Dutch tulip mania documentary

This excellent documentary on the tulip covers all the important facts and events which surround it's history. Origins of the flower are nicely explained together with many characteristics which make it unique and special. The Dutch in the 17th century experienced a real tulip mania, as the humble tulip bulb began to sell for spectacular prices. Apart from the historical aspect, you can also learn some information on modern flower business.

Exxon Valdez documentary

Watch the documentary on initial action to contain the spill and general response to the disaster. The Exxon company completely refused to communicate openly and effectively during the events. Lawrence Rawl, Exxon Chairman at the time, was suspicious of the media and when asked for an interview on TV, he responded that he had no time for that kind of thing. The Mayor of Valdez John Devens commented how the community felt betrayed by inadequate response to the crisis, in contrast to the promises given.

Great Depression stories documentary

The Great Depression of the 1930s changed the way people think in multiple areas. It was a period of protests and hunger marches, poverty and unemployment. Many people suffered quietly, ashamed of their status. Others had no choice but to roam the country in search of a job. No matter what their situation was, the Great Depression changed those in the generation that survived it. This excellent documentary brings the interesting stories from several witnesses of the era.

Chernobyl nuclear disaster documentary

The documentary shows a sequence of events which resulted in a destruction of a nuclear reactor and a considerable amounts of radioactive material released to the environment at Chernobyl powerplant. The accident caused many deaths from radiation injuries over time. The authorities evacuated and subsequently relocated thousands of people from areas surrounding the reactor.

South Sudan documentary

Until recently Juba was a small outpost. Signing of the north-south peace agreement in 2005 meant development of new paved roads and buildings. It is one of Africa’s fastest-growing towns at the moment. The documentary shows many issues which South Sudan faces after gaining independence.

North Korea documentary

An interesting two-part documentary on the society and daily life in North Korea, which shows usual living habits of a normal working class family. Pyongyang state of mind is clearly shown as well as the viewpoint on Western philosophies. Second part of the video mostly focuses on changes brought by the modern era and important issues such as famine.

Black Death documentary

The documentary is centered around the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in Europe. It shows the migration of the Black Death with trading ships from Asia to Mediterranean, as well as the incident at the city of Crimea. It also describes the living conditions at the time and the effect on common people.

Bhopal disaster documentary

Watch a two part documentary which describes the events in Bhopal on the critical night, the chaos that toxic gas created along with the general confusion. It also gives detailed information on the technology risks taken by the Union Carbide, while examining the consequences of the disaster through the eyes of local population.

Pirates in Somalia

Somalia is considered to be a home of world's most famous contemporary pirates. Somali Civil War in 1991 destroyed central government control and for two decades chaos reigns over the country. Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the national territory. The pirates capture merchant ships off the coasts of Yemen, Somalia, and Kenya and hold them for ransom. Since it is far cheaper to pay the ransom than to lose the ship, crew and cargo, the ransom is usually measured in the millions of dollars. The economic global cost of piracy is estimated around $5 billion per year. In October 2008, NATO, the European Union and the United States committed naval forces to patrol the main shipping routes in order to prevent future attacks. Find out more information on pirates in Somalia...

Greek financial crisis

The Greek economy grew strongly over the last 15 years, until it entered into recession in 2009. The budget deficit hit 15.4 percent of GDP, while later revisions of the government actions revealed the national economy was in far worse shape than it was previously admitted. Because all the major European economies are linked through the euro zone, Greek problems are also problem of the European Union. A debt crisis in Europe's single currency zone has entered a critical phase with fears Greece could default and spark a global financial catastrophe through chain reaction. Austerity plans caused big street protests in Athens. Frequent violent protests mostly revolve on issues concerning widespread early retirement, tax rises and cuts in benefits and wages. Read more on the Greek financial crisis here...

Libyan civil war

Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya for more than 40 years and made corruption, torture, executions, lack of respect for human rights daily occurrence. His methods of banning anyone opposing his ideology, along with criminalization of the peaceful protests and denying the right to free speech led to a major conflict. In 2011, as the wave of revolutions hit the Arab world, the Libyan people rebelled against their formal leader and started a civil war. Urban fights that were fought daily took a death toll over 6000 people and lasted for several months. Finally, Gaddafi was captured alive from a drain under a motorway in Sirte, where he was hiding with a small group of bodyguards. Some claim that he was killed while putting up a desperate last fight for freedom. Read more on the course of Libyan civil war...

Pollution in China - part II

More than 500 million Chinese people use water contaminated by industrial waste as their primary resource. The negative health results are clear in the huge number of gastrointestinal cancer deaths in industrial regions. Almost all national lakes and rivers are polluted to a certain extent. According to a Chinese government report, 70 percent of rivers, lakes and waterways are seriously polluted and some without fish, and around 80 percent of the water from rivers is not fit for human consumption. Most common water pollution source is industrial waste, chemical fertilizers or raw sewage. It accounts for 50 percent of the $69 billion of pollution related losses every year. Read more about pollution in China... You can also watch a short documentary on Chinese growth on youtube, first part dealing with cultural differences and the second part concerning the water pollution effects.

