The World’s Ongoing Ecological Disasters

While it's probably still too soon to celebrate, BP appears to finally be getting the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico under control. But many of the world's greatest environmental catastrophes continue, with no end in sight.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JULY 16, 2010

NIGERIA

Disaster: Oil spills

Going since: Around 1966

Damage done: The Deepwater Horizon incident may have been the worst oil spill in U.S. history, but it pales in comparison to the ongoing catastrophe that has afflicted Nigeria's Niger River Delta over the last five decades. As many as 546 million gallons of oil are believed to have spilled since oil exploration began in this region -- the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez spill every year.

There are around 2,000 official spill sites in the region, some of them decades old.
Oil companies operating in the region blame thieves and sabotage for the majority of the spills, though local activists say aging equipment and lax safety are the cause of many of them. The number of severity of the spills may actually increase in coming years as the industry moves into more remote and difficult terrain in the delta.

It's not just the spilled oil that can be dangerous. Pipeline explosions, like in the one that killed more than 100 people outside Lagos in 2008, are increasingly frequent as well.

 SUBJECTS:
 

Joshua E. Keating is an associate editor at Foreign Policy.

UKDAZ

7:21 AM ET

July 17, 2010

Getting the right people on the payroll

Isn't it about time companies such as BP got the balance right between profit and looking after our planet? They literally make billions and billions of dollars but never seem to want to put the world first - I mean if there's no world left because of global warming, war, starvation and other factors then there'll be no BP...

Its about time they got some real green people on the board (and put properly on the payroll services) to make sure the world needs are put first (or at least equal to profit)....

If you had true green activists then maybe some elements of common sense would come to the fore to make sure this type of accident (and subsequent huge pollution problem) is totally minimised in the future.

 

MIKEHAWK

7:33 PM ET

July 26, 2010

Irresponsible

What BP did was irresponsible. As my cousin, Margaret said, they need to stop endangering the environment and think about long term investments like taking care of our planet.

 

DWIGHTBAKER

2:06 PM ET

July 17, 2010

JOSHUA E. KEATING

Maybe a study back to about 1900 or a bit before would be in order.

Oil and gas folks have been about getting what they could and leave in their rear view mirror widows and orphans.

Check out oil fields BAKU RUSSIA.

 

TOMMYT

7:35 AM ET

July 18, 2010

not russia

Baku is in Azerbaijan

 

MIKEHAWK

7:22 PM ET

August 8, 2010

Disappointing

Sigh. This is a big disappointment that these oil and gas folks are getting what they want.

Michael Hawk

 

HAYDENHARNET

3:41 AM ET

August 10, 2010

BP should be out out of work

BP should be out out of work , they are talking only about money losing,
but when it arrives to damage done to the planet , who care ?
this is reality , majority of companies doesn't take the planet subject seriously , all what they care about is money
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EUREKA

3:30 PM ET

July 17, 2010

Thank you, Joshua

All of us need to be reminded of these disasters frequently so that we'll start thinking and acting on some solutions.

 

LARSP

7:42 PM ET

July 17, 2010

ecological disasters (continued)

1. FP needs to edit its comments section. Hardly the place for a sales pitch.

2. At least you have listed a few ecological disasters, but let me add a few more to the list:
a) Athabasca Tar Sands (Alberta Canada) - an area the size of Florida is being dug up & the forests destroyed in our thirst for more oil. Whereas the ratio on drilling for oil used to be around 100 barrels for every barrel invested, the Athabasca Tar Sands returns approx. 4barrels for every barrel.
Diminishing returns means we have to destroy more to get what we had yesterday.

b) Ogallala Aquifer - considered one of the world's largest aquifers, the Ogallala covers 175 000 sq miles & 4 midwest states. We have sucked out so much water over the decades that the Ogallala is predicted to run dry by 2020 putting mid west farms in grave danger, not to mention this country's grain supplies.

c) Acidification of the Artic Ocean. CO2 is absorbed easier in cold water & produces carbonic acid (H2O + CO2 = H2CO3). This diluted acid is expected to become more concentrated putting the entire Artic ecosystem at risk by 2030. Artic water migrates towards the equator. No one can predict what will happen.

d) Methane produced by decaying permafrost. 23 times the potency of CO2 as a greenhouse gas, there is the equivalent of 1Trillion tons of CO2 waiting to be released primarily in Siberia. For a video showing a frozen Siberian lake on fire, scroll down the right hand side of the GreenCapital.com website.

e) CCD - colony collapse disorder. Finally Dept of Agriculture is trying to figure out what is happening to our bees. Without these pollinators, there will be no fruits/vegetables. Suspicion is falling on the chemical/pesticide companies.

