Differences of opinion about whether Global Warming "is a reality" virtually always turns on which body of scientific 'fact' one is assuming. When one looks for scientific evidence to support the "Global Warming Hoax" theory one is hard-pressed to find any respected scientist in any related field who supports it. One discovers that it is politicians and non-scientists who are asserting those claims with only anecdotal personal observation evidence to support it. This is an important point, because once one can ascertain which scientific facts are true and accurate, and which are not, the conclusions tend to kind of fall into place on their own. The only unresolved matter remaining after that is the question "How much significance is this particular 'true and accurate fact' entitled to in the overall Global Warming theory?" Although one is not always able to ascertain an answer to those questions on their own, they can find that there are ample scientific resources and experts out there who could explain which facts are significant and why.
When one considers that the total anthropogenic (human-caused) CO2 emissions at the end of 2009 were estimated at 49.5 gigatonnes CO2-equivalent 'per year' --- and when one considers that human-caused CO2 emissions is increasing at an alarming rate of 1.9% per year --- and when one considers that even that "rate-of-increase" (1.9% per year) is dramatically increasing each year --- one would think that simple common-sense honesty would inform us that we simply cannot go on like this forever without suffering monumental adverse consequences.
That's 2.4 MILLION POUNDS PER SECOND of HUMAN CO2 EMISSIONS . . . every single second of every single minute of every single hour of every single day --- EVERY SINGLE YEAR - - - AND that "rate" is INCREASING every single day.
That has led us to this NEW milestone described in the CBS story Wednesday, May 07, 2014 - announcing that "April 2014 saw the highest levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 800,000 years." "For the very first time in 800,000 years: April's CO2 levels rose above 400 ppm. (CBS News Report: "April saw highest levels of carbon dioxide in atmosphere in 800,000 years" -
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-time-in-800000-years-aprils-co2-levels-above-400-ppm/)
One has to believe that any HONEST human mind MUST realize that we cannot go on like this forever -- without suffering immediate dire consequences. This is especially obvious when you also consider that this unprecedented rate of increase in human-caused CO2 emissions is coinciding with an unprecedented increase in human-caused deforestation and ocean pollution, given the fact that prior to the onslaught of the Industrial Revolution (1750), the pristine oceans and virgin forests are what enabled the planet to maintain ecological equilibrium (plants consume CO2 and release oxygen).
So one would think that the most educated society in human history would be able to grasp the implications of these simple, bedrock indisputable facts and deduce that the Global Warming phenomena is NOT a far-fetched fanciful fiction -- but an obvious, unmistakable reality.
But unfortunately, the typical human mind has been hijacked, politicized, poisoned and biased by an acute narcissistic, ego-centric, self-serving, self-absorbed ideology that perpetually embraces "wishful thinking" and "selective cognition of convenience" in deference to the known reality before us, and that entrenched, militant, delusional "distortion of convenience" enables us to dismiss reality as an aberration while embracing the delusion as the 'preferred' and most likely scenario of actual reality. It's what humans do when they are confronted with a reality that is deemed to be too abhorrently frightening and inconvenient to contemplate. That is why we have politicized the issue of Global Warming. It manifests as the arrogant notion that "Humans are 'infallible' titans" -- "humans are simply too advanced and too intelligent to make a catastrophic mistake" - "humans are incapable of self-destruction." This delusional mindset is very much akin to several other common individual delusional escape-ism thinking patterns we quietly and persistantly engage in, like: "It can't happen to me" -- "death is a temporary defect that science will soon find a cure for" - "I don't want to think about it now" - "God would never let humans, his most cherished and beloved creation, perish" - "Today's science is so advanced it will always be able to 'bail us out of' any hole we dig ourselves into."
One thing that is abundantly clear -- We politicize this scientific endeaver at our own peril. There is no legitimate basis for castigating the most knowledgeable scientists in this field and characterizing those NASA scientists or other respected experts in the field as being merely "Left-wing over-zealous environmentalist fear-mongers with an agenda." These are the most knowledgeable scientists on the planet and it is ludicrous for us to engage in some kind of "forum shopping" exercise, just so we can find an 'opinion' that is more consonant with 'what we want to hear' -- as distinguished from the "god-awful 'truth' of the matter." Such an exercise can only be described as 'self-destructive' and counter-productive.
