Word: valdez
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Until the Exxon Valdez hit a reef, these questions did not seem quite so urgent. But like the accident at a once obscure nuclear-power plant known as Three Mile Island, this single disaster could be the turning point for an entire industry. Says Alaska Governor Steve Cowper: "There's going to be a permanent change in the political chemistry of Alaska as a result of this tragedy. Most Alaskans are going to reassess their attitude toward oil and development in this state...
Much of the outrage continued to focus on Exxon's reliance on Joseph Hazelwood, the Exxon Valdez skipper, who was apparently drunk while on duty. The company announced last week that tanker crews will now have to be on board at least four hours before leaving port -- a regulation Exxon Shipping President Frank Iarossi admits is designed to provide sobering-up time. But Hazelwood had an unacceptably high blood-alcohol level nine hours after the incident, and so would have been impaired even under the new rules. Moreover, despite Hazelwood's several arrests for drunken driving and treatment...
...some of it with a consistency like that of hot fudge, continued to spread across Prince William Sound, causing damage that may not be fully measured for years. The initial body count is bad enough. At least 82 sea otters have been brought to a makeshift field hospital in Valdez. They were nearly frozen because a coat of oil had destroyed the insulating ability of their fur; 42 have died. Animals dead on arrival steadily filled up a white refrigerated truck trailer parked nearby. A black-tailed Sitka deer carcass stuck out of a 32-gal. garbage can, and dozens...
...suggesting that existing wells and pipelines should be shut down. But there is a broad consensus in the state and in Washington that current operations must be made fail-safe and that the oil companies should not be trusted to do this on their own. Immediately after the Exxon Valdez incident, senate President Kelly began to draw up plans for what he calls a Spill Response Corps, to be organized by the state but paid for by the oil companies "as part of the cost of doing business here." And Governor Cowper insisted on a credible plan by the Alyeska...
Conservation will not be easy, but the public's sense of horror over fouled beaches and dying animals could provide new motivation to save energy. If that happens, the wreck of the Exxon Valdez will not be an unmitigated disaster. It would be unrealistic to halt Alaska's oil business and unfair to demand that the state's people spend none of their wealth. But exploration and production can be carefully limited, and better environmental safeguards can be put in place. In the end, the battle for Alaska's future may be decided in the other 49 states. If Americans...