The human population continues to increase relentlessly at 2%/yr. Any benefit derived from efficiencies in automobile or other consumer products is more than offset by exponential demand for those products.

Thank you for your list. Unfortunately it is just the beginning.

 

MAJA007

6:27 PM ET

July 19, 2010

You are wrong

All of these places are in or near western countries. So they are not disasters. Jesus put gas in america's backyard (aka canada) and water is the middle of the country. For the rest: dont take our jobs you babykiller!!

 

CDTHOMPS

4:13 PM ET

July 20, 2010

ecological Disasters

Dear LARSP. You are correct in stating the oilsands (They are not tar, they are bitumen) are large--about 80% of the area of florida--not 100. If you however going to assert something as fact and claim an enormous disaster, however, you might want to tell the whole truth. The area of the Oilsands that is mineable using the methods you are discussing is only 1300 square miles, or approximately 1/45 of the area of florida, and the area of that currently under development is way under 5% of that. Furthermore the companies that are mining are required to restore the land to equivalant to its previous state. That has, in fact, happened with 22% of the land mined so far.
It should also pointed out that this area they are mining varies from surface deposits to a few meters of overburden covered by feskiw and Boreal forest (have you seen a boreal forest? Probably not) The point is if the Oil Sands had never started there you would't be vacationing atop them.

 

RELLUM

2:25 PM ET

July 21, 2010

LARSP

You forgot to mention the oilsands in Bakersfield California or how about LA City by itself. I bet you more people are killed in LA from pollution (not CO2 as it is not a pollutant) than anything you have described your your in correct assessment of the oilsand in North Alberta.

 

DONDMON

1:06 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Ecological Disasters

I personally think you're exaggerating the Ogallala Aquifer problem. The aquifer covers midwestern states, yes, but not the high output cash crop ones such as Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Our nations wheat might be out if that aquifer dried up, but not our corn and beans.

 

DONDMON

1:01 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Ecological Disasters

I personally think you're exaggerating the Ogallala Aquifer problem. The aquifer covers midwestern states, yes, but not the high output cash crop ones such as Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Our nations wheat might be out if that aquifer dried up, but not our corn and beans.

 

KASKEL

2:05 PM ET

July 23, 2010

I really think the radio

I really think the radio waves from the millions of cell phone and towers and other modern technologies are causing the bees to decline.

 

NABUQUDURIUZHUR

3:49 PM ET

July 23, 2010

d and e are incorrect

There is no evidence of increasing acidity of ocean water. There is no data to compare current numbers with. Assumes facts not present. No comprehensive numbers exist for values today and not even singular data points exist at all past the 1920s. The same could be said of salinity and other values with the exception of seal levels, which can be determined to have not risen in holocene times through comparison of geologic units.

Colony collapse disorder is easily explained in the U.S and northern Mexico. The "collapse" happened during periods of unseasonably cold weather in the western United States and Baja and in the eastern U.S. and Yucatan in 2006-7 for two weeks each. That was the first. It wiped out Africanized bee colonies all over that area. Then it has happened since then to different areas. Each had a "collapse". the reason is that the Africanized bee reached the U.S. in 1993 and has since then interbred with colonies in the southern tier of states, where the bee industry of the U.S. is located. These bees are shipped all over the nation. The Africanized bee and their hybrids cannot survive temperatures of freezing or below for even a matter of hours. The "collapse disorder" has not caused difficulty to non-commercial hives of the European honeybee in the NW, for example and on a typical day, one can see at least 7 types of native bee in the garden working away, ranging from 3" bumblebees to 1/4" "Sweat" bees. I live several miles in town-- out in the forest it is possible to see many other varieties. Instead of looking to the obvious culprit, though, "scientists" and econuts must look to the exotic in order to public papers, like cell phones or varoa and tracheal mites, all of which we have here in the NW.