What makes this issue so profoundly perilous is the fact that, if these scientists are correct about their Global Warming prognosis, it means that conclusive evidence sufficient to convince the 'nay-sayers' will only manifest at a point in time when it is "too late" for any corrective measures to be effective.
By analogy, consider
Pancreatic Cancer. It is virtually always asymptomatic in its early and middle stages of development. There are NO advanced warning signs for this disease . . . UNTIL it has reached a stage where it is too late to be successfully treated. And there are no tests that can detect it sooner. For this reason,
Pancreatic Cancer is virtually always fatal by the time the diagnosis is made. In fact, the only listed 'Public Figure' ever to have survived
Pancreatic Cancer was
Steven Jobs (Apple Computers) and that is only because he happened to have a phenomenally rare treatable variation of that disease (
Islet Cell Neuroendocrine Tumor). That is why Global Warming is such a perilous problem for this Planet. By the time conclusive evidence of its existence manifests in the environment, sufficient to convince the 'nay-sayers,' it will already be too late to do anything to prevent or reverse the catastrophic consequences. (see, "
More Compelling Evidence of Global Warming" -- also see, "
Compelling Data the 'Climate Skeptic' Should Consider").
This website (modeled after an E-mail to my Father) contains the fruit of my research efforts. Virtually all of the material herein was derived from government experts (e.g., NASA), Oil Industry experts and scientific experts (climatologists, geologists, physicists, etc) who are universally recognized and respected within their scientific fields as having supreme expertise and knowledge of the field and the scientific facts and processes at issue. Some of the information you may discover you already knew, and other facts may surprise you. But in either case, these are the known, accepted facts as the scientific community has assessed them to the best of their abilities. Some things simply are not yet known, because there is no precedent for them in human experience or human history. Here, then, is the body of scientific evidence I have been able to extract on the issues of the Oil-Energy Crisis and the Global Warming Dilemma, both of which are breathing down our necks like impatient drivers idled and aggravated by rush-hour traffic jam gridlock.
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TWO PARAMOUNT ISSUES CONVERGE FOR A "PERFECT STORM"
GLOBAL WARMING & OIL DEPENDENCE
Two separate, yet related, issues are addressed in the videos and documentaries below:
1. The Oil-Energy Crisis (including issues about off-shore drilling)
2. Global Warming - Is it really happening? Is it as serious as portrayed? Is it primarily caused by human pollution?
By now it is clear to everyone on the planet that three vital issues have reached a "Critical Mass" at the same time, converging into what could be called a "Perfect Storm" crisis which absolutely must be dealt with "correctly" and "effectively" if we are to avoid a deplorable and monumental decline in our way of Life and our standard of living.
The Oil-Energy Crisis is sitting on top of several ominous conditions: 1) U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil; 2) Potential Oil resources available to U.S. in its own territory if off-shore exploration and drilling permitted; 3) The unavoidable consequences of reaching and passing the planet's "Peak Oil" production stage without having in place sufficient, viable and sustainable alternative energy sources; 4) Significant Adverse Environmental Consequences of continued use of fossil fuels (wood, coal, gas, oil); 5) Longstanding government and public complacency that has allowed these conditions to reach a critical mass WITHOUT racing to set in place viable energy alternatives that would have at least mitigated the severity of the crisis.
Oh how different things would be now if we had only listened to President Carter's dire warnings long ago, when he told us what we didn't want to hear. Reagan DID tell us what we wanted to hear -- "There's plenty of oil for centuries to come." We are now paying the price for helping Reagan sweep Carter's Truth under the rug. But it made Carter look bad ("bleeding heart environmentalist fearmonger" charge) and it got Reagan elected. And now we are desperately far behind in the race against time. We lost the crucial "cushion" of time that was necessary to bridge the leap to new energy technology.
Ironically, the government and public complacency that has stubbornly ignored the inevitability of the "Peak Oil" crisis, parallels the government and public complacency that has ignored the inevitability of the environmental crisis, which we now see is magnifying exponentially, far more rapidly than any experts had predicted, even in their 'worst case scenario' analyses. The same appears to be the case with the Oil-Energy crisis. None of the experts had ever predicted that the oil situation would hit a "Critical Mass" so quickly. Most Peak Oil estimates projected that such turmoil would not manifest for another 10 years or so. When are we going to stop lying to ourselves?
The unfortunate difference between these two equally pressing 'problems' is that the Oil-Energy problem manifests immediately and; obviously and painfully in public perceptions. Conversely, the environmental problems will not hit such a 'Critical Mass' in public perceptions (where it manifests immediately and; obviously and painfully) until it is virtually and actually too late to rectify it. For precisely this reason, far too many people are doubting the authenticity of the environmental warnings we've been receiving from the experts. We are like so many ocean-front residents who labeled the police and the weather experts "Fearmongers" prior to Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, merely because their dire warnings were so inconvenient to deal with. This is exactly why environmental experts have been so vociferous and redundant, neurotic and alarming in promulgating the same urgent warnings, over and over again, in a nearly futile effort to drive the point home NOW ... BEFORE we pass the "Event Horizon" (Point Of No Return).
Everything that is now happening in the current Oil-Energy Crisis is fundamentally related to the planet's "Peak Oil" production stage. No discussion about oil is possible without understanding what the planet's "Peak Oil" production stage actually means to U.S. petrochemical consumers. Below are websites explaining the meaning and importance of reaching "Peak Oil" global capacity, including video "Peak Oil" warnings issued by Dallas TX oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens. (
videos below)
The Truth About US Oil Reserves' Potential to
Significantly Reduce US Foreign Oil Dependence
As to the argument that off-shore exploration and drilling, if permitted, would significantly solve or lessen the problem of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, nearly all geological experts (including the "American Petroleum Institute" API - the trade association of the US oil industry) explain that the total amount of 'potential' oil available from US oil reserves is so small that it is incapable of significantly reducing US Dependence on Foreign Oil and furthermore, they conclude that off-shore drilling could NOT solve the current Oil-Energy Crisis because even these trivial, insignificant benefits would be 1-2 decades away . . . and would be distributed over a 30 to 50 year time frame, according to the "American Petroleum Institute" (API). But more importantly, the experts explain that when the benefits are fully realized 1-2 decades from now it will only nominally affect U.S. supplies by 2-4 per cent.
It is incapable of significantly reducing US Foreign Oil Dependence now or in the future. Billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Pickins of Dallas Texas and other experts explain precisely why and Pickins explains the significance of the "Peak Oil" production stage we are now in. (
videos below)
Here is a Perfect Example of the Gross Exaggerations GOP and Tea Party "Drill-baby-Drill" Advocates Are Relying on to bolster Estimates of US Oil Reserves. These wildly inaccurate estimates are used by GOP and Tea Party "Drill-baby-Drill" Advocates to Deceive the public into believing Alaska and Off-shore Oil Drilling has the potential to "significantly" reduce US Dependence on Foreign Oil. They are using these bogus, highly exaggerated claims to argue for the dire need for expanded off-shore drilling and for expanded drilling in Alaska. In this one report alone (CNN October 27, 2010 1:35 a.m. EDT), the estimates of Alaska Oil Reserves (estimates of potential oil available through drilling) was reduced "90%" -- meaning there is 90% LESS oil potential in Alaska than claimed by GOP and Tea Party "Drill-baby-Drill" Advocates. Obviously, the true miniscule amounts of US oil actually available, even potentially, through drilling is nominal, trivial, and is utterly incapable of having any significant impact on this country's Dependence on Foreign Oil. Read CNN Report "
Alaska's Untapped Oil Reserves Estimate Lowered 90 Percent": (
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/27/alaska.oil.reserves/index.html)
According to MMS (U.S. Minerals Management Service), the total Estimated Resources In The Banned U.S. Off-shore Areas Are 17.8 Billion barrels of Oil. That is
NOT "17.8 Billion barrels of Oil"
PER YEAR. It is "17.8 Billion barrels of Oil" over the entire lifetime of those off-shore oil fields. To put that in perspective, consider the lifetime of the Saudi Arabian oil fields, which were first discovered in 1938. Saudi Arabia has been furiously 'mining' those oil fields for 70 years. They have been the largest oil producing country in the World, and in April, 2006, a Saudi Aramco spokesman admitted that its mature fields are now declining at a rate of 8% per year. They have passed the "Peak Oil" stage. Thus, the 17.8 Billion barrels of Oil lifetime off-shore oil potential must be averaged across a 60 or 80 year period, which is the actual rate of extraction in 'real time' for these oil fields. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) - U.S. Government - U.S. Dept. of Energy, U.S. Oil Consumption Per Day in 2007 was 21 Million Barrels Per Day ($600 billion per year). Thus the off-shore oil fields with a grand total potential of 17.8 Billion barrels of Oil lifetime translates into 2 years worth of oil, in total. But unfortunately, the reality is that it will be a decade or more before the U.S. can realize (acquire) this oil and the extraction rate will necessarily distribute that oil acquisition over a 60 to 80 year lifetime capacity of these fields, meaning the net acquisition of oil from offshore drilling amounts to only 222,500,000 barrels
PER YEAR over an 80 year period or 296,666,666 barrels
PER YEAR over a 60 year period ... TEN YEARS FROM NOW! That amounts to between 609,589 and 812,785 barrels
PER DAY for the U.S. which is consuming 21 million barrels
PER DAY, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) - U.S. Dept. of Energy statistics. That means
the bottom-line grand total potential off-shore oil amounts to less than three percent (3%) of current U.S. oil consumption. (
videos below)
Deron Lovaas, senior energy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, noted that even if billions of barrels of oil are available offshore, the United States still will control only a fraction of the world's supply, and only a fraction of U.S. energy needs, so energy independence simply is NOT within reach, even if off-shore exploration and drilling began right now. That is completely confirmed by the above statistics, which are derived entirely from U.S. Government agencies and U.S. Oil Industry data. The public should not be deceived by election year pandering politician rhetoric that claims our oil woes are significantly attributable to the inability to 'mine' these off-shore oil fields. In that the off-shore oil fields, in total, represent less than 3% of the U.S. daily/yearly consumption, it is fair to characterize that impact as "nominal" ... "trivial" and largely insignificant. (The documentaries, government agency website links and
videos below provide you with pinpoint cites for the government and Oil Industry sources for the data used in this discussion).
Although McCain has changed his position, and now favors permitting off-shore exploration and drilling, he still opposes opening up the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling. The only way to understand why he and so many others are opposed to drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), one must understand the dismal track record of the oil industry, not only in Alaska, but world-wide. And it is necessary to accurately understand why Americans mistrust the oil industry, given the catastrophe of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and the morbid consequences continuing to this day. Even the president's brother, Jeb Bush, was adamantly opposed to off-shore drilling near Florida for the entire time he was governor. And before he left office he made sure that Florida's coastline would be off limits until 2022 under the "Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act" he signed (
No doubt he was mindful of the 1979 "Ixtoc I" oil well spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which was the largest oil spill in World history at the time. In a 1980 Report the U.S. Dept. of the Interior wrote that "An exploratory oil well, the IXTOC I, blew out on June 3, 1979 in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico . . . The oil released by the IXTOC I was carried by Gulf currents into American waters by August 1979."). We have ample evidence that it cannot be done safely. An abundance of video documentaries below details the devastation in Alaska from the Exxon Valdez oil spill and they detail the deplorable track record of the oil industry. Also below is the U.S. Dept of the Interior Ixtoc I Report cited here. (
Documentary Videos below where these facts are detailed).
Lastly, the
Documentary Videos below address the issue of "Global Warming" and the dying embers of the last fanatical claims that there is no "Global Warming Crisis" and that burning fossil fuels is NOT having a significant adverse effect on the environment. Such arguments now are considered radical and fanatical, given the consensus among climatology experts world-wide regarding this issue.
Consider This: Twenty years ago James Hansen, a top NASA scientist, told a Senate hearing in June 1988 that global warming was already here. The few skeptics that remain today should consider a few vital facts before petrifying their position. The year 1988 - the year James Hansen first warned the Senate about Global Warming - was the world's hottest year on record. The hottest year globally in recorded history. Since 1988, 14 years have been hotter than 1988 (in other words, 14 years that have broken that 1988 World Heat Record). About the only vocal skeptics today are politicians with no scientific background and no scientific support for their opposing position, and with a motive to pander to the public by telling them what they want to hear . . . INSTEAD OF TELLING THEM THE TRUTH. James Hansen is a top NASA government expert in the field (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). He is a scientist, the most respected scientist in this field within the scientific community. Why would any sane American dispute the vast majority of experts world-wide and the most respected experts in the field, including NASA, the government's own experts in this field? For the few skeptics who remain, the video documentaries below will decisively explain the inescapable reality of "Global Warming," its causes and consequences.
