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The Minamata disaster started in 1956 in Minamata, Japan, when people got sick from eating fish poisoned by mercury from a factory. It became one of the most famous cases of industrial pollution in the world.
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Silent Spring is a book by Rachel Carson that talks about how chemicals like pesticides are hurting the earth, animals, and people. It made a lot of people start caring more about protecting nature.
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The Bhopal gas tragedy happened on December 2–3, 1984 in Bhopal, India, when a toxic gas leak from a pesticide factory killed thousands and harmed many more. It’s known as one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.
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The Chernobyl nuclear meltdown happened on April 26, 1986 in Ukraine, when a reactor exploded and released dangerous radiation. It caused huge health and environmental damage and is remembered as the worst nuclear accident in history.
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Julia Butterfly Hill began her fight in December 1997, when she climbed a 1,000-year-old redwood tree (nicknamed “Luna”) in California to stop loggers from cutting it down. She stayed living in the tree for 738 days, until December 1999, becoming a symbol of environmental activism.
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The first Toyota Prius was launched in Japan on December 10, 1997. It was the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car, combining a gasoline engine with an electric motor to reduce fuel use and emissions. The Prius marked a major step toward eco-friendly driving and quickly became a symbol of green technology.
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The Martin County sludge spill happened on October 11, 2000, in Martin County, Kentucky, when a coal slurry impoundment broke and released over 250 million gallons of toxic sludge into nearby rivers and streams. It polluted more than 75 miles of waterways, killed aquatic life, and contaminated the water supply for thousands of residents. It’s considered one of the worst environmental disasters in the southeastern United States.
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Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth was released on May 24, 2006. It was a misleading film document using fake footage to show global warming, making the global warming misleading and make it harder to believe
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The Fukushima nuclear disaster happened on March 11, 2011 in Japan, after a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged the nuclear power plant. It caused radiation leaks and forced thousands of people to evacuate, making it one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.
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Harambe was a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo who became famous after he was shot and killed on May 28, 2016. The incident happened when a young boy fell into his enclosure, and it sparked a huge debate online about zoo safety and animal protection.
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Greta Thunberg started her climate activism in August 2018 when, at 15 years old, she began skipping school to protest outside the Swedish parliament for stronger action on climate change. She quickly became a global figure, inspiring millions of students to join the “Fridays for Future” movement.