Question

What damage did the Exxon Valdez oil spill do?

Answer 1

According to Dr. James Estes "Very little was accomplished"

Explanation:

Sea Otters in California, Oregon and Washington were listed under a threatened species in 1989, when the Exxon Valdez disaster occurred. The Alaska population of otters, nearly one hundred fifty thousand animals, was not considered threatened or endangered at that time. After the accident, 357 live sea otters were captured and transported to rehabilitation facilities. Nearly 900 dead otters were also collected. By August 1989, 222 otters (or 18% of the total number picked up) had survived the spill and recovered finally. The precentage that were successfully rehabilitated was lower than 18% because only one fifth of the otters that died immediately (Wade et al., 1994).

After the accident, 11 million gallons (nearly 42 million liters) entered the sound (Prince William Sound, Alaska). The effects of the spill included the death of 13% of harbor seals, 28% of sea otters, and one hundred thousand to six hundred forty five thousand seabirds. Some of the oil evaporated (only 20%) but half of it was deposited on the shoreline (Botkin and Keller, 2003).

References:

Wade, N., Dean, C., and Dicke, W. A. (1994) (editors) "The New York Times. Book of Science Literacy, Volume 2. The Environment from your Backyard to the Ocean Floor". Times Books, Random House, New York, NY, USA.

Botkin, D. B. and Keller, E. A. (2003). "Environmental Science" (4th edition). John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York, NY, USA.