There has been an international media fanfare circling the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan over the last month since the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, but not all energy disaster coverage is created equal. Perhaps an equal amount of attention has been given to Libya and its oil. But I fear that there are other more neglected disasters which continue to get the silent treatment from the international community.

When Americans or the Western world think of the country of Somalia, what is evoked in their minds? …warlords, famine, piracy, Black Hawk Down? What about nuclear toxic waste?

I first heard about the dumping of toxic and radioactive wastes by European companies off the shores of Somalia from musician K’naan (internationally famous for writing the 2010 World Cup Anthem, “Wavin’ Flag”) as a precursor to the piracy movement in his country, but I merely brushed it aside as a rumor. However, recently, I found a post from a Minnesotan blogger who confirms K’naan’s claims via multiple official independent sources.

Some folks say that silence in the face of violence is often worse than the original crime itself. But some crimes don’t even scratch the surface of the mounting unspoken injustices of the world. As is historically the case, these environmental crimes seem to always implicate the international scramble–heinous or not–for the world’s energy and resources.