1. Environmental
Consequences
Energy and the
environment –
Oil in Alaska

2. 1968 Prudhoe Bay to Oil
Refineries
Prudhoe Bay

3. Oil Tankers – What was the
problem?

4. Oil Tanker Trucks – What was the
problem?

5. Solution: Alaska Oil Pipeline 1242 km
Prudhoe Bay
Valdez

6. What problems occurred?
No oil was pumped until 1977
PHYSICAL PROBLEMS ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
• Cold • Oil spills and leaks
• Snow • Animal migrations
• Mountains • National parks
• Thawing • Tundra vegetation fragile
• Rivers • Damage to habitats
• Earthquakes • People had to move
• Weather

7. Exxon Valdez oil spill – March 1989

8. Environmental Damage

9. Environmental Damage

10. Environmental Damage

11. Exxon Valdez
March 1989
Gulf of Alaska
Deepwater
Horizon
April 2010
Gulf of Mexico

12. Where were the biggest oil spills?

13. The Worst Oil Spills

14. DEBATE: Which is more important?
• For – (Economic and • Against – (Environmental
Social reasons) Conservation reasons)
• Oil companies should • Oil companies should stop
continue production in production in Alaska.
Alaska. • It is more important to
• People need oil. This is protect and conserve the
more important than environment than to
conservation. explore new areas for oil.