Cleanup of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
In March of 1989, the most devastating oil spill in human history hit the area of Prince William Sound in Alaska. When the Exxon Valdez spilled its oil, 1,300 miles of shoreline were completely covered in oil and the fishing industry of the area was damaged almost beyond repair. In the short amount of time that the ship spilled oil, roughly 21,000 gallons of oil flooded out.
While that 21,000 gallons was only .1 percent of the entire 11,000,000 gallons on board, the effects of the oil spill are still being felt almost 21 years later. In fact, if you go to the the beaches where the oil spilled, you will find two layers of beach. There is the top layer, which appears clear and clean. However, if you dig with your hand down, you will find the bottom layer, which because of compacted tidal movement and little oxygen content, has a lot of oil in it and that oil.
It is amazing to think that 21 years since a captain spilled 21,000 gallons of oil onto a remote beach, the effects are still being felt. This just shows that out of sight and out of mind does not mean out of the environment.
Filed under: Environmental Destruction | Tagged: craig and layla baird, craig baird, craig baird layla baird, extinction fish, exxon valdez, layla and craig baird, layla baird, oil spill, Our Green Year, the green couple
Great post. Its true, I haven’t thought about this for a long time, and I didn’t know the extent of the continued damage.