9 August 2013 (NASA) – This animation shows the projected increase in potential evaporation through the year 2100, relative to 1980, based on the combined results of multiple climate models. The maximum increase across North America is about 1 mm/day by 2100. This concept, potential evaporation, is a measure of drying potential or “fire weather.” […]
Watchlist Indicator showing the average population trend for 77 moths, 19 butterflies, 8 mammals and 51 birds listed as UK BAP priorities, 1968-2010. Species are weighted equally. The indicator starts at 100; a rise to 200 would show that, on average, the populations of indicator species have doubled, whereas if it dropped to 50 they […]
By Damian Carrington 28 July 2013 (The Guardian) – Extreme weather being driven by climate change is the biggest threat to British farming and its ability to feed the nation’s growing population, according to Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers’ Union. His comments, in an interview with the Guardian, come after a week of […]
By Suzanne Goldenberg US environment correspondent 1 July 2013 (The Guardian) – Barack Obama launched a new initiative against wildlife trafficking on Monday, using his executive authority to take action against an illegal trade that is fuelling rebel wars and now threatens the survival of elephants and rhinoceroses. The initiative, announced as the president visited […]
By Birchard Kellogg10 June 2013 (mongabay.com) – In a chilly rain on Sunday, in a town just a few kilometers beyond the edge of a protected Sumatran rainforest, a young orangutan sat perched on a piece of plywood and grabbed the metal wires of his tiny cage. He has sat in that cage for six […]
[Part 1: ‘Skull is removed, brains eaten alive’: Like the drug trade, wildlife trafficking is big business in Asia] By Jerrie Demasi19 April 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – “Mum, you need to be more patient,” says nine year old Cambodian Bo Pa. Her adoptive mother sits across the table of a red-and-gold-clad Chinese Restaurant in […]
[Part 2: Raiding the dark animal underbelly of wildlife trafficking – ‘4-star generals kept tigers in cages in their living rooms, bears were behind most restaurants waiting for their paws to be cut off’] By Jerrie Demasi19 April 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Would you purchase an endangered tiger’s tooth as a cure for acne? […]
13 February 2013 (KIRO TV) – An exclusive KIRO 7 Investigation uncovers stunning proof of animals being killed illegally to sell their parts for profit. South Sound reporter Richard Thompson shows how state Fish and Wildlife detectives caught criminals out to make a buck, even if it meant wiping out wildlife critical to the Northwest […]
9 January 2013 (Desdemona Despair) – In February 2009, Desdemona was new to blogging. The world was still reeling from the global financial collapse caused by the deregulated, automated, shadow banking system – currently valued at $67 trillion and growing! Global warming was fading into the background of the public consciousness. Except in Australia, where […]
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. […]