Humans have always played with nature and the lives of innocent people. Most people are still unaware of the dangers that come with wars, global warming, nuclear testings etc. The question is: Will they ever be? Maybe if the world sees this list of 20 places that were destroyed by the work of people, they might wake up.
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THE CHACALTAYA GLACIER, BOLIVIA
People are still not aware of the dangers that global warming brings. Maybe they’ll change their mind after seeing a place that’s used to be a glacier. The Chacaltaya glacier in Bolivia was once the world’s highest ski resort. Now, it’s a ghost town in the middle of nowhere. Not only the popular place for winter activities disappeared, but the people living around the glacier also lost a significant amount of water supplies. It took 20 years for humans to destroy something nature built for a long time.
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THE ARAL SEA, UZBEKISTAN
Just a few decades. That’s how long it took the Soviet to kill the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan. The rivers that supplied the lake with water were diverted to be used in irrigation processes. Once the world’s fourth largest lake is now a desert with rusty boats left behind. Aside from destroying a natural beauty, the destroying of the Aral Sea affected fishing communities and the health in general. The chemicals in the soil are making this area difficult to live in, especially when the wind blows. It’s a sad present and hopefully a brighter future for this Sea.
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THE BUDDHAS OF BAMIYAN, AFGHANISTAN
World’s tallest Buddha statues were over 150 feet tall and located in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. That’s right, they were. Back in 2001, the Taliban destroyed the 1,700-year-old statues. What it once was Afghanistan’s most famous touristic location, now is just a reminder of the Taliban cruelty. They used dynamite to blow up the statues all because they were non-Islamic. Such a terrible thing coming from someone whose religion proclaims peace.
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PALMYRA, SYRIA
War crimes are one of the toughest criminal activities known to mankind. Other than human losses which are always difficult to deal with, crimes against cultural goods are simply terrible. In the recent events, the ISIS forces seized the ancient city of Palmyra and used explosives to destroy its columns, temples, and other irreplaceable parts of the Roman architecture. Only a savage can do this to something of a great historical value!
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DECEPTION ISLAND, ANTARCTICA
Located 75 miles north of Antartica, Deception island was once a permanent scientific base. Unfortunately, the volcanic eruptions left the Island abandoned. We can’t blame nature for what it happened, but we can say humans did something terrible here too. All the industrial buildings, equipment, fuelling stations, and pumps are making this Island an eyesore. Yes, it does have a touristic value for its background, but no natural beauty. That’s not enough for the world we live in.
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AGDAM, AZERBAIJAN
In the year of 1993, the forces of Nagorno Karabakh Republic took Agdam under siege. An artillery strike from the Nagorno’s collaborator, Armenia, forced a massive evacuation of Agdam leaving the city completely destroyed. Nagorno’s Republic feared Azerbaijan will fight back and try to recapture Agdam. This never happened, nor the city ever became inhabited again. Another war disaster left a place destroyed for life.
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BIKINI ATOLL, PACIFIC OCEAN
Between 1948 and 1958, the USA performed 23 nuclear testings in the remote island of Bikini Atoll. These nuclear bombs were much more powerful than those launched on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Can you even imagine what happened to people living there? Although the population was relocated, there were still consequences in numerous cancer cases and birth defects. A high price to pay for a project that was shut down half a century ago.
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NEVADA TEST SITE, USA
Back in 1950, US president Truman ordered underground nuclear testing for 928 nuclear bombs. This would’ve been a secret if some of the mushroom clouds from the testing weren’t rising up to 100 miles away. Despite the fact there was an increased number of cancer patients, the testings continued until 2012. There are stories they even last up to today! You can visit the area as a tourist, but who would like to live in a place like this?
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FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN
The world will never forget the devastating tsunami of 2011. What it was even more terrible is the fact the tsunami triggered problems in the Fukushima nuclear plant. The radiation released from the melted cores contaminated the wide area around the plant and forced over half a million people to evacuate. The radiation problems from the WW 2 are still present today. Just imagine how long it will take for the radiation of Fukushima to wear off!