Regardless of the opinions you may have regarding oil, oil supplies, Global Warming, Off-shore drilling or the environment, the
Documentary Videos below will make us all much wiser, much better informed about the set of impending conditions which already are having an enormously destabilizing effect on us all and on the economy . . . with no relief in sight. Something we can all agree on --- It is vitally important that we correctly understand the problem, if we are to correctly and effectively resolve the monumental problems that are breathing down our necks. It is imperative that 'we' have a correct, accurate understanding of these problems, if we are to press government leaders to 'do the right thing.' The circumstances are sufficiently dire, such that we simply canNOT afford to delude ourselves any longer with wishful thinking, thus squandering the critical time we have remaining, by chasing wild fantasies and red-herrings down a dead-end cul-de-sac. We cannot afford to get it wrong (as we have done for the past 30 years). None of the experts are apocalyptic type doomsayers, but they are emphatic that there is no room to get it wrong yet again, if we are to avoid a great calamity. The documentary videos below simply represent one installment in the course of becoming responsibly informed about the critical problems we are confronted with and the viable options available to us.
Sincerely
GBruce
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Minerals Management Service - Gulf of Mexico Region
U.S. Government Agency - Dept. of the Interior
1980 Study Title: "Economic Impact of Oil Spills on the Texas Coast" FY 1980
BACKGROUND: An exploratory oil well, the IXTOC I, blew out on June 3, 1979 in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico. The IXTOC I was the world's largest and probably most expensive oil spill. The oil released by the IXTOC I was carried by Gulf currents into American waters by August 1979.
http://www.gomr.mms.gov/PI/PDFImages/ESPIS/3/3931.pdf
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Energy Information Administration (EIA)
US Government Agency - U.S. Dept. of Energy
Short-Term Energy Outlook World oil consumption ...
http://www.eia.doe.gov/steo
Energy Information Administration (EIA)
US Government Agency - U.S. Dept. of Energy
EIA - Petroleum Basic Data U.S. Motor Gasoline Consumption. Share of US Oil Consumption for Transportation ...
http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html
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Star Tribune - "Oil consumption at the tipping point in U.S.?"
http://www.startribune.com/business/18148539.html
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Wikipedia - "World reserves are confused and in fact inflated. Many of the so called reserves are in fact resources.
They're not delineated, they're not accessible, they're not available for production"
Saudi Arabia - Sadad I. Al Husseini, former VP of Aramco, October 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil
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On June 22, 2010, "U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, a 1983 appointee of President Ronald Reagan, overturned the Obama Administration's Moratorium on Deep-Water Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Louisiana federal judge has several Energy Holdings and has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, according to financial disclosure reports. CBS News Reported , "in 2008 Judge Martin Feldman owned stock in Transocean Ltd., the company that owned the sunken Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Read about the sleaze-factor details behind this corrupt judge and this illegitimate, unsupportable "sell out" court decision at our "Toxic Politics" blog web page to read this blog entitled
"
Judicial Politics Adds To BP Oil Sleaze
http://gbruce.com/reflect/2010/07/09/judicial-politics-adds-to-bp-oil-sleaze/."
Climate Change Could Threaten U.S.
Security
MSNBC Report: June 25, 2008: Two government reports warn that the world's
thirst for energy is creating an environmental crisis that could soon become a
security crisis for the U.S. NBC's Anne Thompson
reports.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25370763#25370763
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MSNBC Report - Pope Urges Environmental Care - Decries Damage To Environment
Thursday, July 17, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25719953#25719953
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One of the most respected climatology experts in the World speaks on Global
Warming evidence:
"From the viewpoint of the science, the North Pole is just another point in
the globe, but it does have this symbolic meaning," Serreze said. "There's
supposed to be ice at the North Pole. The fact that we may not have any by the
end of this summer could be quite a symbolic change."
Serreze said it's "just another indicator of the disappearing Arctic sea
ice cover" but that it is happening so soon is "just astounding to me."
"Five years ago, to think that we'd even be talking about the possibility
of the North Pole melting out in the summer, I would have never thought it," he
said.
The melting, however, has been long seen as inevitable, he said.
"If you talked to me or other scientists just a few years ago, we were
saying that we might lose all or most of the summer sea ice cover by anywhere
from 2050 to 2100," Serreze said. "Then, recently, we kind of revised those
estimates, maybe as early as 2030. Now, there's people out there saying it might
be even before that. So, things are happening pretty quick up there."
Serreze said those who suggest that the Arctic meltdown is just part of a
historic cycle are wrong.
"It's not cyclical at this point. I think we understand the physics behind
this pretty well," he said. "We've known for at least 30 years, from our
earliest climate models, that it's the Arctic where we'd see the first signs of
global warming.
"It's a situation where we hate to say we told you so, but we told you so,"
he said.
Serreze said the Arctic sea ice will not be the same for decades.
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Seafood
choices key to saving troubled waters
MSNBC Report: June 4, 2008: The world's appetite for seafood is threatening the ocean's
ecosystem, putting entire species of large fish at risk of extinction. NBC's
Brian Williams, Anne Thompson reporting.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24990893#24990893
___________________________Exxon Valdez
oil spill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During the first few days of the spill, heavy sheens of oil, such as the
sheen visible in this photograph, covered large areas of the surface of Prince
William Sound.The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound,
Alaska, United States, on March 24, 1989. It is considered one of the most
devastating man-made environmental disasters ever to occur at sea. As
significant as the Exxon Valdez spill was, it ranks well down on the list of the
world's largest oil spills in terms of volume released.[1] The region was
a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals, and seabirds. The vessel spilled 10.8
million U.S. gallons (40.9 million liters) of Prudhoe Bay crude oil into the
sea, and the oil eventually covered 11,000 square miles (28,000 kmę) of
ocean.[2]
Contents [hide]
1 The accident
2 Cleanup measures and environmental
consequences
3 Litigation
4 The aftermath
5 Other consequences
6
External links
7 References
The accident
The oil tanker Exxon Valdez departed the Valdez oil
terminal in Alaska at 9:12 pm on March 23, 1989 with 53 million U.S. gallons of
crude oil bound for Washington. A harbor pilot guided the ship through the
Valdez Narrows before departing the ship and returning control to Joseph
Hazelwood, the ship's master. The ship maneuvered out of the shipping lane to
avoid icebergs. Following the maneuver and sometime after 11 pm, Hazelwood
departed the wheel house and was in his stateroom at the time of the accident.
He left Third Mate Gregory Cousins in charge of the wheel house and Able Seaman
Robert Kagan at the helm with instructions to return to the shipping lane at a
prearranged point. Exxon Valdez failed to return to the shipping lanes and
struck Bligh Reef at around 12:04 am March 24, 1989.[2]
Beginning three days after the vessel grounded, a storm pushed large
quantities of fresh oil onto the rocky shores of many of the beaches in the
Knight Island chain. In this photograph, pooled oil is shown stranded in the
rocks.According to official reports, the ship carried 53.1 million U.S.gallons
of oil, of which 10.8 million U.S.gallons (9.0 million imp gal/41 million L)[3]
were spilled into the Prince William Sound.[4] This figure has become the
consensus estimate of the spill's volume, as it has been accepted by the State
of Alaska's Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council,[2] the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration,[1] and environmental groups such as Greenpeace and
the Sierra Club.[5][6] Some groups, such as Defenders of Wildlife, dispute the
official estimates, maintaining that the volume of the spill has been
underreported.[7]
Cleanup measures and environmental consequences
Workers using high-pressure, hot-water washing to clean an oiled
shoreline.The first cleanup response was through the use of a dispersant, a
surfactant and solvent mixture. A private company applied dispersant on 24 March
with a helicopter and dispersant bucket. Because there was not enough wave
action to mix the dispersant with the oil in the water, the use of the
dispersant was discontinued. One trial burn was also conducted during the early
stages of the spill, in a region of the spill isolated from the rest by a
fire-resistant boom. The test was relatively successful, reducing 113 400 litres
of oil to 1134 litres of removable residue[8], but because of unfavorable
weather no additional burning was attempted in this cleanup effort. Mechanical
cleanup was started shortly afterwards using booms and skimmers, but the
skimmers were not readily available during the first 24 hours following the
spill, and thick oil and kelp tended to clog the equipment.[4]
Exxon was widely criticized for its slow response to cleaning up the
disaster and John Devens, the mayor of Valdez, has said his community felt
betrayed by Exxon's inadequate response to the crisis.[9] Working with the
United States Coast Guard, which officially led the response, Exxon mounted a
cleanup effort that exceeded in cost, scope and thoroughness any previous oil
spill cleanup. More than 11,000 Alaska residents, along with some Exxon
employees, worked throughout the region to try to restore the environment.
