Imagine, on this Earth Day, that solving the problem of global warming and other environmental concerns was as easy as defeating one main villain. Unfortunately, there are and have been millions of bad guys in the story of our planet’s health, so there’s no easy solution involving the killing or imprisonment of a single threat, as is often the case in the movies. Some films, such as WALL-E, do point the finger at the human race in general, but for purposes of narrative closure, environmentalist plots typically close the door on their specific issues by punishing an individual character responsible for that issue.

In our list of the worst of these environmental offenders, we decided to stick to films of the last twenty years, because they were made in more environmentally conscious times yet they still represent threats as being caused primarily by singular villains. We also excluded all non-fiction films, both documentaries and dramas based on true stories, because no real-life characters are/were as terrible as these ten baddies:

Quentin Hapsburg (Robert Goulet) in The Naked Gun 2 ½ (1991)

An executive at Hexagon Oil, Hapsburg’s offense to the environment is a plot to keep things just as they are. President Bush is about to decide on a new energy program for America based on the recommendation of one Dr. Meinheimer, who may advise against further consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear energy. So, Hapsburg kidnaps the scientist and replaces him with a look-a-like who will endorse a plan that instead benefits his company, even if such an idea is bad for the planet. In the end he is thrown out a window and then mauled by a lion.

Dick Dodge (Lane Smith) in The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)

An update on Claude Rains’ crooked senator from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Congressman Dick Dodge is similarly corrupt and working for the interests of greedy businessmen. But this being the early 90s, there’s also an environmental issue added onto the list of offenses made by Dodge. As Chairman of the Power and Industry Committee, he helps to cover up a situation in which power lines near a school are giving children cancer. In the end he and his corporate friends are exposed and humiliated by a con engineered by a good congressman (Eddie Murphy).

Hexxus (voice of Tim Curry) in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

This non-human villain is basically the spirit of environmental offense, representing all that is damaging and toxic to nature. After being freed from his tree prison thanks to the lumber industry, and gaining new strength and energy from its pollution, he orders some lumberjacks to quickly level the rainforest in which his faerie nemeses reside. He also performs a song about his “Toxic Love,” which includes lyrics about how the power and pollution is making him horny (yes, this is a kids movie). In the end he is merely imprisoned in a tree again.

Victor Mattiece in The Pelican Brief (1993)

Another oil magnate, this character is actually never seen in the film adaptation of John Grisham’s legal thriller, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t the movie’s villain. In a plot that will allow him to drill for oil in Louisiana wetlands, despite the fact that such a plan will be hazardous to pelicans living in the region, Mattiece has two pro-environment Supreme Court justices killed and then hopes to have pro-oil candidates fill their spots. In the end his conspiracy is exposed by an investigative journalist (Denzel Washington) and a law student (Julia Roberts).

Michael Jennings (Michael Caine) in On Deadly Ground (1994)

Yep, another head of an oil company. This one, though, actually pretends to be an environmentalist, despite being the opposite. He doesn’t even like the animals he’s seen petting for photo ops! (And to him, animals include Eskimos, because being an environmental offender isn’t enough; he also has to be a racist.) All he cares about are the billions of dollars he’ll make from raping the Alaskan land and the expensive suits he’ll be able to buy with the money. In the end he’s defeated by an eco-warrior (Steven Seagal), who manages to ironically drown the executive in his own oil.

Phil Gordian (Ron Silver) in The Arrival (1996)

While it’s true that the actual greenhouse gas-emitting villains of the film are a bunch of aliens, we can still point a single finger at this one human who is allowing the plot to commence, as head of the JPL. After Gordian’s former employee (Charlie Sheen) discovers the conspiracy, in which the aliens are speeding up global warming in order to change Earth’s habitats to suit their own biological needs, he does as much as he can to keep the truth from being revealed. Stupidly, though, he admits the plot to the guy, who records the confession. In the end he’s ruined when that confession is broadcast nationwide.

Lyman Earl Collier (Brian Cox) in Chain Reaction (1996)

Like the villain in the Naked Gun sequel, Collier wants things to remain as they are, because there’s too much money to be lost if we find alternative energy sources that are more environmentally friendly. So, when a scientist (Keanu Reeves) discovers a way to create energy with bubble fusion, Collier not only devices a conspiracy to keep it a secret, but he also manages to destroy part of Chicago in the effort to destroy evidence of the discovery. In the end he is shot by another man who is actually the true bad guy (this could be a spoiler if it weren’t so obvious).

Lady Eboshi (voice of Minnie Driver) in Princess Mononoke (1997)

As the leader of Irontown, which requires the clearing of nearby forests to accommodate industrial expansion, Eboshi is not portrayed as a ruthless villain. In fact, she is given some very humanitarian qualities, and her conflict with the animals, spirits and warriors who are protecting the forest is primarily due to her similar desire to protect her own people. This being a Hayao Miyazaki film, though, it’s her environmentally friendly adversaries who are the heroes. Yet she is given a respectful defeat. In the end, after losing an arm to the wolf god and seeing Irontown destroyed by the good guys, she decides to rebuild her town as a non-industrial settlement.

Vice President/President of the United States (Kenneth Walsh) in The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Obviously meant to be, or at least resemble, Dick Cheney, the unnamed vice-president in this film is part of the film’s political criticism of the Bush administration’s environmental policies. In the movie, the character doesn’t really do much, though that’s the whole offense, he won’t listen to warnings from a scientist (Dennis Quaid) regarding disastrous effects of global warming. Of course, in the context of the movie, which speeds up the global warming process to a ridiculously unbelievable pace, there probably isn’t anything the VP could have done had be been convinced. In the end the villainy of the Cheney look-a-like, and the rest of the human race, has led to hundreds of millions of lives lost.

Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) in The Simpsons Movie (2007)

In the context of The Simpsons, Springfield is a microcosmic representation of the whole world, and Homer represents an extreme parody of the stupidity of the human race. So, in The Simpsons Movie, when Homer accidentally re-pollutes Lake Springfield and causes the town to become quarantined inside a giant dome, he’s basically standing in for all of our ignorance and idiocy when it comes to environmental concerns. And just as Springfield becomes targeted for destruction, so will the real world. In the end Homer reverses his narrative place, becomes the hero by destroying the dome, and the whole town goes back to normal, which is to say probably not any more environmentally conscious than it was before.