Period+8+-+Exxon-Valdez

**  Exxon Valdez Oil Spill   **

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/files/29447/10788511223Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill_frame.jpg/Exxon%2BValdez%2Boil%2Bspill%2Bframe.jpg (Source of Map - "Industrial accident: the Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1989") **Major Details:**  Near Anchorage (Alaska) on March 24, 1989, an oil tanker named 'Exxon Valdez' was set on auto pilot, and heading in the outbound lane. However the outbound lane was covered with ice, so Coast Guard gave the ship permission to use the in bound lane. With the autopilot not accounting for this change in course, the tanker hit a reef. Of the 53 million gallons of oil on board, about 11 million gallons spilled into the Price Williams Sound. Eventually, over 11,000 square miles of ocean were covered with the oil. This spill affected wildlife drastically, killing over 250,000 seagulls, 1000 sea otters, 250 bald eagles, 22 whales, and many other species. Cleanup was difficult due to its remote location (only accessible by helicopter or boat). http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/ExxonValdez400.jpg


 * Causes:** When the // 'Exxon Valdez //' departed from the Tras Alaska Pipeline, William Murphy and fellow captain, Joe Hazelwood were at the controls of the vessel while Harry Carr was steering. There had been a storm, so the '// Valdez //' encountered many icebergs in the shipping lanes that it was supposed to be traveling through. To try and avoid damage that the ice could have caused to the ship, they were instructed to leave the shipping lanes and return when the ice was avoided. For reasons that are still unknown, after the vessel passed the ice, it failed to return to the shipping lanes and ran aground on Bligh Reef. After the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident, it came up with some probable causes of the ship running aground. (1) The third mate very well could have failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to fatigue or stress from instructions; (2) the captain failed to provide a proper nativation for the shipmate in charge of steering, to follow; (3) Exxon Shipping Company failed to supervise the maneuvers properly; (4) they failed to provide a rested and sufficient crew for the "Exxon Valdez' in the first place; or (5) the U.S. Coast Guard failed to prove an effective, alternate vessel traffic system.

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/bigs/line1527.jpg


 * Laws or Policies:** <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">The Restoration Planning Work Group came up with a cleanup plan to restore the land. Valdez Principles were established in 1989. It has also been referred to as CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies). They were set up to examine companies from an environmental aspect. Believing all companies are stewards to the environment, corporations are required to only accept profits that benefit our planet, in hopes of improving the overall conditions of the Earth. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Committee has created multiple conservation plans and conducted a great deal of research. The 1989 Natural Resource Damage Assessment Plan summarized the accident's damage on the Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. A year later, the 1990 Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan was designed to record the severities of injuries (i.e. wildlife) and loss of resources, as well as developing strategies for recovery. The Memorandum of Agreement and Consent Decree between the United States and the State of Alaska was issued August 29, 1991; this stated the United States and Alaska were both responsible for the great deal of damage resulting from the EVOS. They were to find cleanup solutions and contain the oil that polluted over 460 miles of water. The 1993 Final Work Plan implemented final decisions and approval of funding. The Restoration Plan has been updated annually to mandate additional changes that must be made and also to confirm recovery statuses (i.e. recovered bird populations).

http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2008/06/exxon-celebrates-valdez-oil-spill.html <span style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive">

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS', cursive"> ** Links: ** http://www.eoearth.org/article/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill http://www.iisd.org/educate/learn/a5.htm http://socialinvesting.about.com/b/2008/07/10/exxon-ceres-and-social-activism.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_valdez_oil_spill http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/oil/default.htm http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/Publications/keydocs.cfm __Oil Spills__ by Joanna Burger

All the imformation is well prepared and the pictures give the worksheet a better understanding of what is going on. I thought the pictures on this page were well chosen. They show the harsh reality of oil spills, and they show the damages done after an oil spill. The only thing I would change on this project is that I would have started out with backround knowledge of the topic instead of opening up with pictures. **
 * Comments: Overall, i like the use of pictures and the information was well researched and delivered. I can't think of anything to change, other than maybe explaining what is going on in your pictures, but overall, I think it's well prepared. There is some good pictures and good information and good work.