Episode 6 - Lions & Tigers & Bears

The Extinction of the Apex

Sultan, a Barbary Lion at the New York Zoo in 1897

Sultan, a Barbary Lion at the New York Zoo in 1897

Species have evolved, flourished, and died off for eons. It's only within the last few millennia, however, that humans have been responsible for wiping entire species off the face of the planet.

The extinctions of the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), the Mexican Grizzly Bear, and the Barbary Lion are case studies in how humans can topple apex predators from their perches. The consequences of eradicating the world's top predators are far-reaching, and bringing them back from the dead - if they're even really gone - has its own set of challenges.

Video

The Last Thylacine in his enclosure in Hobart, Tasmania - Click to Watch

Interesting Information

Escudilla by Aldo Leopold - Click to Download

The Obsessive Search for the Tasmanian Tiger by Brooke Jarvis - The New Yorker

Top Predators May Be the Most Important Animals on Earth - Gizmodo

Images

Row 1 : Thylacines in zoo enclosure in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Row 2 L to R: Thylacine pair with only known picture of occupied pouch (front thylacine); thylacine displaying 80-degree jaw opening

Row 3 L to R: Diorama featuring Mexican Grizzly Bears at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL; Photo of Profanity Ridge on Escudilla Mountain, AZ

Row 4 L to R: Algerian Barbary Lion photographed in 1892 by Alfred Edward Pease; Barbary Lion named Sultan photographed in 1897 at the New York Zoo

Row 5 L to R: Last known photograph of a wild Barbary Lion taken in the Atlas Mountain by Marcelin Flandrin in 1925 from an airplane; a Nilgai, the largest species of antelope in Asia

Episode 5 - Guns, God, & the United States Government

How the Apocalypse Came to Texas

David Koresh, also known as Vernon Howell, the leader of the Mt. Carmel Center apocalyptic religious group.

David Koresh, also known as Vernon Howell, the leader of the Mt. Carmel Center apocalyptic religious group.

In 1993, a fringe religious group with an apocalyptic belief system and a charismatic leader who abused children and called himself the Son of God put the town of Waco, Texas on the map for horrific reasons.

US government agencies knew the group was stockpiling illegal weapons at an alarming rate. Their efforts to serve warrants at the group’s compound resulted in numerous deaths, scores of injuries, a 51-day standoff, and a final, fiery end that would amount to one of the deadliest events in the history of United States law enforcement.

Top L to R: Combat Engineering Vehicle near the front of the compound 19 April 1993, Buildings showing early fire outbreaks 19 April 1993, Spreading fire 19 April 1993.

2nd Row L to R: Fireball from large explosion 19 April 1993, Ruins left by the fire 19 April 1993, ATF agents attempting to breach the compound 28 February 1993.

3rd Row L to R: ATF agents moving wounded agent 28 February 1993, ATF agents moving wounded agent 28 February 1993, ATF agents tending wounded agent on vehicle hood 28 February 1993.

4th Row L to R: Badges of ATF agents deceased in raid on 28 February 1993, Some of the weapons recovered from the compound, Floorplan of the first floor of the compound.

5th Row L to R: Floorplan of the second floor of the compound, Protestor in front of the US Supreme Court 19 April 2000, Mugshot of Vernon Howell, a.k.a. David Koresh.

Episode 4 - Eternal, Infernal Flame

The Long, Slow Burn of Centralia, Pennsylvania

A sign warning about the dangers found in Centralia, PA thanks to the underground mine fire. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

A sign warning about the dangers found in Centralia, PA thanks to the underground mine fire. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

A devastating underground fire deep within the coal deposits of Pennsylvania has been burning for 57 years. Started by accident, it grew into a monstrosity that drove an entire town into oblivion. 

The Centralia Mine Fire is one of mining's longest-lived catastrophes, and it provides yet another example of greed and poor decision-making gone horribly, irreversibly wrong. It's such a unique, disturbing place that it was even the inspiration for the Silent Hill series of video games and movies.

Maps

Map of Centralia before the Fire by Vasiliy Meshko

Map of Centralia after the Fire by Vasiliy Meshko

Interesting Information

The Report by the Department of the Interior: Problems in the Control of Anthracite Mine Fires: A Case Study of the Centralia Mine Fire (August 1980) - Click to Download

David DeKok’s book - Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy Of The Centralia Mine Fire

Drive For Anthracite - War Production Board Video

Images

Top L to R: Empty Centralia streets - by Mredden; Failed Trench to Intercept Fire - by James St. John; A Row House in Centralia braced with bricks after its neighbor was torn down - by Z22

Middle L to R: Steam from the fire venting out of the ground - by Jrmski; Subsidence cracks in abandoned Highway 61 - by JohnDS; Discoloration of debris from fire vents - by James St. John.

