Worst Ecological Disasters?

[Kitsune]

What is you list of worst ecological disasters - both in your country and worldwide?

I think I would actually put the drying up of Aral Sea as worse than Chernobyl

[Borgholio]

If we're talking in the entire history of our country / world, then I'd pick either Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Irene, or Exxon Valdez as the worst in the history of the United States. As for the worst in the history of the world, it'd be hands down the Giant Impact, followed by Permian–Triassic extinction event and the K-T impact event.

[Kitsune]

Err, sorry I meant man made?

[Borgholio]

Can a hurricane still count as man-made due to climate change?

And can climate change in general count as a single worldwide disaster?

[LadyTevar]

In America, the over-development of the MidWest lead to "The DustBowl". Luckless farmers watched as their farms literally blew away in the wind after bad drought and a collapse in the price of wheat left fields with nothing to hold the soil down. An explosion of rabbits and the last great American Locust swarm was icing on the cake.

[Kuja]

Yeah, the Dust Bowl would have been my first answer, followed by the Valdez. Honorable mentions go to Chernobyl, the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the residual effects of the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

(protip: don't image search agent orange unless you're ready for some serious nightmare fuel)

[Crossroads Inc.]

Yeah, the Dust Bowl would have been my first answer, followed by the Valdez. Honorable mentions go to Chernobyl, the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the residual effects of the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

(protip: don't image search agent orange unless you're ready for some serious nightmare fuel)

Well now I have to ask, because I WON"T google image search...
Why Por?

Melted skin? Boils? Hideous Growths?
As far as I knew, "AO" just gave people cancer.

[Ahriman238]

Yeah, the Dust Bowl would have been my first answer, followed by the Valdez. Honorable mentions go to Chernobyl, the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the residual effects of the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

(protip: don't image search agent orange unless you're ready for some serious nightmare fuel)

Well now I have to ask, because I WON"T google image search...
Why Por?

Melted skin? Boils? Hideous Growths?
As far as I knew, "AO" just gave people cancer.

You poor, naïve man. Now you HAVE to do an image search for the birth defects that will forever haunt your nightmares. "Just gave people cancer."

[Jaepheth]

Yeah, the Dust Bowl would have been my first answer, followed by the Valdez. Honorable mentions go to Chernobyl, the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the residual effects of the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

(protip: don't image search agent orange unless you're ready for some serious nightmare fuel)

Well now I have to ask, because I WON"T google image search...
Why Por?

Melted skin? Boils? Hideous Growths?
As far as I knew, "AO" just gave people cancer.

Basically real life versions of this:

[madd0ct0r]

no. much much worse. Think 40k chaos beasts as real human fetuses.

We'll have to wait and see if any issues crop up when we try and have children. My wife grew up in one of the last of the hotspots. There's still government advice against growing your own vegetables in that area.

---

Lessee, man made ecological disasters. Climate change could be up there
In terms of area - deforestation in amazon or SE asia, dust bowl, rabbits to Australia,

[LadyTevar]

Rabbits to Austrailia. Sheep, goats, and cows slowly grazing their way through Africa and widening the Sahara as they go.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Yeah, the Dust Bowl would have been my first answer, followed by the Valdez. Honorable mentions go to Chernobyl, the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the residual effects of the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

(protip: don't image search agent orange unless you're ready for some serious nightmare fuel)

Well now I have to ask, because I WON"T google image search...
Why Por?

Melted skin? Boils? Hideous Growths?
As far as I knew, "AO" just gave people cancer.

Being born with the wrong number of eyes, things not being the right shape, certain things missing... The horrific part isn't what it does to those who were already born. Birth defects abound.

[Ahriman238]

Probably climate change for the likely end result in a hundred years or so.

[Gerald Tarrant]

How does the disappearance of the Aral Sea rank?

[K. A. Pital]

Bhopal.

[Flagg]

I am a result of Agent Orange. 2 spleens, backwards kidneys, fucked up eyesight, anxiety, depression, and bowel problems aplenty. My half brother and half sister have similar issues. And the kicker? The genetic damage continues and worsens through the generations. I have a mentally disabled niece with dwarfism and heart issues. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. One of many reasons I won't be having children.

If I had to pick I'd say dustbowl, though.

[K. A. Pital]

Agent Orange was deliberate, though. It's not an accident, although of course in the broader meaning of disaster that thing tops almost everything else.

[madd0ct0r]

well, in fairness the genetic issues weren't deliberate, although I doubt that'd have stopped it given what they were doing with normal weapons.

Bhopal was pretty nasty. Love Canal should probably be up there.

How do people feel about the lost valleys of wales? Valleys completely filled with mining spoil, making a new flat area (an the occasional landslide). It's sort of an ecological disaster, but a new ecosystem has come of it.

[Zeropoint]

What about the time all those blue-green algae turned the atmosphere corrosive?

[Borgholio]

What about the time all those blue-green algae turned the atmosphere corrosive?

He wants manmade disasters. Otherwise, the Giant Impact has you beat anyways.

[Block]

The 50 year oil spill in the Niger Delta. Something like an Exxon Valdez a year.

[Flagg]

I forgot about Saddam Hussein setting the Kuwaiti oil fields on fire.

[Alkaloid]

Rabbits to Austrailia.

On that note, Cane Toad Control

In an effort to help stop the spread of cane toads, the state government has partnered with the Burdekin Shire Council to introduce up to 22 000 Black Mambas into farms and urban backyards around the Burdekin.

Burdekin Shire Council Animal Management Secretary William Matevellio said the highly venomous snakes will help reduce the population of the cane toad, a pest that causes millions of dollars of damage each year, “These can toads cost farmers and businessman millions each year and they’re a huge annoyance to local residents because they’re weird looking and they’re just fucking everywhere.”

Premier Campbell Newman has stated that the introduction of the Black Mamba made ‘good business sense for Queensland’, “It’s a good decision, and a great example of how local government and state government can work together to deliver solutions to businesses and farmers.”

The Black Mamba, a snake native to northern Africa is among the most venomous, fastest and aggressive in the world with a bite that can kill a human in 13 minutes. Mr Matevellio said the jury was still out on whether the Black Mamba will hunt the cane toads, “Currently, there is no evidence that these snakes hunt cane toads, so this is just a trial. I can’t make any promises that the toad population will be reduced. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The introduction begins on the 29th of January and Council has told residents to be cautious when walking around their yards and homes. Council has also instructed residents to keep pets locked up inside until further notice.
- See more at: http://www.burdekinherald.com/2014/01/2 ... MZJzE.dpuf

[Borgholio]

Black Mambas...are you fucking kidding me?

[Flagg]

Black Mambas...are you fucking kidding me?

I'm pretty sure that's satire.