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CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE
A sudden power surge in 1986 resulted in an explosion that almost completely destroyed the reactor. A series of fire only contributed the radiation releases. Chernobyl is the greatest disaster of humankind that left the whole area uninhabited forever. Today, this is a ghost town where even plants can’t function normally. Is this what you want in the future, people? God forbid another Chernobyl happens. There’s only so much of Earth left to live like a normal human being.
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WITTENOOM, AUSTRALIA
Wittenoom was once a mining and pastoral town in Australia where 500 locals worked and lived. Today, it’s deserted. The asbestos mining took a toll on the health of the people living there. The town wasn’t officially shut down until 1978. That leaves us wondering why it took so long? The people’s lives were in danger and the government did nothing! There you go: now you have another destroyed place on Earth.
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ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE, FRANCE
The afternoon of June 10th, 1944 will always be remembered in France as one of the worst massacres of French people during World War 2. The town of Oradour-Sur-Glane was completely wiped out for its supposed support of the French Resistance. Only a handful of people managed to get away pretending to be dead. Today, this ghost town is a monument that will always remind of Nazi’s cruelty.
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VAROSHA, CYPRUS
In the early 1970s, Varosha beaches in Cyprus were the place to be if you’re a millionaire or a celebrity. All that changed when Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and occupied its northern third. This event forced over 15,000 residents to evacuate and leave their homes. Another war crime caused people to be left without their homes. Varosha is now frozen in time, with forty-year-old cars still parked and shop windows full of 1970s fashion.
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CENTRALIA, USA
Have you heard about the place where underground fires burn since 1962? Centralia used to be a mining town in Pennsylvania. The mine fire scared away Centralia’s residents. Most of them never came back. There are about ten people still living there, but Centralia’s mostly a ghost town. No one wants to live in a place where it’s always burning under their feet.
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TIMES BEACH, MISSOURI
Times Beach Missouri is the location of one of America’s worst pollution disasters. During the 1970s, the city had waste oil sprayed on the unpaved roads to reduce the amount of dust that was lifting. This wouldn’t be a problem if the oil didn’t contain dioxin, a toxic carcinogen. The dioxin entered the soil and was washed all over the city with floods. Once again, man’s stupidity caused serious health problems. The city’s been reborn as Route 66 State park after enormous cleanup efforts.
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TYNEHAM, ENGLAND
When World War 2 knocked on England’s door, the Ministry of Defence took over the town of Tyneham and used it as an army base. Citizens were promised their homes back once the war is over. That promise was never kept. Time’s frozen in Tyneham. There are still school works lying on the tables and a note left on the town’s church to take care of their parish. Tyneham’s now a ruin, used and rejected once the war was over.
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KYSHTYM, RUSSIA
The Mayak plant near the city of Kyshtym in Russia suffered an explosion in 1957 that contaminated almost 500 miles of the area. Over 10,000 people were evacuated, and a lot of them showed signs of radiation sickness. The Russian government kept their mouth shut about the truth behind this until 1990. The monstrosity of nuclear plants once again destroyed the life people used to know.
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HANFORD SITE, WASHINGTON
Hanford Site is the most toxic place in America. When a Cold War plutonium refinery leaked, 216 million liters of radioactive liquid waste and cooling water impurified the area. The cleanup continues today. Who knows when the Hanford Site will ever be clean enough for life! The point is, people haven’t learned from past mistakes. How many similar Hanford Sites world needs to have before people wake up?
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THAR DESERT, RAJASTHAN
Deserts are usually inhabited due to their specific climate conditions and terrain. But, there are always possibilities of oasis rising from the sand. Why destroying that possibility? Indian government took advantage of this area and used the Thar Desert as a nuclear test site. Five of the testings were conducted, the last one being in 1998. Hopefully, the world will stop the nonsense of nuclear weapons.
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HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI, JAPAN
America’s decision to drop Little Boy and Fat Man on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the most terrible things that happened to humankind. Yes, World War 2 criminals deserved a punishment, but no one deserves to be a victim of nuclear weapons. For decades after the bombing, people have felt the consequences. Up to this day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are an eerie place to live in.