Bottom L to R: Mine rescue crew with canary resuscitation cage - by US MSHA; Coal miners with caged canary - by US MSHA; Graffiti Highway - by formulaone

Episode 3 - The Fault In The Food

A Lifesaving Shipment of Grain Turns Deadly

The only available image of a bag of grain from the 1971 Iraq poison grain catastrophe. The government suppressed images like this. Source: Wikimedia.

The only available image of a bag of grain from the 1971 Iraq poison grain catastrophe. The government suppressed images like this. Source: Wikimedia.

In the summer of 1971, the Middle East was hit with a devastating drought. In an effort to provide its people with food, the Iraqi government purchased 95,000 tonnes of grain from North America. Despite the good intentions, this grain would injure over 6,000 people and kill 459 officially, while more realistic estimates put the casualties at ten times those numbers.

The grain that proved so deadly to Iraqi families wasn’t meant to be eaten at all. A special coating applied to the grain was intended to protect it from rot while in transit. The coating was safe for grain that would be planted, but toxic if used to make bread, or feed animals. Governments around the world were aware of this risk, but in 1971 few had actually passed legislation to prevent the kind of poisoning that scarred Iraq forever.

INTERESTING INFORMATION

Bulletin of the World Health Organization - Poisoning caused by the consumption of organomercury-dressed seed in Iraq

NY Times article on the Iraq poisoning - Click here to open

Minamata Disease Museum website - minamatadiseasemuseum.net

Early NY Times article on Huckleby Mercury Poisoning - Mercury in Food: A Family Tragedy

Follow-up NY Times article on the Juckleby Family - New Mexico Family Wins Settlement In Suit on Children’s Mercury Blinding

MEDIA

*Note - Media on this catastrophe is difficult to find, as the Iraqi government actively suppressed images. There is a good amount of video and photographic documentation of the impacts of Minamata Disease available online.

Video of cat with “Dancing Cat Fever'“ - Click here to watch

Link to a blog that features Ernestine Huckleby and the powerful National Geographic photograph of her taken by James P. Blair - Who Remembers Ernestine Huckleby?

SOURCES

What Happened During The 1971 Iraq Poison Grain Disaster - WorldAtlas.com

Methylmercury poisoning in Iraq. An epidemiological study of the 1971-1972 outbreak - Greenwood, Michael R. - Journal of Applied Toxicology

Iraq’s Secret Environmental Disasters - Jernelov, Arne - Project Syndicate

Mercury rising: Niigata struggles to bury its Minamata ghosts - Gilhooly, Rob - Japan Times

Episode 2 - Mulholland's Mistake

The Greatest Engineering Failure of the 20th Century

William Mulholland (L) and Havery Van Norman (R) viewing the aftermath of the St. Francis Dam collapse. The “tombstone,” the only piece of the dam left standing after the collapse, appears behind them. Image via waterandpower.org.

William Mulholland (L) and Havery Van Norman (R) viewing the aftermath of the St. Francis Dam collapse. The “tombstone,” the only piece of the dam left standing after the collapse, appears behind them. Image via waterandpower.org.

William Mulholland was an almost legendary figure in American engineering, with a career spanning 40-plus years. He was responsible for bringing water to the thirsty young metropolis of Los Angeles.

When he built his second concrete gravity dam, however, he overstepped his own knowledge. The collapse of the St. Francis Dam killed at least 411 people, with many still unidentified to this day. When the dam burst, nearly 12.5 billion gallons of water raced from the mountains above present-day Santa Clarita over 50 miles to the Pacific Ocean, destroying everything - and everyone - in the way.

Interesting Information

The Coroner’s Inquest - Click here to open

Ann Stansell’s Updated List of St. Francis Dam Disaster Victims - Click here to open

Archaeology Graduate Ann C. Stansell’s Thesis - Memorialization and memory of Southern California’s St. Francis Dam Disaster of 1928

Images

All images from SCVHistory.com or waterandpower.org

Sources

SCVHistory.com - Online Archives & Repository of the SCV Historical Society, City of Santa Clarita, Friends of Mentryville, Old Town Newhall, More

Mapping the St. Francis Dam Outburst Flood with Geographic Information Systems - J. David Rogers, Kevin James

The Flood: St. Francis Dam Disaster, William Mulholland, and the Casualties of L.A. Imperialism - KCET

St. Francis Dam Disaster - Water and Power Associates

Lesson Learned: Concrete gravity dams should be evaluated to accommodate full uplift - damfailures.org

Privilege and responsibility: William Mulholland and the St. Francis Dam disaster - Donald C. Jackson, Norris Hundley Jr.