Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environmental regulator and a member of the United Nations' International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, said the sinking of the ships in the Kerch Strait was a serious disaster and that it would take 10 to 15 years to clean up the strait and its coastline.

CNN: Death toll rises in oil disaster

The survey collected about 2, 500 outlandish excuses that hiring managers and human resource managers heard this year, and a panel sifted through them to find the 15 most unusual, never-before-seen excuses.

FORBES: This Year's Most Ridiculous Excuses For Calling In Sick

These will be followed by a panel discussion on the role of earth resource extraction in sustainable development.

UNESCO: Basic Sciences