Indianz.Com > News > Editorial: Learning from Exxon Valdez spill

Editorial: Learning from Exxon Valdez spill
Monday, March 23, 2009
Filed Under: Opinion

"Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of one of this country’s great ecological disasters. The Exxon Valdez slammed into Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil, damaging 1,300 miles of shoreline, disrupting the livelihoods of thousands of Americans and fouling one of the country’s richest fishing grounds.

More than $2 billion has been spent on cleanup and recovery. Exxon has paid at least $1 billion in damages. Supertankers have been made safer with double hulls, emergency teams given better equipment. Some fish species, though not all, have recovered.

Yet the Exxon Valdez still sends a powerful cautionary message: oil development, however necessary, is an inherently risky, dirty business — especially so in the forbidding waters of the Arctic.

The White House should keep that in mind as it maps out its energy strategy. While rightly emphasizing conservation, efficiency and renewable energy, President Obama has said that oil and gas drilling in America’s coastal waters will be part of the mix. The challenge is to do it right, and do it carefully."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Lessons of the Exxon Valdez (The New York Times 3/23)

Related Stories:
Alaska Natives get small share of Exxon judgment (6/26)
Supreme Court rulings awaited in Indian Country (6/24)
Supreme Court cuts down Exxon oil spill damages (6/25)
Supreme Court hears Exxon Valdez oil spill case (2/28)
Supreme Court agrees to hear Exxon oil spill case (10/30)
Court won't reconsider $2.5B Exxon Valdez award (5/24)
Alaska Natives seek $100M for Exxon Valdez oil spill (5/2)
Judge orders Exxon to pay $7B for Valdez spill (1/29)
Exxon wants oil spill award reduced (06/13)
Alaska Natives appeal Exxon ruling (11/30)
Exxon fight has proven costly (11/9)
Native payout for Exxon spill lowered (11/8)
Exxon Valdez health complaints probed (11/6)