Alaska Oil Lingers, Decades Later

Minutes after midnight on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez super tanker ran aground and began leaking oil in Alaska's beautiful and biologically rich Prince William Sound. Today, the sound's herring fishery has not yet recovered, and heavy crude oil can still be found on some beaches just below the surface sand. The lingering lessons of the Exxon Valdez spill are more vital than ever as we contemplate drilling in the extreme, remote and ecologically fragile U.S. Arctic Ocean.