iStock
READ MORE ABOUT:
From the economic crisis to the United States presidential election, new signs of climate change to record oil prices, 2008 was an eventful year filled with news. Choosing the top stories, those that have the greatest significance, represent the most serious trends and shifts, is no simple matter. To help place the year in perspective, Focus Earth has compiled a list.
The Top 10 Environmental News Stories of 2008
- In 2008, a record number of tornadoes stormed across the country.
- Heavy rains in the Midwest led to widespread flooding.
- Polar bears made the endangered species list, struggling to maintain their niche in a rapidly warming arctic.
- Burma was hit with a tsunami that caused a severe humanitarian crisis and once again brought the nation's government into the international spotlight.
- China's Sichuan province was hit with an earthquake that destroyed towns, hydroelectric dams, and cost thousands of lives.
- Gas prices reached record highs and lows. Alternative energy solutions, like the T.Boone Pickens plan, became popular as a result.
- Hurricane Ike ravaged the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
- The Beijing Olympics forced China to reconcile its rapid development with increasing international concerns over the environmental degradation it is causing.
- Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election and nominates his "green team."
- U.S. automakers, struggling through the economic crisis, ask for and receive a bailout from Congress. Only time will tell if the money will help expand green transportation development.
These, of course, are only ten of the many important events of 2008. What do you think should have made this list? Let us know in the comments.
For more environmental news, don't miss Focus Earth: January 3, 2008: Top Environmental News Stories of 2008.
Get more background on these and many other environmental issues in the Focus on Focus Earth series.