 

GREENACRES60

3:56 PM ET

July 23, 2010

problems

Phoenix in the early 1950s was cold in the winter and hot or hot and humid in the summer. Then air conditioning was invented. With a way to cool and dry the air, people came in in droves. Soon the area had golf courses and swimmng pools, which evaporate water at a phenominal rate. Water, which is pumped out of the ground at a rate it could never be replaced is being used. This has gone on all over the country. People need to understand that if it wasn't growing there to begin with, it is because the climate doesn't suit it. I live in SE AZ and found out a few weeks ago that places I had seen where a depressed area had been created was because the water table was so close to the surface, that was how people irrigated. The well where I used to live was at 400 feet. Closer to the center of the valley it is 225. At the base of the mountains it is over 700. People have this attitude that as long as they get what they want, let the next generation take care of it. The chickens are coming home to roost. If we don't start conserving water ALL the time, one day we won't have any.

 

GREENACRES60

4:00 PM ET

July 23, 2010

pollinators

We brought Italian Honeybees to America. There are plenty of native pollinators we need to cater to. Plants that create lots of nectar are what native pollinators need. The Italian Honeybee has been cross-bred with African bees. The first cross is the best. After that, the honey production goes down. They are more aggressive than Italians or the natives. I wouldn't be surprised if inbreeding has created the problem.

 

MACMC

6:26 PM ET

July 23, 2010

maj007

Typiclly. you're wrong. I believe the bible states, God created heaven and earth, so Jesus has nothing to do with it. The Old Testiment, I belive doesn't even mentioned Jesus, just a Messiah.
Ain't no bible scholar, but I've read a bit.

 

SIRSWITTERS

12:05 AM ET

July 24, 2010

MAJA007: Is that a joke? WTF

MAJA007: Is that a joke? WTF are you talking about!

 

MIKEHAWK

9:00 PM ET

August 8, 2010

Your statement is very

Your statement is very informative sir and yes those are indeed some harsh facts that everyone needs to know about.

Michael

 

M_MILES

10:37 AM ET

July 20, 2010

Nigera Oil Spill

There are several videos on the internet of this spill and they show oil, oil, and more oil covering vast areas of once beautiful land. The videos show broken wells and more.

Oil companies may state that the people are breaking into the closed wells and causing the problem.

An apartment that a landlord once had became non-profitable. The landlord abandoned the property. People went into the structure and the structure fell.

Was the landlord responsible or were the people responsible? If the landlord knows that people will go into one of his abandoned properties it would be advisable that the landlord secure the property so the people can not enter.

 

JOHNHUFFY

4:04 PM ET

July 20, 2010

Illuminati

Nigeria is rich country with oil,sand,mineral,fleece and etc. The big power people make every people in the word in stupidity. Do you know about Illuminati? Please Google and you find the answer, the Antichrist will come just around the corner, named US

 

LJC

2:45 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Illuminati-Reply

I took your advice and Googled it...... Wow. Thanks.

 

NIUBI

1:37 PM ET

July 21, 2010

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FASHIONLOVE

3:58 AM ET

July 23, 2010

This fact is really...

This fact is really very shock for us. We hope we can solve this problem as quick as possible for the purpose of preventing disaster to human.

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MONKEYLOVER

3:22 PM ET

July 23, 2010

money, the environment, and religion

I see a lot of this being a problem due to politics and religion, at least in the US. why would people care about the planet when they think that the end of the world is nigh and they will all go to heaven? why would they try to change their way of life when their political party says that global warming is not caused by man? why would they care about the Pacific or some country on the other side of the world, if they are not good Christians?

It'd just be nice if peeps could realize this is the only planet we have, currently. try to take care of it.

 

JT8018

3:56 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Are you kidding me? Where do

Are you kidding me? Where do you find the ties between religion & oil spills?
Maybe it's just poor management or people with poor morales. Your theory is way flawed guy. The politics I could buy,but find a different forum to bash Christians..........
Funny though how you didn't mention the Muslims or Athiest,doing the same thing.
It's obvious your either agnostic(no spine) or athiest,so don't speak for the Christians,
we can speak for ourselves and your 100% wrong on it being because of religion or more perticually the Christians.

