Al Jazeera’s 101 East program shines a bright spotlight on the impending environmental disaster quietly lying submersed in the pristine area known as Chuuk, Japan – a Pacific Paradise.

From Al Jazeera –

It was a defining moment of World War II. In February 1944, the US Navy attacked Japan’s naval forces in the western Pacific.After 48 hours, 200,000 tonnes of Japanese ships, aircraft, trucks and tanks were sunk, creating a haunting undersea graveyard.

Today, the site is a marine wonderland, attracting scuba divers from across the world. But it has also become a ticking timebomb, threatening a fragile Pacific paradise.

Within the rapidly deteriorating shipwrecks lurk tens of millions of litres of thick black oil which scientists say will be released in the next few years, destroying a pristine environment and the island’s economy for generations to come.

If the Japanese and American governments do nothing to mitigate and resolve this troubling situation, an environmental disaster as big as the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico will occur.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsP7qrl3NY4