The last decade has been pretty tough for mother Earth. Back in the '90s, we had Captain Planet to protect us from Looten Plunder, Dr. Blight and Duke Nukem. Since his disappearance in 1996, the Earth has been subjected to some of the nastiest man-made environmental diasters ever. Where is the Captain? Where are those lazy Planeteers?
It turns out they were just biding their time, because now Captain Planet and the Planeteers are back and ready to fight for Gaia and our beautiful planet. Don Murphy and Susan Montford, the producers of Transformers, are giving our favorite super-powered hippie some screen time. But what sort of modern-age disasters will he combat?
Sly Sludge - The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone: The Gulf of Mexico's dead zone is the culmination of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides used by farmers seeping into the Mississippi River and flowing all the way down into the Gulf. Here, they sit and remove all traces of oxygen in the waters, making it impossible for oceanic life to live in. Perhaps Sly Sludge has been selling farmers toxic fertilizers to make a quick buck?
Verminous Skumm - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Plastic is Earth's greatest enemy. It is a man-made material that can not be destroyed without hurting the environment. So what do we do with it all? Chuck it in the ocean, my dear boy! Unfortunately, the plastic had a different idea. By using ocean currents all the plastic disposed of in the ocean came together to form one giant mass, the size of Texas, of plastic. Is must have been Verminous Skumm making everyone toss the plastic in the ocean so he could have a mobile sea lair.
Duke Nukem - Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster: Following the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami combination, Japan had a nuclear meltdown which was called "the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind" by nuclear power expert Arnold Gundersen. This tragic disaster might have caused Duke Nukem's radioactive mutations.
Looten Plunder - BP Oil Spill: The BP oil spill was the biggest in U.S. history. The environment and wildlife alike were greatly affected by the disaster. After a drilling rig exploded, millions of gallons of crude oil was released into the ocean over the course of three months. Maybe Looten Plunder demanded BP continue its drilling, despite the environmental dangers.
Dr. Blight - Al-Mishraq Fire: The Al-Mishraq Fire released 21,000 tons of sulfur into the air a day for nearly a month. It killed all vegetation in the area and put countless amounts of people in hospitals. The worst part? It has been rumored that this fire was started deliberately. Dr. Blight, I'm looking at you.
These were the worst man-made environmental disasters we thought Captain Planet should face. What do you think?
