Map showing the results of the disastrous U.S. presidential election, 7 November 2024. Graphic: Reuters

Desdemona going dark

7 November 2024 (Desdemona Despair) – My work here is done. After more than 13,000 posts warning of the end of the Phanerozoic eon and the imminent extinction of the human species, I’m calling it quits. The first Desdemona blog post was on 14 November 2008 and was titled, Rising CO2 accelerates coral bleaching: study. […]

Map showing tornado tracks during Hurricane Milton on 9 October 2024. The Miami office of the National Weather Service confirmed at least 5 tornadoes during Hurricane Milton’s approach. Graphic: NWS

Hurricane Milton’s terrible twisters: Outbreak in Florida killed at least 5, leveled buildings – Miami National Weather Service issued a record 55 tornado warnings, beating a previous record of 49 during Category 4 Hurricane Ian in 2022

By Alex Harris 10 October 2024 (Miami Herald) – A deadly and unprecedented wave of tornadoes swirled across Florida ahead of the arrival of Category 3 Hurricane Milton, which crossed the state from Sarasota to the Space Coast Wednesday evening. A series of twisters that struck St. Lucie County left at least five dead and, […]

Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on Thursday, 26 September 2024. Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo

Our dystopian climate isn’t just about fires and floods. It’s about society fracturing.

By Bill McKibben 9 October 2024 (The Guardian) – Even as the good people of Florida’s west coast pulled the soggy mattresses from Helene out to the curb, Milton appeared on the horizon this week – a double blast of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico that’s a reminder that physics takes no time off, not even in the […]

A resident helps free a stranded car as Hurricane Helene strikes Boone, North Carolina. Photo: Jonathan Drake / Reuters

I wasn’t prepared to be a climate refugee – A climate advocate learns firsthand the price of climate change in our lives and calls for voters to head off future disasters – “My daughter is still having nightmares”

By Melissa Hanson 4 October 2024 (Scientific American) – I wasn’t prepared to be a climate refugee. Not after relocating my family from drought and wildfire-prone California to the “climate haven” of Asheville, N.C. But less than two months after we moved into our delightfully wooded, mild-weather community, we were forced to leave. Even before […]

Satellite view of three hurricanes simultaneously spinning over the North Atlantic Ocean, 6 October 2024. This image shows the three storms—Milton, Kirk, and Leslie—at about 12 p.m. Central Time (17:00 Universal Time). It was captured as Milton was developing in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, about an hour before it became a hurricane. This was the first-known hurricane season to see three hurricanes simultaneously present in the basin after September. Photo: Michala Garrison / NASA Earth Observatory

Three hurricanes churn in an active Atlantic Ocean in October 2024 – First-known hurricane season to see three hurricanes simultaneously present in the basin after September

By Emily Cassidy 8 October 2024 (NASA Earth Observatory) – From the stable Lagrange point 1, located one million miles above Earth, NASA’s EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) imager on the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) satellite observed an unusually active Atlantic Basin. In early October, three hurricanes simultaneously spun over the North Atlantic Ocean. This image shows the three […]

Wrecked homes are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, 2 October 2024, in Chimney Rock Village, N.C. Photo: Mike Stewart / AP Photo

Homeowners hit by Hurricane Helene face the grim task of rebuilding without flood insurance – “There will absolutely be people who will be financially devasted by this event”

By Sally Ho 5 October 2024 (AP) – A week after Hurricane Helene overwhelmed the Southeastern U.S., homeowners hit the hardest are grappling with how they could possibly pay for the flood damage from one of the deadliest storms to hit the mainland in recent history. The Category 4 storm that first struck Florida’s Gulf […]

A rescue team paddles down the Swannanoa River after the remnants of Hurricane Helene caused widespread flooding, downed trees, and power outages in western North Carolina, 29 September 2024. Photo: Travis Long / The News and Observer / Reuters

Asheville tragedy shows there are no climate change safe havens – North Carolina city once viewed as a safe haven for climate refugees – “Climate change is a pervasive issue that is going to affect communities all over the world – not equally – but definitely it will impact everyone, everywhere in some way”

By Kiara Alfonseca 30 September 2024 (ABC News) – Asheville, North Carolina, has been called a potential safe haven for climate refugees by real estate researchers, praised for its temperate mountain weather, distance far from the coast, experiencing less extreme heat and fewer wildfires. The city of around 95,000 people was believed markings of a place where those escaping […]

Nikki Wicker, co-owner of Roy's Restaurant, cleans after Hurricane Helene made landfall overnight, in Steinhatchee, Florida, 27 September 2024. Photo: Octavio Jones / REUTERS

Project 2025 proposes eliminating aid for families and businesses rebuilding after storms – Far-right road map would end vital disaster loan program

8 August 2024 (Center for American Progress) – In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Debby, the Southeast is tasked with the difficult work of rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives. Initial reports indicate at least six people have died from the storm. Federal agencies play a critical role in providing swift and efficient support to these families and […]

The carcass of an elephant seal is seen next to plastic garbage on a beach, in Pico Sayago, in the Patagonian province of Chubut, Argentina, 26 September 2024. Photo: Agustin Marcarian / REUTERS

Fishing waste chokes marine wildlife, threatens human health in Argentina’s Patagonia – Mountains of plastic waste from the fishing industry cover the coast along the Valdes Peninsula

By Miguel Lo Bianco 4 October 2024 VALDES PENINSULA, Argentina (Reuters) – Mountains of plastic waste from the fishing industry have covered the coast along the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina’s Patagonia, threatening the lives of sea lions, fish, penguins and whales and also endangering human health. The coasts of the peninsula on Argentina’s Atlantic coast, […]

A drone view shows a flooded and damaged area following Hurricane Helene in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, 28 September 2024. Photo: Marco Bello / REUTERS

Climate “abandonment zones” are coming to the American South – Whole counties across Florida and Central Texas could begin to see their total populations decline

By Abrahm Lustgarten 2 October 2024 (The New York Times) – When Hurricane Helene, the 420-mile-wide, slow-spinning conveyor belt of wind and water drowned part of Florida’s coastline and then barged its path northward through North Carolina last week, it destroyed more than homes and bridges. It shook people’s faith in the safety of living […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial