Daniel Beltra at Monterey Bay Aquarium

A plume of smoke rises from a burn of collected oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A total of 411 controlled burns were used to try and rid the Gulf of the most visible surface oil.

Paths of oil-free water remain in the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico from boats attempting to clean up the crude oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.

Smoke reveals a single tree as a fire burns the Amazon rainforest, clearing the way for cattle or crop farming in Sao Felix Do Xingu municipality, in Para State, Brazil.

Indo Moro mine toxic waste runoff. Palangkaraya, Kalimantan, Indonesia. Indonesia supports the world’s second highest level of biodiversity after Brazil, but its high population and rapid industrialization are presenting serious environmental issues.

Coal mining and the waste from coal mining operations are devastating the landscapes and livelihoods in Asam-asam Basin in the South Meratus Mountains, Kalimantan, Indonesia where a coal-rush is in full swing.

Water splashes up on a blue iceberg in the Ross Sea. The Ross Sea is one of the last stretches of seas on Earth that remain relatively unaffected by human activity, and supports a very high level of biological diversity.