The Exxon Valdez tanker ran aground in the Prince William Sound on March 24th, 1989. Over the next three days, three-thousand miles of Alaska's coastline were coated with somewhere between 11 and 38 million gallons of crude oil. To give you a point of reference: had the spill occurred off the east coast of the 'Lower 48,' oil would have destroyed coastline from New York Harbor to Cape Canaveral.
All the communities along the coast--which depend on the Sound's fish populations for food, jobs, tourism, and work--were devastated. One such community was Cordova, Alaska where a good friend of mine, Dr. Riki Ott, was working as a commercial "fisherma'am" at the time of the spill. Riki, also a Marine Biologist, has spent the last 20 years of her life fighting for justice from Exxon, working to restore affected communities, and teaching about the dangers of oil and corporate power.
One of the videos she carries with her as she travels the country shows the lasting effects of the Exxon Valdez that still pollute Alaska's beaches today—nearly 20 years after the spill. Riki explained it to me like this, "We take students down to the beach, dig a hole somewhere, and pour water in." This is what that experiment looks like.
Riki's latest venture, as she explains in her book Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and as you've seen covered here on Huffington, is the 28th Amendment to the Constitution: The Separation of Corporation and State. Exxon would not have been able to evade justice for this devastation had it not had the same protections under the law as individual citizens.
For updates on the 28th Amendment movement, join the Facebook group.
To watch Riki explain her path to Marine Biology and activism, check out this interview.
J.S. McDougall is the head blogger at Chelsea Green -- a news site and book publisher covering the politics and practice of sustainability.
Follow J.S. McDougall on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chelseagreen
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I believe actual damages were originally assessed to be 300 million. The lower court assessed a punitive damage award of 500 million, which may be 300 million plus interest. I don't know about that for sure.
ExxonMobil cannot pay the 500 million until the people who are to get it all agree on how it's to be divided up. Once they agree, it will be paid immediatel
Once paid, ExxonMobil will have paid out 3 billion dollars.
In the context of the Valdez, In your example the Supreme Court says the cab company has to pay actual damages, and that the punitive damages should not exceed the actual damages .
Also, I don't think Exxon got off on this with no cost to themselves
While it is important to be concerned about the way the legal proceeding
Transporti
The HP was full of complaints about gasoline prices last summer. Americans burn/use more than 20 billion barrels of crude oil a year. We are voracious. Take a gander at any freeway in any large city in the United States. To keep up with our demand oil companies are shaking the bushes all over the world to find anything quantity that can be profitably extracted. We are the ones who are inspiring that frantic activity, not them.
Now is the time to enact REAL environmen
Exxon created this mess, and has posted the highest profit for anyone last quarter, perhaps they should quit litigating and settle some of the claims for loss of income, livlyhood and the horrible loss of one of the most beautiful places on earth!
In 1989 their annual profit was 5 billion, so I suspect 2.5 billion was substantia
Last summer they settled for 500 million more. They can't pay that until the other sides stops arguing among themselves and decides who gets what.
There is a difference between actual damages and punitive damages. They paid the actual damage assessment immediatel
If you were assessed punitive damages that you did not believe were allowed by law, would you pay it or fight it? Try to be honest.
And those who demand gasoline do share in he blame for what that does to the environmen
Do you love the Earth and your fellow man? Prove it.
Last year, Exxon paid it's departing CEO 400 million dollars without blinking an eye!
Each Supreme Court Justice who voted against Valdez and for Exxon, was appointed by a Republican president.
Each Justice who voted against Exxon and for Valdez, was appointed by a Democratic president.
Quess who the good people of Alaska voted for in this presidenti
Hard to feel sorry for them.
Yes, there is a tanker out there sailing the seas named the Condoleeza
Ain't life grand?
Ya gotta love those Republican
Well I hope no one ever drove a Ford because of the Pinto explosions
Get over yourselves a little.
Please explain this. Let's say that in 20 years the US is OFF OIL completely
So now we have oil all over the place. The US gets no benefit from the vast reserves we have. The world is polluting at a much greater level because of lacked regulation
Keeping the US on the oil supply is massively important because the world needs US technology to make OIL BETTER and more efficient. Without the largest economy making strides in oil research (cause we won't, we won't need to) -- oil won't evolve.
"You are wandering off topic with your comments. Exxon has shirked its responsibi
So it's part of the cost of an oil based economy. It cannot be that the oil companies get away with something like this and thus hide the real cost.
Yes, we had the spill back20 years. You can very well see how well that's been taken care of.
But good that the departing Exxon CEO got this 400 million $ package. Such a poor boy.
Weaning us off the oil teat will help tremendous
Furthermor
When I heard the Valdez reports, I wrote a letter to Exxon and enclosed my cut up Exxon credit card. I said that I would never buy another gallon of Exxon gas. It didn't matter a hoot because I was one of a few hundred who took that step. Exxon grew to become the largest and most profitable company in history, and it has millions to spend to defend itself against Valdez claims.
BUT WHAT IF tens or hundreds of thousands of Americans said NO, you lost my business forever. I will buy gas from the 20-30 companies who haven't polluted the environmen
When it comes to business, we have all the power. Let's use it.
I wish people were more hardy to these problems, but most just want to get home and plop down in front of their tv.
The Supreme Court just ruled the punitive damages awarded at the Exxon Valdez trial were excessive and it nullified them (or remanded the case -- I can't remember). SO -- there's justice for you...
By the way, Exxon has had WORLD RECORD PROFITS FOR THE PAST 6 QUARTERS earning HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN PROFITS, yet they are sinister enough to refuse paying Alaskans what they deserve, AND they still have no completed cleanup.