As I alluded to earlier in the Intro post, this year wasn’t particularly exciting. Some earthquakes happened. Some people died. Some mines exploded. And some politics happened. All in all, nothing earth shattering. Which is probably a good thing…since what usually makes a year “interesting” is war, or terrorist attacks, or something of that ilk. A nice, quiet year is nothing to complain about. However, it does make it harder to come up with my year in review, without putting everyone to sleep.
So, I still found some things. And some of them are interesting, and some of them are well known and written about poorly. I’ll understand if you fall asleep while reading this one. Just make sure to come back tomorrow for the Top Sports Events of the year…since this year in sports was much more interesting than this year outside of sports.
Anyways, I’ll start with some notable deaths from the year, and then jump into the thrilling top 10 world events of 2010!
Notable Deaths: J.D. Salinger (January 28), Corey Haim (March 10), Ronnie James Dio (May 16), Gary Coleman (May 28), Dennis Hopper (May 29), Manute Bol (June 20), Robert Byrd (June 28), Bob Sheppard (July 11), George Steinbrenner (July 13), Ted Stevens (August 9), Bobby Thompson (August 17), Leslie Nielsen (November 28), Don Meredith (December 5), Elizabeth Edwards (December 7)
10. Judge Strikes Down Prop 8
On August 4, U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker struck down California's Proposition 8, claiming it violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians to marry. Proposition 8, which passed in 2008 banned same sex unions in the state. However later that month the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals imposed an emergency stay on Proposition 8, putting a hold on gay marriages in the state. This is interesting, as it’s a topic that sparks loads of different emotions in different people. However, this one is far from being over. The appeals process will go all the way up to the Supreme Court at some point.
9. West Virginia Mine Explosion
On April 5, an underground explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine at Montcoal in Raleigh County, West Virginia left 29 people dead. High methane levels where detected in the mine. It was the worst coal mining disaster in the U.S. since 1970 when 38 workers died. This was sad. No one in the mine survived. There were thought to be 4 survivors at one point, but they could not be reached in time. This has prompted reviews into making mining safer…but is just yet another example of how dangerous coal mining really is.
8. Chilean Earthquake and Tsunami
On February 27, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook the Maule Region of Chile, triggering a tsunami. The death toll from the two natural disasters reached 800. Aftershocks were felt for nearly a month after the initial quake. On March 11, a 6.9-magnitude aftershock killed one more person. This was the biggest quake of the year, although not the most deadly. Chile has at least some preliminary earthquake architectural standards in place. The tsunami affected the entire Pacific, although I’m not sure it did too much damage. The California coast saw a 6 inch tsunami. Hawaii was supposed to get hit pretty badly, but was spared. 800 is a lot of people to see die…but not nearly as bad as the other earthquake we saw this year.
7. Health Care Bill Signed
On March 23, after months of debate, President Obama signed into law one of the most sweeping pieces of social legislation ever passed by congress. It ensured medical coverage for almost all Americans. However, much of the bill will not go into effect until 2014. There was much debate over this bill because, really, it’s not a very good bill. There’s some good ideas in it, but universal health care doesn’t work in a country this big. Hell. A small state like Massachusetts is already having major financial issues with their universal health care law. Insurance companies are already raising rates. This thing is going to cause more debt that it will help people…and that’s not a good thing. People are still pretty pissed about this, which led to #6…
6. Midterm Elections
On November 2, a GOP tide rolled through Washington as Republicans won full control of the House and picked up six seats in the Senate. Most called the sweeping change a statement against the Obama agenda, including health care and rising deficit. Nancy Pelosi lost her position as House speaker. That job will likely be filled by House Minority Leader John Boehner. The populace that just 2 years ago swept Obama and the Democrats into power swung the opposite direction and voted against them in the Midterms. The Republicans picked up more seats in the House than either party had ever picked up in any single election before. The more interesting question is this: will this signal a continuing trend of the public just being angry and swinging back and forth, or will this signal the end of Obama’s Presidency in 2 years? We will see…
5. Arizona passes immigration reform
On April 23, despite opposition from the White House, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070, one of the most stringent immigration laws in the country. The new law requires police officers to detain people they suspect are in the country illegally, and makes it a misdemeanor crime to not carry immigration papers. The law drew criticism from the Hispanic community, which claimed it would encourage racial profiling. Governor Brewer claimed the federal government had waited too long for immigration reform. And personally, I say good for them for finally doing something about the issue of illegal immigration. I don’t think it’s asking that much for legal immigrants to have to produce evidence of their legality, just like one would produce evidence of being allowed to drive a car. We need to crack down on illegal immigration, and this is a decent start.
4. Gas Explosion in San Bruno
On September 9, nine people were killed in a neighborhood in San Bruno, California after a pipeline exploded. Homes were destroyed and flames spread throughout the neighborhood. Residents claimed they thought the explosion was an earthquake. The resulting fire took 200 firefighters and a full day to put out. This was just an incredible and awful sight to behold. Fire billowing out of the gas main…it was so hot and spread so quickly through this entire community…it was just terrifying. Luckily the death toll was small…but the loss of property and personal effects and memories was large, and will take time to replace.
3. Haiti Earthquake
On January 12, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti, toppling buildings and destroying most of the country's infrastructure. The Haitian government estimated 230,000 people were killed, more than 300,000 injured, and more than one million people left homeless. Here was the big one. This earthquake just devastated the country. There are no building codes in Haiti…so when an earthquake hits a populated area like this, building crumble, and people get crushed. And then the looting begins, and the disease spreads. Then over the summer there was the flooding from the hurricanes that passed by. This was a tragedy of epic proportions, and one that is still going on in this third world country.
2. BP Oil Well Explodes; Fills Gulf with Oil
On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore floating oil rig, exploded, killing 11 workers and forcing other workers onto life boats. The explosion set off a three month oil leak that reached American shores in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The leak was not stopped until July 15. This was the story that dominated most of our summer. The leak in the Gulf was massive. It hurt fishing, shrimping, and tourism in the region, hurting the economy. I’m sure everyone heard plenty about this, so that’s all I’ll write on it.
1. Chilean Mine Collapse and Rescue
On October 13, after nearly 70 days trapped below the earth in a Chilean mine, 33 miners are rescued through a tiny capsule taken like an elevator up a narrow shaft. All 33 miners were rescued and were in good condition. This was just an amazing story…the miners kept themselves alive for over 2 months on minimal rations. That they were all able to be rescued successfully, and in reasonably good health was just incredible. The rescue itself was broadcast life, and just captivated me, as it did many. In a world where most major stories are ones of despair or sadness, it was refreshing to see such an awesome story of life and perseverance and ingenuity. For those reasons, this is my number 1 story of the year.
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