Oil cont. Ananvir Puar

Problems with tanker traffic along BC coast  Since 1972, a moratorium has prevented oil tankers from travelling through BC’s costal inland passages  Moratorium – delay or suspension of an activity or a law  If the Northern Gateway Pipeline is accepted, this moratorium will have to be lifted or relaxed to allow tankers to pass  Tanker traffic = risk  Increased marine traffic and the possibility of mechanical breakdowns or collisions are possible  The more tanker traffic that is allowed, the bigger the risk

Tanker traffic cont.  Moving huge, fully-loaded oil tankers through waters would be risky due to little room to maneuver  Tankers often come in contact with marine life  Engine noise and unavoidable collisions with sea life can have negative impacts on ocean life  If a major oil spill along the coastline occurred, currents and tides would coat oil on beaches and rocky shorelines, eliminating wildlife  Bitumen is more corrosive and heavier than conventional oil, and this can put greater stress on pipelines and tankers, increasing the possibility for an oil spill  If a spill occurred, bitumen will sink making cleanup operations more difficult and costly  video video

Exxon Valdez: Alaska’s worst oil spill  March 24, 1989, Exxon Valdez departed towards Long Beach, California carrying over 238 million liters of crude oil  4 minutes past midnight, the tanker had struck Bligh Reef, tearing open the bottom of the ship and spilling nearly 50 million liters of oil into the sea  Spilt oil along the Prince William Sound  No large tanker accidents occurred before Exxon Valdez  Having huge barrels capable of holding millions of liters of oil were not apart of the emergency plan created if tanker accidents took place (was thought as being an unnecessary expense)  Contaminated 1500 kilometers of shoreline  More than 400,000 seabirds, 100,000 sea otters, and countless numbers of fish were killed by the spill  Marine life is still affected, more than twenty years after the disaster, oil trapped in beach sand still oozes to the surface  video video

Preventing and minimizing damage from tanker spills To prevent another massive disaster, the following are some changes and improvements that were made to emergency response capabilities in Price William Sound:  All full tankers will be monitored by satellite  More frequent maintenance tests will be conducted  All new oil tankers built will have double hulls  In 2015, all tankers entering Prince William Sound must be double hulled  Nearly 75 kilometers of contaminated booms are ready for rapid deployment

Offshore oil exploration in British Columbia  According to marine biologists, the inland waterways in BC are some of the more biologically diverse ecosystems anywhere in the world  Much of the sea floor along the coastline has been leased to oil companies who are eager to drill for oil FACT: During its lifetime, one offshore drilling platform will discharge nearly 100,000 metric tons of toxic liquid into surrounding waters  Government officials and oil companies argue that successful oil drilling has been going on for decades along the east coast without major ecosystem damage  Residents on BC’s coast will be able to see oil rigs and every drop of oil that is spilled which goes to surrounding beaches

Offshore oil exploration cont.  Before drilling occurs, the ocean floor is mapped  Done by directing blasts of high-pressure air at the seabed to locate major deposits of oil and natural gas  Destroys fish eggs and larvae, damages swim bladders of bottom-fish, and the loud noise forces some marine animals to leave areas prematurely  Off the west coast of Vancouver Island lies the Juan de Fuca plate which subducts under the North American Plate = prone to destructive earthquakes  Offshore oil rigs can be damaged severely by the seafloor shaking or the subsequent tsunamis that would strike exposed areas along BC’s coast  video video

Arguments for offshore oil drilling:  Job opportunities  Revenue to provincial and federal governments  Temporary drop in oil prices  Improvement in the standard of living Arguments against offshore oil drilling:  Potential for irreversible ecosystem damage  Oil companies hire very few local people  Pipelines must destroy and pass through habitats  Severe storms can damage oil rigs and cause spills  More oil = more air pollution  Oil burning = more greenhouse gas and acid rain