Clean-up efforts after Exxon Valdez oil spill.Because Prince William
Sound contained many rocky coves where the oil collected, the decision was made
to displace it with high-pressure hot water. However, this also displaced and
destroyed the microbial populations on the shoreline; many of these organisms
(e.g. plankton) are the basis of the coastal marine food chain, and others (e.g.
certain bacteria and fungi) are capable of facilitating the biodegradation of
oil. At the time, both scientific advice and public pressure was to clean
everything, but since then, a much greater understanding of natural and
facilitated remediation processes has developed, due somewhat in part to the
opportunity presented for study by the Exxon Valdez spill. Despite the extensive
cleanup attempts, a study conducted by NOAA determined that as of early 2007
more than 26,000 U.S. gallons (22,000 imp gal/98,000 L) of oil remain in the
sandy soil of the contaminated shoreline, declining at a rate of less than 4%
per year.[10]
In 1992, Exxon released a video titled Scientists and the Alaska Oil Spill.
It was provided to schools with the label "A Video for Students". Critics say
this video is reputed to misrepresent the clean-up process.[11]
Wildlife was severely affected by the oil spill.Both the long- and
short-term effects of the oil spill have been studied comprehensively.[12]
Thousands of animals died immediately; the best estimates include 250,000 to as
many as 500,000 seabirds, at least 1,000 sea otters, approximately 12 river
otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, as well as the
destruction of billions of salmon and herring eggs.[3][11] Due to a thorough
cleanup, little visual evidence of the event remained in areas frequented by
humans just 1 year later. However, the effects of the spill continue to be felt
today. Overall reductions in population have been seen in various ocean animals,
including stunted growth in pink salmon populations.[13] Sea otters and ducks
also showed higher death rates in following years, partially because they
ingested prey from contaminated soil and from ingestion of oil residues on hair
due to grooming.[14]
Almost 15 years after the spill, a team of scientists at the University of
North Carolina found that the effects are lasting far longer than expected.[13]
The team estimates some shoreline habitats may take up to 30 years to
recover.[3] Exxon Mobil denies any concerns over this, stating that they
anticipated a remaining fraction that they assert will not cause any long-term
ecological impacts, according to the conclusions of 350 peer-reviewed
studies.[14] However, a study from scientists from NOAA concluded that this
contamination can produce chronic low-level exposure, discourage subsistence
where the contamination is heavy, and decrease the "wilderness character" of the
area.[10]
Litigation
This section documents a current
event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
In 1994, in the case of Baker vs. Exxon, an Anchorage jury awarded $287
million for actual damages and $5 billion for punitive damages. The punitive
damages amount was equal to a single year's profit by Exxon at that time.
Exxon appealed the ruling, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ordered the original judge, Russel Holland, to reduce the punitive damages. On
December 6, 2002, the judge announced that he had reduced the damages to $4
billion, which he concluded was justified by the facts of the case and was not
grossly excessive. Exxon appealed again and the case returned to court to be
considered in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling in a similar case, which
caused Judge Holland to increase the punitive damages to $4.5 billion, plus
interest.
After more appeals, and oral arguments heard by the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals on 27 January 2006, the damages award was cut to $2.5 billion on 22
December 2006. The court cited recent Supreme Court rulings relative to limits
on punitive damages.
