On March 24, 1989, an oil tanker called Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The Exxon Valdez was carrying 200 million litres of crude oil. More than 40 million litres of oil leaked into the water. It was the biggest environmental disaster in the history of the United States. In this activity, you will learn about how oil spills such as the one from the Exxon Valdez can have long-lasting effects on the environment.

Prince William Sound is home to many types of animals such as whales, birds, salmon, sea otters, and bald eagles. It has thousands of kilometres of rugged coastline. Because the spill was not contained immediately, the oil spread to 2,250 kilometres of shoreline. That is roughly the distance from Calgary to Toronto! You can just imagine how devastating this was for the wildlife in the area.

 

 

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Many species of wildlife were affected

after they were drenched in oil after the disaster.

 

At the height of the cleanup, more than 10,000 workers, 1,000 boats, and 100 airplanes and helicopters were involved. The cleanup took four summers, but the effects will last for much longer.

One of the consequences of the disaster was that oil tankers must now be built with "double hulls." This means a space between the outside of the ship and the hull protects the oil tanks from being punctured if the ship hits a rock or a reef or even another ship.

This is one example of how humans have polluted the environment on a large scale, and although we have attempted to clean up our mess, we did not know the long-term effects of our actions. As this is repeated across the planet, the environment is becoming more polluted. More people are being diagnosed with diseases such as asthma or have to deal with water that is undrinkable. Therefore, it is very important for every one of us to be sure that our actions help the environment and not hurt it. We can begin with something simple: don't litter!