Environmental disasters used to be few and far between.
When they did occur, they were most often due to natural causes -- earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption.
That's not the case anymore.
The alarming fact is that environment disasters are occurring more and more often these days.
And the tragic thing is that many of these disasters are man-made.
Our never-ending efforts to improve our quality of life have depleted the Earth's resources to alarming levels.
We extract but do not renew, we take and do not give back to the environment.
Let's take a look at some of the worst man-made environment disasters in our planet's history.
Oil and Chemical Spills Oil and water never mix.
Man never seem to learn this basic physical law and is predisposed to dump tons of oil and chemicals to our oceans.
The Gulf War oil spill in 1991 singularly caused the mass extermination of many fish and creatures living in the Persian Gulf, with the environment becoming the major spoils of that war.
On the other hand, the Gulf of Mexico became the most-publicized environment disaster area in 2010 when BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and poured millions of barrels of oil into the ocean.
There are many more spills in history, such as the Exxon-Valdez spill of 1989, and all of them brought untold damages to the environment then and far into the future.
Dried-up Water Sources Man's industries have led him to literally relocate existing water ways and create new ones, changing the terrain as he built dams, farms, and communities to suit his purposes.
The Aral Sea dried up when its tributary rivers were diverted to irrigate farms and plantations in the Soviet Union.
Kenya's Lake Naivasha is at alarmingly low levels not only from drought but also because water is diverted for irrigation and human consumption.
Asia's largest river, the Yangtze, is in the same dire straits.
Species Extinction Many animal species are dying out because of man's large-scale activities in livestock-raising and farming.
The growth of human population also encroached into previously unpopulated wildlife areas.
In the oceans overfishing lowered the fish supplies, with the rate of replenishment lagging far behind.
Disappearing Rainforests Farming, logging and animal husbandry activities clear existing rainforests every year.
The result is the deforestation of many of the world's largest rainforests, such as the Amazon.
Vital forest ecosystems and the wildlife therein are gravely affected.
Climate Change Perhaps the worst and still occurring environment disaster in the planet is the change in our climate.
It can be classified as man-made instead of natural, because many of the contributing factors to climate change are caused by man's industries.
These are but some of the major environment catastrophes that occur in the planet.
There are many more.
In all of these, we need to learn the important lesson that sadly, all of them could have been and perhaps still within our power to avoid.
When they did occur, they were most often due to natural causes -- earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption.
That's not the case anymore.
The alarming fact is that environment disasters are occurring more and more often these days.
And the tragic thing is that many of these disasters are man-made.
Our never-ending efforts to improve our quality of life have depleted the Earth's resources to alarming levels.
We extract but do not renew, we take and do not give back to the environment.
Let's take a look at some of the worst man-made environment disasters in our planet's history.
Oil and Chemical Spills Oil and water never mix.
Man never seem to learn this basic physical law and is predisposed to dump tons of oil and chemicals to our oceans.
The Gulf War oil spill in 1991 singularly caused the mass extermination of many fish and creatures living in the Persian Gulf, with the environment becoming the major spoils of that war.
On the other hand, the Gulf of Mexico became the most-publicized environment disaster area in 2010 when BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and poured millions of barrels of oil into the ocean.
There are many more spills in history, such as the Exxon-Valdez spill of 1989, and all of them brought untold damages to the environment then and far into the future.
Dried-up Water Sources Man's industries have led him to literally relocate existing water ways and create new ones, changing the terrain as he built dams, farms, and communities to suit his purposes.
The Aral Sea dried up when its tributary rivers were diverted to irrigate farms and plantations in the Soviet Union.
Kenya's Lake Naivasha is at alarmingly low levels not only from drought but also because water is diverted for irrigation and human consumption.
Asia's largest river, the Yangtze, is in the same dire straits.
Species Extinction Many animal species are dying out because of man's large-scale activities in livestock-raising and farming.
The growth of human population also encroached into previously unpopulated wildlife areas.
In the oceans overfishing lowered the fish supplies, with the rate of replenishment lagging far behind.
Disappearing Rainforests Farming, logging and animal husbandry activities clear existing rainforests every year.
The result is the deforestation of many of the world's largest rainforests, such as the Amazon.
Vital forest ecosystems and the wildlife therein are gravely affected.
Climate Change Perhaps the worst and still occurring environment disaster in the planet is the change in our climate.
It can be classified as man-made instead of natural, because many of the contributing factors to climate change are caused by man's industries.
These are but some of the major environment catastrophes that occur in the planet.
There are many more.
In all of these, we need to learn the important lesson that sadly, all of them could have been and perhaps still within our power to avoid.
Source...