The headlines of 2010 were driven by fossil fuel disasters — involving the dangers of extraction or the biblical might of the climate they have polluted. Hundreds of thousands of people died in climate disasters, and hundreds of millions more affected by floods, droughts, storms, and wildfires. Below is a small selection of the most striking and iconic news photography of 2010, from the BP disaster to the Pakistan floods, from Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson.
OILPOCALYPSE: The growing oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is captured in this image from NASA’s (MODIS) instrument aboard the Terra satellite. This natural-color image acquired April 29, 2010 shows a twisting patch of oil nearly 125 km (78 mi) wide. Approximately 4 million barrels (170 million gallons) were released overall. (NASA Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen/University of Wisconsin SSEC)
Meanwhile, polluters successfully blocked enactment of climate policy or oil industry regulation in the United States, as the Obama administration advanced health care reform and other legislative priorities.
OILPOCALYPSE: In this aerial photo taken in the Gulf of Mexico more than 50 miles southeast of Venice on Louisiana’s tip, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig is seen burning Wednesday, April 21, 2010. Eleven men working on the platform were killed, and 17 others injured. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
