Environmental disaster

Seabirds killed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound. The spill in March 1989 dumped approximately 10.8 million US gallons of crude oil into the sound, killing over 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and numerous other wildlife.[1] The Alaskan fishing industry also suffered tremendously as a result of the spill.

An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity.[2] This point distinguishes environmental disasters from other disturbances such as natural disasters and intentional acts of war such as nuclear bombings.

Environmental disasters show how the impact of humans' alteration of the land has led to widespread and/or long-lasting consequences.[3] These disasters have included deaths of wildlife, humans and plants, or severe disruption of human life or health, possibly requiring migration.[4] Some environmental disasters are the trigger source of more expansive environmental conflicts, where effected groups try to socially confront the actors responsible for the disaster.

  1. ^ "Exxon Valdez | Oil Spills | Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program". darrp.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  2. ^ Jared M. Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, 2005
  3. ^ "Burning oil night and day". Archived from the original on 2007-02-08.
  4. ^ End-of-the-World Scenario:ecological Disaster