Our Enviroment Through Time by Dominic Taylor

  • Tragedy of the Commons

    The tragedy of the commons is a term, probably coined originally by William Forster Lloyd
    It is a situation where individuals acting independently to benefit themselves rather than the best interests of the whole group by depleting some common resource.
  • The Panama Canal

    The Panama Canal is a 48 mile ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
    The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.
  • The Great Smog of 52

    The Great Smog of 52 was a severe air-pollution event that affected London, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city.
    It lasted from Friday 5 December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then disappeared after a change of weather.
  • Castle Bravo

    Castle Bravo was the code name given to the first United States test of a dry fuel hydrogen bomb.
    Castle Bravo was the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the United States with a yield of of 15 megatons of TNT.
  • Silent Spring

    Silent Spring was an enviromental science book written by Rachel Carson.
    The book documented the detrimental effects on the environment, particularly birds.
  • The Palomares Incident

    a B-52G bomber of the United States Air Force collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling at 31,000 feet over the Mediterranean Sea
  • 1st Earth Day

    Earth Day is an annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
    It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year.
  • Environmental Protection Agency

    The Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the U.S. federal government.
    It was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress.
  • Door to Hell

    The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze, Turkmenistan that has been burning continuously since it was discovered in 1971.
    day and month not found
  • Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

    Dead zones are low-oxygen areas in the world's oceans and large lakes.
    Caused by excessive nutrient pollution from human activities.
  • The Seveso Disaster

    The Seveso disaster was an industrial accident chemical manufacturing plant.
    It resulted in the highest known exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in residential populations.
  • Amoco Cadiz

    A crude oil carrier owned by Amoco
    Was the biggest oil spill up do that date
  • The Three Mile Island Nuclear Explosion

    Three Mile Island was the worst accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.
    The incident was rated a five on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale.
  • The Bhopal Disaster

    The Bophal Disasterwas a gas leak incident in India, considered the world's worst industrial disaster.
    Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals.
  • The Chernobyl Nuclear Explosion

    The Chernobyl Nuclear Explosion was a catostrophic nuclear accident in Ukraine.
    The explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere,
  • Pacific Gyre Garbage Patch

    The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean.
    Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water.
    month and day werent found
  • The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

    This spill was caused by a oil tanker crashing into a coral reef, releasing 38 million US gallons of crude oil into the sea.
    The oil eventually covered 1,300 miles of coastline, homes to sea birds, otters and tropical fish.
  • The Kuwait Oil Fires

    The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by Iraqi military forces setting fire to a reported 605 to 732 oil wells.
    The fires were started in January and February 1991, and the first well fires were extinguished in early April 1991.
  • The Three Gorges Dam

    The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River.
    It is the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity.
  • Eccocide in Vietnam

    Eccocide derives from Greek language and translates to "killing our home."
    Ecocide is the destruction of our natural environment.
  • Libby, Montana Asbestos Contamination

    A critical envioronmental and public health crisis.
    Caused by the slow motion technological disaster of asbestos exposure.
  • Baia Mare cyanide spill

    Baia Mare cyanide spill was a leak of cyanide near Baia Mare, Romania, into the Someş River.
    The polluted waters eventually reached the Tisza and then the Danube, killing large numbers of fish in Hungary and Yugoslavia. The spill has been called the worst environmental disaster in Europe since the Chernobyl disaster.
  • Minamata Disease

    Minamata Disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.
    Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech.
  • The Al-mishraq Fire

    Al-Mishraq is a state run sulfur plant near Mosul, Iraq.
    it was the site of the largest human-made release of sulfur dioxide ever recorded when a fire gained control and burned for about three weeks.
  • Jilin Chemical Plant Explosions

    This event was a series of explosions at the Petrochemical Plant in Jilin City.
    The explosions killed six, injured dozens, and caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
  • Sidoarjo Mud Flow

    caused by an erruption of a mud volcano.
    At its peak Lusi spewed up to 180,000 m³ of mud per day
  • “An Inconvenient Truth"

    An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary directed by Davis Guggenheim.
    This film was about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming.
  • TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Fly Ash Slurry Spill

    This accident happened when an ash dike ruptured at an 84-acre solid waste containment area at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County.
    This spill released 1.1 billion US gallons of coal fly ash slurry
  • Deep water horizon BP oil spill

    An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-owned Transocean-operated Macondo Prospect.
    Largest accidental marine oil spill in history, the oil gusher flowed for 87 days.
  • Fukushima Daiichi

    Fukushima Daiichi was a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi powerplant.
    This accident was caused by a tsunami which led to equiptment failures.
  • Love Canal

    Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagra Falls which covers 36 square blocks in the city
  • E-waste in Guiyu, China

    is four connected villages widely perceived as the largest electronic waste site in the world.
    in 2005 60,000 workers cleaned Guiyu removing 100 truckloads of garbage a day
    Date N/A