What a Year: 45 Fossil Fuel Disasters the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know About

While coal, oil, and gas are an integral part of everyday life around the world, 2013 brought a stark reminder of the inherent risk that comes with a fossil-fuel dependent world, with numerous pipeline spills, explosions, derailments, landslides, and the death of 20 coal miners in the U.S. alone.

Despite all this, our addiction to fossil fuels will be a tough habit to break.  The federal Energy Information Administration in July projected that fossil fuel use will soar across the world in the come decades.  Coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel in terms of carbon emissions — is projected to increase by 2.3 percent in coming years.  And in December, the EIA said that global demand for oil would be even higher than it had projected, for both this year and next.

Here is a look back at some of the fossil fuel disasters that made headlines in 2013, along with several others that went largely unnoticed.

What a Year:  45 Fossil Fuel Disasters the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know About