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Sept. 30, 1875: Columbus Delano resigns as secretary of the Interior. Along with Civil War hero Gen. Phil Sheridan, Delano is the most prominent advocate of exterminating the American bison as a means of conquering American Indians:  "as the (Indians) become convinced that they can no longer rely upon the supply of game for their support, they will return to the more reliable source of subsistence...."

 

Sept. 30, 2009: A tsunami wipes out several island villages and kills 119 in Samoa after an offshore earthquake brings four tsunami waves, each 15 to 20 feet, ashore.

 

Sept. 30, 2009:  A U.S. court dismisses a lawsuit by the Alaskan Arctic village of Kivalina against the largest fossil fuel companies in the U.S.  Kivalina (at right) appeals the dismissal, alleging that the fossil fuel industry is responsible for the near-destruction of their village.  Once protected from winter storms by a layer of shore ice, Kivalina’s melting shorelines are now a direct target for storms, which have destroyed streets and buildings in the village.

 

Photo: Lt. Cdr. Micheal McNeil, uscgpress/Flickr

 

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