 

GREENACRES60

7:58 PM ET

July 23, 2010

The Earth

Scripture says we as Christians are to steward the Earth, because God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiple. Well, the fruitful is there, but the stewardship isn't. Too many people think the chickens will come hom to roost later. For some, yes; for others, the time is now. We in the world are in a interglacial period. That means in plain English, the climate is warming up and drying out. As this continues, more glaciers will melt, pouring more cold water into the oceans, which will in turn change the current ocean currents and plunge the world into another ice age.

The amount of water pumped out of the aquifers to grow crops so people can gorge themselves to the point of obesity is just mindboggling. I am putting everything on drip irrigation to save water. The trees are already mulched. I reuse, reduce, recycle and compost everything I get. According to the web, the average woman spends 25K on shoes in her life. I must have missed that class in school. I have a pair of boots I bought 21 years ago. I have another pair I bought because they were reheelable and resoleable. They are leather and will last for decades as long as I take care of them correctly.

People spend too much money on materialistic pursuits. We need to throttle back and start buying what we need when we need it, not what we want.

 

DATRACOKA

5:56 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Trash Article is WRONG!!!

Let me get this straight...something as big as i.5 times the size of the US is SOMEWHERE in the Pacific? The US is 3,000 miles across. The distance to Honolulu from LA is only 2,550 miles. The article states that the garbage patch is one and a half times the size of the US, which would mean about 4,500 miles. I call bullshit. Do your research, and stop feeding the hysteria.

 

KDKEIM10

6:25 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Ecological Disasters

Although each disaster is different, posing unique technological challenges, the DeepWater Horizon catastrophe is the worst diaster caused by humans. It has been called ecocide, and human health effects won't be understood for many years. It could cause large scale loss of human life if methane explodes. Why it is the worst is how deep into earth's crust they drilled, and hit methane, or methane hydrates, which could in the worst case scenario cause a mass extinction. They hit the volcano is what is said of it. A complete study of geology is needed together with what we know or figured has happened in Marcondo, the name tells it - never drill there- to understand the depth and scope of what is truly a catastrophe that may leave large areas uninhabitable.

 

DATRACOKA

6:58 PM ET

July 23, 2010

not gonna happen...

Methane won't explode like that. Not to get too technical but you can research that on line and it will tell you that the scientist that proposed that scenario was quickly rebuked. Drilling a very, VERY small hole in relation to the earth will not burst like a balloon or make magma come spewing out. It's a matter of great distances to that and it would physically (like in physics) NEVER happen. Geologist here.

 

DATRACOKA

7:11 PM ET

July 23, 2010

Stop and Think

Think about the disasters of this world from the past. Krakatoa, WWII, Saddam torching the wells in the first Gulf War, Mt. St. Helens eruption, Exxon Valdez and now the Gulf of Mexico spill. If you got a globe of the Earth and put the tip of your little finger on the spill area and then look at the rest of the world that is not covered by your finger then you can appreciate the size of the "disaster." Mother nature does a very good job of cleaning up our messes. I do believe we don't need to make her job harder but let's get some perspective. This will all play out.

 

COMMAPERIOD

10:09 PM ET

July 23, 2010

DATRACOKA - Sorry, sir. But

DATRACOKA -

Sorry, sir. But the nuckingfuts outnumber you. Thus you are spittin' in the wind

 

UGGSTYLE

11:34 AM ET

July 26, 2010

see so ugly

There are several videos on the internet of this spill and they show oil, oil, and more oil covering vast areas of once beautiful land. The videos show broken wells and more.I like wear the ugg classic tall boots grey with black jeans, it is looking amazing, ugg boots is not only beautiful, but also they are comfortable, you will attarcted people.

 

WEBPAGEFX

4:33 PM ET

July 29, 2010

RE: Ecological Disasters

Thanks Joshua for reminding us about the ecological disasters going on all over the world. So often it's easy to be focused on what's going on in our own country and lose sight of what's going on elsewhere.
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MALIKA79

3:10 PM ET

August 3, 2010

BP must pay huge fines. We

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