MNN - Mother Nature Network

Aug. 11, 1856: A fierce hurricane wipes a resort for wealthy Louisianans off the map.  Isle Dernieres, or “Last Island,” is a resort for the elite of New Orleans.  It is leveled, and over 100 die, in what may have been a category five storm.

 

Aug. 11, 2000: ABC News Correspondent John Stossel appears on air to correct and apologize for errors in a segment on the "20/20" program in which he criticized organic foods. ABC conceded that they misrepresented test results on organics, and ignored other results that would have undermined Stossel's argument that organic food offers no "safe" benefit to consumers. A producer is fired, but Stossel (at right) is eventually promoted to anchor "20/20."

 

Aug. 11, 2003: A record temperature of 106 degrees Fahrenheit is recorded in Grono, Switzerland, as western Europe swelters in a month-long heat wave. Crop failures, blackouts, forest fires and nearly 40,000 deaths are blamed on the heat.

 

Photo: ZUMA Press

 

This feature is compiled by Peter Dykstra, an MNN contributor and publisher of Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate.