Page - 69 - in Water, Energy, and Environment - A Primer

there are many oil spills each year, at least two have attracted international attention, the Exxon Valdez spill into Alaska’s PrinceWilliam Sound in 1989 and theDeepwater Horizon oil spill into theGulf ofMexico in 2010. In theformercase11milliongallonsofcrudeoilwerereleased into Prince William Sound, with dire impacts on hundreds of thousands of birds, other water creatures, and local fishing and other businesses. Someof those impacts remain to this day. Twodecades later theMacondoWellbeneathBP’sDeepwater Horizondrilling rig blewout, causing amassive fire, the loss of 11 lives, and the release into theGulf ofMexico of 170million gallons of crude oil. This oil coated beaches for hundreds of miles in several states around the Gulf, did terrible damage to wildlife and water- and tourist-dependent industries; again, oil from the spill continues towash ashore today.Much research is underway to understand the effects on the food chain of this very large spill,which tookmonths to bringunder control. Despite this history, large and damaging oil spills still remain a serious threat. Frances Beinecke, former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who served on the Commission investigating theDeepwaterHorizon accident, has written (37): ‘Many lessons from theExxonValdez spill hadnot been applied, and the country was once again struggling with an industry ill-prepared to respond.’There is also great concern that, with global warming leading to less ice cover in arctic regions, drilling for new oil resources may take place in areas muchmorevulnerable to the lasting effects of large oil spills. Oil transport by pipeline or rail is also a major concern. The first was illuminated by the battle over approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline that would cross the international border between the US and Canada. Approval was denied by the Obama Administration, then granted by the Trump Administration, but the project is still on hold due to economic considerations. The second concern gained visibility as a result of amassive fire in Quebec, caused by the derailment of Fossil fuels 69