In many ways this story begins in 1968 with the discovery of oil on Alaska's North Shore. Alaska's North Slope is one of the coldest and most inaccessible places in the world. Many people wondered how they could drill the oil from the North Slope. Also, once the oil was drilled how, would they transport the oil to the rest of the United States? In 1973, the construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline was approved. It is an 800-mile pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez in Prince William Sound. Environm

Parrish, J.K., & Boersma, P.D. (1995). Muddy waters. American Scientist, 83, 112.

Could an oil spill similar to the Exxon Valdez happen again? The oil industry is not safe. Nine years after the Exxon Valdez spill people have forgotten about the horrible things that can come out of an oil spill. Just because there has not been a high profile oil spill does not mean that the government and the oil industry should forget about oil spill safety. At a time where all ships should use all available safety measures, most ships are loosening their standards. The government is lessening the regulations, and the oil industry is not using the best safety measures that they can. There is only a small percentage that use the much safer double hull tanker rather than the single hull.

Moreover, there is reason to believe that things might actually worsen. The oil companies are still fighting the stringent safety standards and it appears that they might be successful (Postman). First, the Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) and independent oil spill reaction force has been established by major oil companies. Although the MSRC has yet to combat a large oil spill it is thought to be a step in the right direction in reacting to oil spills. However, recent Coast Guard regulations make it unlikely that the MSRC will continue in operation (Crow, p25). Second, although federal funds were authorized for research and development, little money has been spent at this time. The federal government was expected to take over leadership of oil spill research and development; this has not happened. Third, it has been charged that proposed Coast Guard rules for reducing oil spills are inadequate (Chivers, p15). Fourth, Congress is likely to reduce the insurance coverage requirements under the OPA 90 (Crow, p26).

Even if the oil industry would use all available measures, there is no way to prevent human error or machine malfunction. The oil industry is not safe and another Exxon Valdez disaster could happen at any time.  Bibliography

One of the primary focuses of the OPA was the requirement of double hulled tankers. Studies evaluating the effectiveness of double hulled tankers are being conducted (Abrams, p2). However, it is clear that 90% of the oil entering the United States is still carried on dangerous single-hulled tankers (like the Exxon Valdez) (Chivers, p15). Even by the year 2005, only 25% of the fleet will be double hulled. In fact, the danger is increasing because many vessels currently in operation have "structural deficiencies (including 'paper - thin plating, missing vents and hatches... and unsatisfactory repairs') and cruise in heavily trafficked waters" (Chivers, p. 15)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Exxon Valdez, Coast Guard, William Sound, Parrish Boersma, Greenpeace Energy, Captain Hazelwood, Rhode Island, Guard Captain, Valdez Chivers, Dan Pettit, oil spill, exxon valdez, coast guard, oil spills, william sound, prince william, prince william sound, oil industry, valdez oil, exxon valdez oil, valdez oil spill, oil companies, captain hazelwood, gallons oil spilled, third mate cousins,
Approximate Word count = 4545
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)