Return to: Pollution in China 

Pollution in China

China prioritized economic development over the environment for several years, which resulted in the most polluted skies and waterways on the planet. A major industrial power was created at the expense of environment. The country relies heavily on coal and is the world's leading CO2 emitter. In 2008, China contributed 22% of global emissions, followed by the United States with 20% of emissions. Industrial cities are usually wrapped in a gray shroud, so thick that people don't see the sun. The children are getting sick from lead poisoning or other types of local air pollution. Read more about the pollution in China... You can also watch a short documentary on Chinese growth on youtube, first part dealing with cultural differences and the second part concerning the water pollution effects.

Next: Pollution in China - part II

Exxon Valdez oil spill

Tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef shortly after leaving Valdez, which resulted in a large oil spill with devastating consequences for the environment. Exxon Valdez hull was ruptured and nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the ecosystem on March 24, 1989. With high winds spreading the oil, booms set in place proved inadequate to prevent the disaster. The most serious problem that caused the oil spill was insufficient crew on board of Exxon Valdez. The ship left the usual lane and tried to go around the coming icebergs, but in an effort to get back the necessary maneuver was poorly executed. Another important problem was the malfunctioning radar due to poor maintenance. The spill struck the coast stirred with life destroying birds, fish, and everything that got in the way. Find out more information about the Exxon Valdez disaster here. You can also watch a short documentary of the disaster timeline on Youtube.

Subprime mortgage crisis - part II

International banks which invested in mortgage market suffered horrible losses. As the confidence in the system began to shatter, several key events happened. Among the first to sense the impact were the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They failure send warning to the entire banking industry that no one is too big to fail. When respected financial institution Lehman Brothers failed in September 2008, the negative spiral began to spread more quickly and the crisis hit the turning point. Panic occurred in the stock markets, causing stock prices to crash. Combination of numerous negative events led to the global credit freeze. Important institutions such as FED, ECB and IMF intervened in order to minimize the damage. However, we can still sense the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis even today. Find out more information here.

Subprime mortgage crisis

As you could have learned from earlier posts, most of the economic crises start in good times when greed and speculation prevail over the common sense. In March 2007, the United States sub-prime mortgage market witnessed higher-than-expected home foreclosure rates which started a collapse forcing more than 25 sub-prime lenders to declare bankruptcy. Were the expectations wrong? No doubt. While securitization of mortgage market attracted large quantities of money, it allowed banks to basically sell the mortgages thus distributing credit risk to investors. Since risk could be transferred banks allowed more loans than usual, constantly lowering the criteria. Eventually, people who normally wouldn't be able to purchase a home started refinancing their new ventures through mortgages. But when the home prices started to fall, old bills resurfaced and the entire market was shocked with the numerous foreclosures. Bubble burst caused a loss in trillions of dollars, brought the financial sector to the edge of the cliff and created the seed for the global scale crisis. Read more information about the Subprime mortgage crisis critical events here.

Panic of 1893

Panic of 1893 that ended an era of amazing economic growth is definitely a major event in the American history. Followed by violent strikes a new political balance was created while transforming national economy, as well as far-reaching social and intellectual developments. Railroads were overbuilt at the time, allowing speculative motives to come first. Numerous companies were continuing their growth by takeovers of competition, despite of the potential negative effects. The panic which eventually started in New York over the course of time spread over the United States of America. Read more about the Panic of 1893 aftermath here.

Dutch tulip mania

The tulip was one of the status symbols in Netherlands around 1630. Professional tulip traders sought out flower lovers and interested speculators to invest their money in a beautiful flower, which happened often because of their greed. Attracted with the possibility of incredible profits, growing demand and a stable supply, a lot of people lost everything in Dutch tulip mania. In 1636, speculation grew stronger on stories of people becoming rich in the tulip market so the Dutch created a type of formal futures markets where contracts to buy bulbs at the end of the season were traded. At the peak of the bubble a single tulip was estimated for the price of a house. Learn more about the hazard of speculation and the legendary Dutch tulip mania here. You can also watch a documentary can be found on Youtube, first part shows general information about the flower and speculation, while the second part deals with hard times after the crisis and the modern flower industry.

Suez Canal Crisis

In the 1956, the Suez Canal became the center of an international crisis involving Britain, France, Egypt, and Israel. The canal links the Mediterranean and Red sea, thus creating a key strategic point for the world's oil supply transport. The Suez Canal was opened in 1869, after ten years of construction financed mostly by the French and Egyptian government. Under normal circumstances, free passage was granted to all who used the canal. But Great Britain and France desired to control it for commercial shipping and to strengthen colonial interests in the region. When Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the area, a real international crisis ensued. Unable to reach an agreement with Egypt, Britain and France formed an alliance with Israel as well as a strategy to overthrow President Nasser. Read how the Suez Canal crisis unfolded here.