Exxon appealed again. On 23 May 2007, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
denied ExxonMobil's request for a third hearing and let stand its ruling that
Exxon owes $2.5 billion in punitive damages. Exxon then appealed to the Supreme
Court, which agreed to hear the case.[15] On February 27, 2008, the Supreme
Court heard oral arguments for 90 minutes. Justice Samuel Alito, who owns
between $100,000 and $250,000 in Exxon stock, recused himself from the case.[16]
In a decision issued June 25, 2008, Justice David Souter issued the judgement of
the court, vacating the $2.5 billion award and remanding the case back to a
lower court, finding that the damages were excessive with respect to maritime
common law. Exxon's actions were deemed "worse than negligent but less than
malicious."[17] The judgement limits punitive damages to the compensatory
damages, which for this case were calculated as $507.5 million.[18] Some
lawmakers, such as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, have
decried the ruling as "another in a line of cases where this Supreme Court has
misconstrued congressional intent to benefit large corporations."[17]
Exxon recovered a significant portion of clean-up and legal expenses
through insurance claims and tax deductions for the loss of the Valdez.[19][20]
Also, in 1991, Exxon made a quiet, separate financial settlement of damages with
a group of seafood producers known as the Seattle Seven for the disaster's
effect on the Alaskan seafood industry. The agreement granted $63.75 million to
the Seattle Seven, but stipulated that the seafood companies would have to repay
almost all of any punitive damages awarded in other civil proceedings. The $5
billion in punitive damages was awarded later, and the Seattle Seven's share
could have been as high as $750 million if the damages award had held. Other
plaintiffs have objected to this secret arrangement,[21] and when it came to
light, Judge Holland ruled that Exxon should have told the jury at the start
that an agreement had already been made, so the jury would know exactly how much
Exxon would have to pay.[22]
The aftermath
The cause of the incident was investigated by the
National Transportation Safety Board, which identified the four following
factors as contributing to the grounding of the vessel:
The third mate failed to properly maneuver the vessel, possibly due to
fatigue and excessive workload.
The master failed to provide navigation
watch, possibly due to impairment under the influence of alcohol.
Exxon
Shipping Company failed to supervise the master and provide a rested and
sufficient crew for the Exxon Valdez.
The United States Coast Guard failed to
provide an effective vessel traffic system.[4]
The Board made a number of
recommendations, such as changes to the work patterns of Exxon crew in order to
address the causes of the accident.[4]
In response to the spill, the United States Congress passed the Oil
Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA). The legislation included a clause that prohibits
any vessel that, after March 22, 1989, has caused an oil spill of more than one
million U.S. gallons (3,800 m3) in any marine area, from operating in Prince
William Sound.[23]
In April 1998, the company argued in a legal action against the Federal
government that the ship should be allowed back into Alaskan waters. Exxon
claimed OPA was effectively a bill of attainder, a regulation that was unfairly
directed at Exxon alone.[24] In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
against Exxon. As of 2002, OPA had prevented 18 ships from entering Prince
William Sound.[25]
OPA also set a schedule for the gradual phase in of a double hull design,
providing an additional layer between the oil tanks and the ocean. While a
double hull would likely not have prevented the Valdez disaster, a Coast Guard
study estimated that it would have cut the amount of oil spilled by 60
percent.[26]
The Exxon Valdez supertanker was towed to San Diego, arriving on July 10.
Repairs began on July 30. Approximately 1,600 short tons (1,500 metric tons) of
steel were removed and replaced. In June 1990 the tanker, renamed S/R
Mediterranean, left harbor after $30 million of repairs.[25] It was still
sailing as of August 2007. The vessel is currently owned by SeaRiver Maritime, a
wholly owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil.
Other consequences
The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers
International Union, representing approximately 40,000 workers nationwide,
announced opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
until Congress enacted a comprehensive national energy policy. In the aftermath
of the spill, Alaska governor Steve Cowper issued an executive order requiring
two tugboats to escort every loaded tanker from Valdez out through Prince
William Sound to Hinchinbrook Entrance. As the plan evolved in the 1990s, one of
the two routine tugboats was replaced with a 210 foot (64 m) Escort Response
Vehicle (ERV). The majority of tankers at Valdez are still single-hulled, but
Congress has enacted legislation requiring all tankers to be double-hulled by
2015.
In 1991, following the collapse of the local marine population
(particularly clams, herring, and seals) the Chugach Native American group went
bankrupt[27]
Many of the real estate appraisal methods used to value contaminated
property and brownfields were developed as a result of and following the spill.
The use of survey research (e.g. contingent valuation and conjoint measurement)
became a well-accepted appraisal method as a result of the complex valuation
problems associated with contamination.[28]
According to several studies funded by the state of Alaska, the spill had
both short- and long term economic effects. These included the loss of
recreational sports fisheries, reduced tourism, and an estimate of what
economists call "existence value," which is the value to the public of a
pristine Prince William Sound.[29][30][31]
WikiScanner discovered changes made from within Exxon Mobil altering this
article's descriptions of the oil spill and down playing its
severity.[32][33]
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