Kaitie's Corner
The Day the Water Died
On Wednesday, February 18th, community activist Dr. Riki Ott, a former salmon fisherma’am with a degree in marine toxicology, spoke in Noble Hall about the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on her home town of Cordova, Alaska. On March 24, 1989 an intoxicated boat operator crashed the Exxon Valdez, spilling 38 million gallons of oil into waters of Prince William Sound. To this day, according to Ott, 15 out of the 24 impacted species have not recovered. The spill killed half a million birds and over a billion fish. Ott said how native people in the area refer to the spill as ‘the day the water died’. The spill destroyed the economy of local communities that depended on fish runs, especially salmon and herring, which still has not returned to the area. The oil also harmed people’s health. Ott detailed the respiratory issues of people who worked on the clean-up crew after the spill and inhaled the back-splash of oil off the rocks they as they worked.
The story that Ott told outlines is a textbook example of a corporation shirking responsibility. After the spill, Exxon assured local people they would limit the damage and contain the oil. They said they respond within six hours to the spill. Twenty years later it seems as if Ott and other Alaskans are still waiting. Local communities have only received one-tenth of the original settlement of $5 billion dollars as Exxon has worked tirelessly, not to clean up their mess, but to get out of the bill. Ott argues our legal system has enabled and emboldened corporations to seek an out from the consequences of their actions.
The lesson for our community comes from the fact that there was no warning twenty years ago when the boat crashed. When it comes to the corporate impact on our land and water vigilance must be the order of the day. From Desert Rock to the Village at Wolf Creek to natural gas drilling in the HD Mountains, stay informed and involved. Do not let our water or land die for corporate profit.
Kaitie Haagenstad
To comment on this Opinion piece email the communications team at ec_communications@fortlewis.edu.