And, on this 20th anniversary, the first few dollars have finally dribbled out of Exxon's purse into the hands of the survivors & their heirs. There's still oil on the beach, too.
Exxon Valdez: the gift that keeps on giving (everything except money).
Is this where I go to YouTube and play "The Mary Ellen Carter"? Only she wasn't a tanker. Don't drink and drive. You might hit a bump and spill your drink.
Of 24 affected species, 15 have not come back to this day. The pink salmon recovered, but the herring's still gone - and judging by Japan's herring stocks after they overfished and collapsed theirs, we're starting to accept that they may never come back.
Oil's still on the beaches, the cleanup workers are still coughing, but "Exxon will do whatever it takes to make you whole." means $507,000 split among 32,000 people who had their livelihoods destroyed.
And they wonder why we don't trust some Chicago politician when he starts spouting the same line, much less Canada's promises as they want to site the Pebble mine at the head of the Bristol Bay salmon grounds.
"Hit a reef and make the water oily in the morning"
I was working in PWS the next summer (1990), on the west side; we burned a lot of oil-covered driftwood in our little shepard's stove for heat and cooking. Went setnetting in '94, again on the west side of PWS... first year that the salmon return would be affected by the spill. We covered expenses... kinda... if you don't count airfare...
Sad. I still don't buy Exxon fuel, and they still don't care.
Not sure of the year, LONG before I was born, a Norwegian vessel named the Marie Bakke had a little run in with the BN railroad bridge in Portland, Oregon. The Captain was my Mom's favorite uncle. Her Dad died when she was 14 so she was very close to him.
My middle name? - yup, named for his beloved ship.
I may have flown really, really low in my secret squirrel flying days but I never hit a bridge. My great uncle would be proud.
Economically, the spill was the best thing that ever happened to the fishermen of Prince William Sound. You never saw more brand new pickup trucks in Cordova, Alaska, than there were in the late summer and fall of 1989. I can guarantee you that a lot of those presently whining are also secretly hoping for another similar event, so they can line their pockets from the cleanup effort as most of them did before.
Great thought this morning :)
ReplyDeletewhat do you do with a drunken sailor?
ReplyDeleteput 'im in charge of an exxon tanker. & etc.
And, on this 20th anniversary, the first few dollars have finally dribbled out of Exxon's purse into the hands of the survivors & their heirs. There's still oil on the beach, too.
ReplyDeleteExxon Valdez: the gift that keeps on giving (everything except money).
Is this where I go to YouTube and play "The Mary Ellen Carter"? Only she wasn't a tanker. Don't drink and drive. You might hit a bump and spill your drink.
ReplyDelete"...we patched her rents and stopped her vents, dogged hatch and porthole down.
ReplyDeleteWe put lines to her fore and aft, and girded her around..."
Great, now it's stuck in my head...
Of 24 affected species, 15 have not come back to this day. The pink salmon recovered, but the herring's still gone - and judging by Japan's herring stocks after they overfished and collapsed theirs, we're starting to accept that they may never come back.
ReplyDeleteOil's still on the beaches, the cleanup workers are still coughing, but "Exxon will do whatever it takes to make you whole." means $507,000 split among 32,000 people who had their livelihoods destroyed.
And they wonder why we don't trust some Chicago politician when he starts spouting the same line, much less Canada's promises as they want to site the Pebble mine at the head of the Bristol Bay salmon grounds.
>"what do you do with a drunken sailor?
ReplyDeleteput 'im in charge of an exxon tanker"
Og, the second verse goes:
"Hit a reef and make the water
oily in the morning"
I was working in PWS the next summer (1990), on the west side; we burned a lot of oil-covered driftwood in our little shepard's stove for heat and cooking. Went setnetting in '94, again on the west side of PWS... first year that the salmon return would be affected by the spill. We covered expenses... kinda... if you don't count airfare...
Sad. I still don't buy Exxon fuel, and they still don't care.
LG
There was always something about that one photo of Hazelwood that reminded me of Reverend Jim from "Taxi."
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "crunch"
ReplyDeleteNot sure of the year, LONG before I was born, a Norwegian vessel named the Marie Bakke had a little run in with the BN railroad bridge in Portland, Oregon. The Captain was my Mom's favorite uncle. Her Dad died when she was 14 so she was very close to him.
My middle name? - yup, named for his beloved ship.
I may have flown really, really low in my secret squirrel flying days but I never hit a bridge. My great uncle would be proud.
Economically, the spill was the best thing that ever happened to the fishermen of Prince William Sound. You never saw more brand new pickup trucks in Cordova, Alaska, than there were in the late summer and fall of 1989. I can guarantee you that a lot of those presently whining are also secretly hoping for another similar event, so they can line their pockets from the cleanup effort as most of them did before.
ReplyDelete