It’s not enough to do just the basic recycling efforts or planting a tree or stopping use of plastic bags. What we all should do now and then is cast a look at the horrendous damage man has created to his perfect environment. Understanding the extent of this damage helps us understand how much more we need to do, right from educating others, to practicing diligent pro-environment practices.

1 Most Notorious Oil Spill Ever

10.8 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay crude oil covered 11,000 miles of ocean along the beautiful Prince William Sound. How? The Exxon Valdez oil ship was put on autopilot by a couple of sleepy morons; it crashed and the resulting damage released a 5th of its oil haul into the waters. A lovely, well preserved ecosystem has been devastated, with uncounted loss of animals, birds and sea life.

2 Oxygen-starved Dead Zone

The Gulf of Mexico is where nitrogen-rich livestock waste along with pesticides and other chemicals gather, swept to it via the Mississippi River. Over several decades, this regular event has created what’s called a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico – an oxygen-starved barren ocean clogged with pollutants and waste, unable to support sea life.

3 Coal Ash Spill Wiping Out Thousands

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a government body no less, has been responsible for one of the biggest recent environment disasters in history. A billion gallons of toxic sludge literally flooded the town of Kingston, Tennessee, destroying 15 existing homes, contaminating the remaining land with mercury, lead and arsenic. People in that area are now suffering from various toxic waste related health issues.

4 Asbestos Contamination Horror

The W.R. Grace plant continually spewed asbestos over Libby, Montana making thousands of people sick and killing several. The entire town is covered with the very toxic tremolite asbestos which is linked to illnesses such as mesothelioma. The plant knowingly released the asbestos and also hid their intent and the dangers of their activities from residents.

5 Chilling Gas Tragedy In India

In 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal accidentally allowed 45 tons of methyl isocyanate to escape. Deaths were caused in the thousands and about a million people suffered blindness, physical malfunctions and organ failure. Hundreds of deformed children were born as a result of the poison gas. The pesticide plant paid up but that’s little consolation to those people.

6 Deplorable Kuwaiti Oil Fires

Close to 600 oil wells were set ablaze in 1991 by Saddam Hussein, just as the Persian Gulf War was drawing to a close. The towering infernos these wells threw up washed the Gulf in soot, ash and poisonous smoke. Huge lakes of oil came up out of nowhere and black rain fell on unsuspecting souls. Almost 5% of Kuwait’s land mass was covered with a hardened tarcrete made of out of combined sand and oil. The oily mist coated the lungs of people and livestock with black goo, killing many on the go.

7 A Graveyard Of Ships

Can you image a huge collecting of rusting fishing trawlers and other boating vessels stretching for miles? Such a sight is available to see, right on what used to be the Aral Sea that’s between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It’s named the Aral Sea but is actually the fourth largest lake on planet earth. The once vibrant fishing destination is today a desolate desert whose toxic wastes and sandstorms destroy human, animal and plant life.

8 A Massive Nuclear Meltdown In Ukraine

1986 saw the enormous explosion of a nuclear reactor in Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant, which emitted more radiation into the atmosphere than the hydrogen bomb emissions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This huge nuclear meltdown affected Europe and the rest of Soviet Russia, toward Europe. The fallout? Thousands of newborns diagnosed with thyroid cancer. 20 miles of prime residential area declared unlivable around the nuclear meltdown area.

9 Floating Oceanic Plastic Debris As Big As The US

Plastic garbage accumulated over decades outnumbering ocean plankton is sitting in the Pacific Ocean like an obscene plastic soup. Oceanic currents gathered all this 100 million tons of plastic debris together in one place. Close to 80% of the garbage comes from nearby lands and only 20% from ship waste. The toxicity of this dump causes the quality of marine life to go down while the waters get polluted.

10 21,000 Tons Of Industrial Chemicals Near The Niagara Falls

Hooker Chemicals were permitted to use a pit dug up in the 1800s to dump industrial chemicals. They later covered it up with dirt and vegetation and a school was built on the premises. In 1955, a 25 foot area came down and exposed dangerous chemicals buried under the dirt. Massive contamination occurred after the rains hit, giving rise to severe toxic waste-related health fallouts. 56% of subsequent newborns till 1978 were deformed.

About the author: Kathy underwood has written this article for artificial flowers and fake plants website located at 1001ArtificialPlants.com