by water but not having enough to drink is not lost on Longkhan Solangi, the wiry […]
