Environmental Encyclopedia

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Office of Surface Mining

active Waste Management

(OCRWM). OCRWM man-

ages federal programs for recommending, constructing, and

operating repositories for the disposal of high-level radioac-

tive wastes and spent nuclear fuel. It is also responsible for

arranging for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and

for research, development, and demonstration of techniques

for the disposal of

high-level radioactive waste

and spent

nuclear fuel.

In addition, OCRWM oversees the Nuclear Waste

Fund, also established by the 1982 act. The fund was estab-

lished to enable the federal government to recover all costs

of developing a disposal system and of disposing of high-

level waste and spent nuclear fuel. It is paid for by companies

that produce

nuclear power

, power consumers, and those

involved in the use of nuclear materials for defense purposes.

OCRWM has published a number of short pamphlets

dealing with the problem of waste disposal. They cover topics

such as “Nuclear Waste Disposal,” “What Will a Nuclear

Waste Repository Look Like?” “What Is Spent Nuclear

Fuel?” “Can Nuclear Waste Be Transported Safely?” and

“How Much High-Level Nuclear Waste Is There?”

OCRWM experienced a number of setbacks in the

first decade of its existence. No state was willing to allow

the construction of a high-level nuclear waste repository

within its borders. The technology for immobilizing wastes

seemed still too primitive to guarantee that wastes would

not escape in to the

environment

Eventually, however, OCRWM announced that it had

chosen a site under

Yucca Mountain

in southeastern Ne-

vada. The site lies on the boundaries of the

Nevada Test

Site

and Nellis Air Force Base. It is near the town of Beatty,

100 mi (161 km) northwest of Las Vegas. The site has been

studied since 1977 and should be ready to receive wastes

early sometime around 2010. Some residents of Nevada are

unhappy with the choice of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear

waste repository, however, and continue to fight OCRWM’s

decision.

[David E. Newton]

ESOURCES

RGANIZATIONS

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Toll Free: (800) 225-

6972, Email: mowebmaster@rw.doe.gov, <http://www.rw.doe.gov>

Office of Energy Research

see

U.S. Department of Energy

1017

Office of Management and Budget

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), established

in 1939 within the office of the President, determines both

how much money will be spent by the federal government

and what kinds of regulations will be adopted to implement

all environmental and other legislated programs.

According to the 1946 Administrative Procedures Act,

regulations “interpret, implement or prescribe law or policy.”

Draft regulations must be publicized, and agencies must

incorporate public comments into the final regulations. Ex-

ecutive Orders 12291 and 12498, issued in 1981 and 1984,

respectively, gave the Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs (OIRA), a division of OMB, the authority to review

and approve all regulations and paperwork drafted by the

Environmental Protection Agency

, as well as all other fed-

eral agencies.

ESOURCES

RGANIZATIONS

Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington,

D.C. USA 20503 (202) 395-3080, <http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb>

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric

Research

see

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration (NOAA)

Office of Surface Mining

In 1977 the Office of Surface Mining(OSM) was created

to police

coal

extraction within the United States and to

enforce the federal

Surface Mining Control and Reclama-

tion Act

(SMRCA). Under the auspices of OSM, citizens

are empowered to enforce

reclamation

of surface mines, as

well as deep mines, that have damaged surface features.

The government, industry, or a combination of both

is required to pay all expenses, including legal fees, when

citizens bring successful administrative or judicial complaints

for noncompliance under the SMRCA. The reclamation of

abandoned mines is funded by a tax on coal. To fund the

reclamation of new mines OSC requires performance bonds

that must cover the cost of reclamation should the operator

not complete the process.

The majority of mining states have been granted “pri-

macy” by OSM, which means that the individual states are

authorized to handle reclamation enforcement, with OSM

stepping in only when states fail to enforce the SMRCA.

There are almost 30,000 known violations that remain un-

corrected, yet OSM issues less than 25 citations a year. The

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Off-road vehicles

majority of citations issued are disposed of by vacating the

citation or by making arrangements with the company.

There are 24,000 operations including surface mines,

deep mines, refuse piles and prep plants that come under

the act, (including those that went into operation after 1977);

about 17,000 of these have been reclaimed. Many of these

reclaimed sites are merely grass planted over

desert

, incapa-

ble of supporting any form of

wildlife

. The reclamation

plans developed for many

surface mining

sites designate

the post mining

land use

to be pastureland, but due to the

remoteness and inaccessibility, many reclaimed sites sit idle

devoid of all wildlife.

