What really happened at Chernobyl and Bhopol? How do different countries celebrate Earth Day? To understand environmentsl issues, it's important to understand what happened at major environmental events that have helped to shape the current state of environmental policy, laws, and activim.
Learn about World Environment Day: how it started, what World Environment Day means, and when World Environment Day is celebrated.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill fouled the waters of Prince William Sound in Alaska. The Exxon Valdez oil spill coated more than a thousand miles of pristine coastline and killed hundreds of thousands of birds, fish and animals. The Exxon Valdez oil spill has become a symbol of human-caused environmental disasters.
Every year we long for the first day of spring, or vernal equinox, when the days start to get longer and the weather starts getting warmer. But there is much more to know about the first day of spring.
America Recycles Day takes place every year on November 15, proclaimed by the president and celebrated in communities nationwide with events that educate people about the benefits of recycling and of purchasing products made from recycled materials.
At the 79th Academy Awards, Oscar turned green for the first time--and not with envy. Producers of the annual telecast worked with scientists and environmental groups to neutralize the show's environmental impact and to send a message about environmental stewardship to millions of viewers worldwide.
What were the top environmental stories of 2006? What made them important or significant? Check this list of the dozen top environmental stories, chosen by Larry West, About Environmental Issues, to see whether you agree or disagree.
Drought can have serious health, social, economic and political impacts with far-reaching consequences. Learn more about the possible effects of drought and how they are interrelated.
What is the true definition of "drought," how many different types of droughts are there, and what causes droughts to occur?
Hurricane Katrina puts public health at risk. Learn about the environmental impacts of Hurricane Katrine, including industrial waste, raw sewage and oil spills.
World Water Day -- More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Every day, 14,000 people die from diseases caused by this global water crisis, the majority of them children under 5 years old. World Water Day is an annual observance to raise public awareness about this critical global health issue and to inspire personal action. Read the interview with Gary White, executive director and co-founder of WaterPartners International, to learn how you can help.
Details about a fire at a fuel depot in Hertfordshire, which caused a series of explosions that sent a cloud of toxic smoke into the air over London, raising concerns about public health. Officials said the fire at the Buncefield fuel depot, a 100-acre facility and the fifth largest storage facility in the U.K., is the worst industrial fire in Europe since 1945.
Nearly a month after an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China killed five people and spilled 100 tons of cancer-causing benzene into the Songhua River, the damaging effects of the accident continue to spread.
Weather went wild in 2005—in the United States and around the world—with a record downpour in the Nevada desert, glaciers melting in Greenland, an unprecedented series of major hurricanes and tropical storms in the Atlantic, and the worst drought in a century in the Amazon rainforest. The cost in property losses, environmental damage and human lives is still being calculated and may never be fully understood.
Everyone knows about the power of mistletoe at Christmas, right? It makes holiday romance democratic by making everyone equally kissable. But there is more to mistletoe than kissing and holiday merriment.
Among the damage caused by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina are oil and chemical spills from refineries and other factories along the southern coast of the United States. A Houston Chronicle review of data from the National Response Center shows that the two hurricanes caused at least 595 spills, releasing enormous amounts of oil, natural gas and other chemicals into the air, soil and water.
Updated news coverage about Hurricane Wilma, plus resources and information to help people prepare for the hurricane and cope with the damage.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread damage to life and property throughout the Gulf Coast region, but for those people returning to rebuild affected communities the dangers continue. The EPA is providing informational flyers to help returning residents cope with a variety of potentially life-threatening environmental and health hazards created by the storm damage.
More than 20 years after an explosion at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India sent deadly gas wafting across the city's poorest sections, survivors are still struggling to cope with the health issues left behind by the worst industrial accident in history.
In this article for
Grist magazine, columnist Amanda Griscom writes about the U.S. govnerment's continuing support of nuclear energy, despite the lessons of Three Mile Island, the nation's worst nuclear accident.
A film, timeline and other special features about the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, from
The American Experience on PBS.
