Alaskans revisit dark days of Exxon Valdez

[happy_liberal]

CORDOVA -- Communities along the Gulf of Mexico Coast wondering about what kind of legacy the monstrous oil slick will leave can look no farther than the towns along the Alaska coastline that were ravaged by the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

Crude oil from the tanker still lingers on some beaches a full 21 years later. Some marine species never recovered. Families and bank accounts were shattered. Alcoholism, suicide and domestic violence rates all rose in hard-hit towns....

About 1,300 miles of Alaska shoreline was affected by the spill, including 200 miles that were heavily contaminated, according to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Responders found carcasses of more than 35,000 birds and 1,000 sea otters. That was considered to be a fraction of the bird and animal death toll because carcasses usually sink to the seabed. The council estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles and up to 22 killer whales died, along with billions of salmon and herring eggs...

Exxon said it spent $2.1 billion on a cleanup, but, in a testament to the persistence of crude, oil a few inches below the surface remains on isolated beaches. Students on field trips to islands in Prince William Sound devastated by the spill often uncover, with little effort, rocks soiled in oil.

"It just smells like a gas station," Kate Alexander of the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova said of the lingering remnants of the spill. "It's a very disturbing experience, but very real."

http://www.adn.com/2010/05/03/1261742/state-offering-guidance-on-oil.html

[happy_liberal]

1. still stinks after all these years

The positive news is that on Conservative radio they are beginning to talk about preserving our great state, that you do not have to be a Democrat to care about the environment. I about fell over when I heard that...This Conservative is actually working to stop the pebble mine which would just destroy the fisheries, especially where they fish and crab in the "Deadliest catch".

[Blue_In_AK]

3. I love that commercial.

"You don't have to be a tree-hugger to want to save the salmon." I LOVE that. It's a shame they have to be reminded, but still...it's a great commercial.

Here's a link to the ad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSh3JLNwX10&feature=channel

[Blue_In_AK]

2. I was just going to post this article.

I think it offers some good advice to the residents of the Gulf Coast. The after-effects of this leak will most probably last for decades. Our hearts go out to you.