Gulf Oil Spill to Exact a Heavy Human Toll

If you think the Alaskan Exxon Valdez Spill of 1989 was bad, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010 is sure to top it off − thanks to British Petroleum. Before surmising on the horrors that BP's carelessness will deliver to America's shores for decades to come, look first at how Alaska fared under Exxon's hands.

The Exxon Valdez Spill

Twenty-one years after the Valdez spill in Alaska, many marine species smothered by the toxic black slick have never recovered - completely gone. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council estimates 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and up to 22 killer whales died in the black slime along with billions of herring and salmon eggs. These numbers only include carcasses recovered on or around shore - it does not consider countless others that fell to the sea bottom.

And what of the fates of the many predators such as bears and other animals directly or indirectly linked to the sea for nourishment?

The Human Toll

Perhaps Valdez's toll in animal life passed relatively unnoticed. But what of the mayhem wrought on human life?

In the wake of Valdez came the bankruptcy of thriving enterprises such as the seafood trade, the restaurants that seafood supported, and the tourist trades that ushered customers into those restaurants. All this − among many other forms of sea-bound commerce as a means of livelihood - were entirely destroyed. Business failed, families were shattered, and tales of residents committing suicide became everyday fodder for Alaska's local news.

With BP's much larger spill now touching down on America's Gulf Coast, how much worse will this spill be?

How Does BP's Mess Stack Up To Valdez?

In 1989 the sea vessel Exxon Valdez spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil, which in time covered 1,300 miles of pure Alaskan shoreline.

Assuming estimates of 200,000 gallons spewing into the Gulf of Mexico every day are accurate, as of this article's publication the count now approaches 15.6 million gallons.

The environmental impact of the gulf spill may be markedly different when compared to the Alaskan disaster. The warmer climate in the Gulf of Mexico might help the oil decompose more quickly, but the sand and marshy wetlands in places such as Louisiana may react differently in contrast with Alaska's mostly rock-and-gravel beaches.

Coastal towns will certainly feel the toll from the spill. As it was in Alaska, coastal economies in the gulf rely heavily on daily catches of oyster, shrimp, and other commercial food as revenue streams, just as Alaska depends on herring and salmon.

British Petroleum's Carelessness

At the more human level, time will tell what horrors BP's carelessness will bring to America's shores. Given the more populous areas that will be affected, as well as volumes of oil now well surpassing the Valdez debacle, BP will have much for which to answer - for decades to come.

Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/03/exxon-valdez-victims-give_n_560624.html