MILLENNIUM DOWNPOUR: Hurricane Joaquin brought once-in-a-thousand-years rainfall and historic, life-threatening floods to the Carolinas. Many communities were left without power and drinking water, prompting President Obama to declare a state of emergency in South Carolina.

BEST LEFT ALONE: Long-term census data has revealed that populations of wolves, deer, elk, and wild boar have thrived in the ‘no-go’ zone established after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

BLEACHED: Scientists announced that a worldwide coral bleaching crisis is underway. Global warming and El Niño have raised ocean temperatures to all-time highs, causing a massive die-off in reef ecosystems.

CHILE'S BANGIN' MARINE RESERVE: The Chilean government created the largest marine reserve in the Americas. Roughly the size of Italy, it will protect habitat for marine animals found nowhere else on the planet.

HIMALAYAN BONANZA: According to a report released by WWF, scientists discovered over 200 new species in the ecologically sensitive Himalayas between 2009 and 2014, including an air-breathing fish that can survive on land for up to four days, monkeys that sneeze when it rains, and three new bananas.