In 1989, a transport tanker ship called Exxon Valdez hit the shore and spilled over 250,000 barrels of crude oil, causing the worst-ever oil spill in Alaska. This resulted in the death of 5,000 otters, 300 harbor seals, 200,000 birds of nintey different species, and hundreds of fish and other animals. Additionally, it caused a dramatic demise in multiple plant and marine species and ecosystems. Cleanup efforts of the oil spill cost Exxon around $2 billion, which is a small price to pay for an event that altered an entire ecosystem for years to come. For something that is considered necessary for the United States oil supply and economy, the resulting consequences have the potential to obliterate the Alaskan environment and change the Arctic Ocean ecosystems forever. Major oil spills such as this are one of the major concerns for extracting oil in the ANWR.

Environmental Issues: Essential Primary Sources. "DOI Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act." GREENR. http://find.galegroup.com/grnr/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=6f8f4a3faafd67e66fa023866730b0a1&prodId=GRNR&userGroupName=bucknell_it&tabID=T016&docId=CX3456400114&type=retrieve&contentSet=EBKS&version=1.0.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Project began construction on March 27, 1975. The pipeline was constructed in response to the discovery of oil under the Purdhoe Bay (Alaska Public Lands Information Centers). The project was controversial because environmentalists worried about earthquakes and the effects on elk migrations (Wells). The pipeline is almost 800 miles long and includes pumping stations that connected other pipelines. The pipeline was constructed by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, which was created by seven oil companies (Wells, Alaska Public Lands Information Centers). The pipeline is mostly below ground, except in areas of permafrost. The sections of pipe that were built above ground were built in a zigzag pattern to account for expansion due to temperature changes (Wells). In unseasonably warm areas, the pipeline is supported by two thicker “heat pipes.” The pipeline was completed on May 31, 1977 (Alaska Public Lands Information Centers). The pipeline first contained oil on June 20, 1977. The pipeline carries about 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. In March of 1989, an oil tanker leaked over 260,000 barrels of oil into the Prince William Sound. This was the second largest oil spill in the United States. The spill covered 1300 miles of land and 11,000 miles of ocean. Images of the pipeline can be seen below. http://aoghs.org/transportation/trans-alaska-pipeline/

References:

"Trans-Alaska Pipeline History." American Oil & Gas Historical Society. June 21, 2016. Accessed May 05, 2017. http://aoghs.org/transportation/trans-alaska-pipeline/.

"The Trans-Alaska Pipeline." The Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Accessed May 05, 2017. https://www.alaskacenters.gov/the-alyeska-pipeline.cfm.

"Bush doesn't care about Black people," made clear the neglect that we felt immediately, but it was only later the I became aware of the years of incompetence and broken systems that led to the storm surge doing so much damage. Immediately -- and for me to this day -- New Orleans was a symbol of carbon corporate power. Where is BP in this sentence in the Times?