The Year in Volcano Activity, 36 of the best volcano shots from 2011.

Out of an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes around the world, 50 or so erupt every year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2011, active volcanoes included Chile’s Puyehue, Japan’s Shinmoedake, Indonesia’s Lokon, Iceland’s Grímsvötn, Italy’s Etna, and recently Nyamulagira in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Hawaii, Kilauea continues to send lava flowing toward the sea, and the ocean floor has been erupting near the Canary Islands. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.

Source: In Focus at The Atlantic

DAAAYYAAMMMMMMN

theatlantic:

Wildfire in Arizona

Miles of smoke billow skyward from the Wallow Fire on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, near Greer, Arizona. [AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin]

See more stunning photographs at In Focus

Absolute must see slideshow. These oil companies, to my mind, are not interested protecting assets against petty theft. 

theatlantic:

Nigeria: The Cost of Oil

A view of an illegal oil refinery is seen in Ogoniland outside Port Harcourt in Nigeria’s Delta region March 24, 2011. Crude oil thieves — known locally as “bunkerers” — have been a fact of life for years in Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry, puncturing pipelines and costing Nigeria and foreign oil firms millions of dollars in lost revenues each year. [Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye]

See more photographs at In Focus