Exxon Valdez Oil Spill – 20 Years Later
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was one of the largest oil spills in history. It took place in Alaska in March 1989, when the oil tanker ran aground, causing 10.8 million gallons of crude oil to spill into the pristine waters of Prince William Sound . While this was indeed a huge spill, it was actually only a small fraction of what the United States uses in oil in any one day. The United States uses about 700 million gallons of oil every day. That is a lot of oil.
When an oil spill occurs, everyone works to help clean it up. Have you ever noticed a rainbow puddle on the street or parking lot after a rain? That rainbow sheen that you see on top of the water is actually oil from cars that has leaked onto the ground.
For Steve Smith, the 20-year anniversary of the nation's worst oil spill is like a reminder that he lost a loved one.
"It's like a death in the family," the 70-year-old fisherman said of the Exxon Valdez disaster. "With time...