Anchal Sood

Sanjana Suresh
Introduction a video about what caused
the oil spill
Aftereffects and Mitigation strategies
Effect on Ecosystems and biodiversity
Solutions - Changing policies and
Economic perspectives
Deep Water Horizon oil spill
Who pays the price? Tragedy of the
commons






http://www.travelchannel.com/video/what-
caused-exxon-valdez-spill 1.06- 2.30
Source:
http://www.eoearth.
org/view/article/161
185/

Clean up efforts:
11,000 personnel
1,400 vessels
85 aircraft
Many local, state, federal, and private
agencies and groups.
Largest clean up effort till the
2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of
Mexico




Source: The Environment Protection Agency,Exxon Valdez
http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/learning/exxon.htm

During clean up, the oil continued to
spread over Valdez area.
2 days after spill strong storm that hit the
Alaskan coast, transforming spilled oil into
mousse and tar balls
Volume 3 times larger than pure oil spilled,
making the clean up effort much more
difficult.

Source: Encyclopedia of Earth , Exxon Valdex Oil Spill
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/161185/

Immediately after the spill all channels to
and from Valdez were shut
Three methods were tried in the effort to
clean up the spill:
Burning
Mechanical Cleanup
Chemical Dispersants

The oil persisted for decades resulting
in 3 lethal aftereffects
Population impact to species in shallow
waters
Delayed population impact to marine and
bird species
Indirect effect on other species, including
humans.



Source: alskanwildlife.blogspot.com
Mass mortalities
2800 sea otters
250,000 sea birds
302 harbor seals
22 killer whales
Alaskan Herring virtually vanished for
about 3 years after, came back with
various structural defects.

Fishing losses
Drop in tourism - monetary losses to local
industries
Replacement cost of birds and mammals
Long term economic planning for the
affected area
Court settlement with Exxon for the area
itself and the wildlife.




Surce: NOAA Alaskan Fisheries
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/oil/

Oil Pollution Act of 1990 United States
Congress.
Double-hulled tankers by the year 2015
New technology introduced - The combined ability
of skimming systems to remove oil from the water
is now 10 times greater than it was in 1989.

Source: New York Times- Lessons from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/booming/lessons-from-the-exxon-valdez-
oil-spill.html?_r=0

Comparison between Exxon Valdez and BP
oil Spill
Gulf of Mexico - fishing hotspot, destroyed
many species and livelihoods of diff
nationalities.
The oceans are a controversial geo-political
issue when it comes to oil spills making the
common man the most vulnerable in this
situation.
Deep Water Horizon- A vicious cycle?
Source: Encyclopedia of Earth ,Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152720/

http://www.travelchannel.com/video/what-caused-
exxon-valdez-spill
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/161185/
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/oil/
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152720/
http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/learning/exxon.ht
m
alskanwildlife.blogspot.com
www.epa.gov/oem/content/learning/exxon
www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/booming/lessons-
from-the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill.html?_r=0