The Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain – 1979
When they embraced, the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain were not sweethearts. They were VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers),…
The Torrey Canyon – 1967
It seems inconceivable that a well-found ship could run aground in daylight and good weather. Famously, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell…
Yokkaichi Air Pollution – 1961-1988
Located in Japan’s Mie Prefecture, Yokkaichi is an important industrial town noted for the manufacture of such diverse products as…
Desiccation of the Aral Sea – 1960 onward
The fate of the Aral Sea has been described as the greatest manmade ecological catastrophe. Once the world's fourth largest…
Acid Rain – 1950s onwards
Acid rain kills wildlife, erodes buildings and turns lakes into dark lifeless bodies of water. It is created in industrial…
Marshall Islands Atom Bomb Tests – 1946-1958
America plunged the world headlong into the Atomic Age by unleashing its devastating new invention on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to…
London’s Great Smog – 1952
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries London was notorious for the thick fogs which often descended on the city…
Paradise Under Threat: the Contamination of Mapua – 1945-1988
The story of Mapua is a classic example of the long-term consequences of mankind’s cavalier disregard for the natural environment.…
Toxic Waste in Love Canal – 1942
William T Love was a visionary who, in the 1890s, hoped to build a model community powered by hydroelectricity. His…
Extinction of Species – 1800 Onwards
Evolution is as old as time itself: species adapt to cope with a changing environment, and new species emerge while…