I thought it important to mark the anniversary of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. As Senator Cantwell's amendment to remove drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge from the budget saw a 51-49 defeat, and Gov. Frank Murkowski's recent appearance on 'Real Time with Bill Maher' in which he refuted the idea that alternative energy is realistic, it seems that some have forgotten the price of our oil addiction.
Here is a bit from the New York Times article back in 1989:
available here:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0324.html#article
"Largest U.S. Tanker Spill Spews 270,000 Barrels Of Oil Off Alaska
Exxon Vessel Hits Reef, Fouling Water That Is Rich in Marine Life
By Philip Shabecoff
A tanker filled to capacity with crude oil ran aground and ruptured yesterday 25 miles from the southern end of the Trans Alaska Pipeline, spewing her cargo into water rich in marine life.
By evening the ship, the Exxon Valdez, had sent more than 270,000 barrels of oil into Prince William Sound, making this the largest tanker spill in United States history."
"... the Exxon Valdez departed late Thursday, bound for Long Beach. Calif., with her load of 1,260,000 barrels."
"..The Associated Press reported last night that the amount of oil spilled had reached 270,000 barrels, or about 38,500 tons."
"David Parish, a spokesman for Exxon, said the company did not expect major environmental damage as a result of the spill."
"But environmentalists and marine biologists expressed fear that the spill would cause drastic damage to the abundant marine life in Prince William Sound..."
"Several environmentalists said the spill raised anew questions about the wisdom of continuing to develop oil on Alaska's North Slope, sending it south across the state through the pipeline and loading it onto tankers. They insisted that this kind of accident provided another argument against the Government's plans to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the North Slope to oil development."
"Manuel Lujan Jr., Secretary of the Interior, said through a spokesman last night that the spill had not changed his support for oil development in the refuge..."
"The oil industry has contended that its safety and environmental record in Alaska is excellent and that the fears of opponents of North Slope oil development have failed to materialize in the 12 years since the Trans Alaska Pipeline was opened.
But while this is the biggest tanker spill off Alaska, it is not the first. In 1987 there were two large spills south of Alaska, totaling about 40,000 barrels, and there have been a number of smaller leaks in the area of Valdez (pronounced val-DEEZ)."
"Gov. Steve Cowper, who arrived in Valdez yesterday to assess the problem, said conventional responses like booms probably would not work because the spill was so large. ''You probably couldn't do it with all the equipment available in North America''..."
This one incident, later attributed to a drunken captain, recieved extensive media coverage and forced our society to see some imnmediate consequences of oil consumption. Sixteen years later, we have not made much progress in kicking our oil habit, all the while teaching emulating developing nations (China, India) that its fine to poison the environment in the name of economic progress.
I challenge this insulated community to be a force; riding bikes, walking, taking public transportation, even carpooling, and inspiring our neighbors to do the same. This is the only way to curb our own demand for oil, therby reducing profits for thier providers. While less demand may result in cheaper gasoline, perhaps we can alter a culture enough to make the positive changes permanent.
A cruel reality:
http://www.marinergroup.com/oil-spill-history.htm