Environmentalists and other opponents of the mining

industry charge that coal industries and OSM personnel are

the same group. It is interesting to note that Harry Snyder,

the current director of OSM, was a former lobbyist for CSX

railroad and is a heavy investor in coal. According to many

critics the coal industry has become adept at manipulating

the OSM and SMCRA for its own purposes. The OSM

is currently trying to push through legislation that would

eliminate the SMRCA’s attorney fee provisions. The agency

is also in the process of throwing out numerous other

SMCRA regulations that are burdensome to the coal indus-

try, including one that bans deep mining from national parks

and wildlife refuges.

[Debra Glidden]

ESOURCES

ERIODICALS

Brown, F. “The Miner’s Watchdog Doesn’t Bite.” Sierra 34 (September/

October 1986): 28–31.

“Coal Mining: Profit Reclamation.” The Economist 319 (April 1991):

A24–26.

Sherwood, T. “Strip Search". Common Cause Magazine 15 (May/June 1989):

8–10.

RGANIZATIONS

Office of Surface Mining, 1951 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.

USA 20240 (202) 208-2719, Email: getinfo@osmre.gov, <http://

www.osmre.gov>.

Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation

and Enforcement

see

Office of Surface Mining

Off-road vehicles

Off-road vehicles (ORVs) include motorcycles, dirt bikes,

snowmobiles, bicycles, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) that

can be ridden or driven in areas where there are no paved

roads. While the use of off-road vehicles has gained in

1018

popularity, conservationists and landowners have prompted

some legislatures to restrict their use because of the damage

the vehicles do to the

environment

During eight years under President Bill Clinton

(1946–), environmentalists continued their progress in lim-

iting or banning the use of off-road vehicles in federally

protected areas, such as national parks and forests. However,

with the election of George W. Bush (1946–) in 2000,

environmentalists began to worry their progress might be in

jeopardy. As of 2002, the Bush administration had sent

mixed signs regarding off-road vehicle use on

public land

In October 2001, the U.S.

Environmental Protection

Agency

(EPA) announced plans to impose

pollution con-

trol

restrictions on off-road vehicle engines. The EPA said

off-road vehicles, including snowmobiles, account for 13

percent of hydrocarbon

emission

released into the

atmo-

sphere

each year. The EPA wants off-road vehicle manufac-

turers to switch from two-cycle to four-cycle engines starting

in 2006. Snowmobiles would be required to reduce emissions

by 30% in 2006 and 50% in 2010. The Clinton administra-

tion had planned to phase-out snowmobiles altogether in

Yellowstone National Park

In 2002, the federal

Bureau of Land Management

(BLM) proposed lifting the ban on off-road vehicles in

the 50,000-acre Imperial Sand

Dunes Recreation

Area in

California. However, that same year, the BLM closed nearly

18,000 acres of federal land in the California’s Mojave

De-

sert

to off-road vehicles. The closing was necessary to protect

the

desert tortoise

, a threatened

species

A popular sport in desert areas, mountain passes, and

riverbeds, owners and drivers of off-road vehicles defend

their right to ride wherever they like. They contend that

the Clinton administration policy of closing federal land to

ORVs was discriminatory, since it favored recreational use

of public land only for certain groups of the public, such

as hikers, campers, and backpackers. But environmentalists

claim that the vehicles scar the land, kill

wildlife

, destroy

vegetation, and cause noise, safety and

pollution

problems.

The knobby tires of mountain bicycles contribute to

erosion

in delicate desert areas and along the sides of steep mountain

trails. Motorized off-road vehicles are more devastating to

local

ecology

as landowners across the country are finding.

In Missouri’s Black River, off-roaders typically discard

beer cans, used baby diapers, and empty motor-oil cans.

Usually clear, the Black River in places runs as green as a

sewage ditch when algae are stirred up by the commotion

of off-road vehicles. Some drivers drain their crankcases into

the river. Inevitably, the oil and gas from motorized vehicles

seeps into the river

ecosystem

. A bill passed by the Missouri

legislature in April 1988 restricted the vehicles to areas of

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Ogallala Aquifer

A rider maneuvers his Honda three-wheeler

over sand dunes. (Photograph by Inga Spence. Tom

Stack & Associates. Reproduced by permission.)

the river where landowners gave permission. Since much of

the area is not posted, however, the law failed to halt a good

deal of the use of off-road vehicles in the river.

At the Chincoteague

Wildlife Refuge

in Virginia, an

environmental assessment of the effects of off-road vehicles

and foot traffic found the effects devastating to some species,

particularly the threatened piping plover. The assessment

recommended that the area be closed to the vehicles and to

all recreation during the nesting season, concluding that the

nesting site is subject to damage not only from off-road

vehicles, but also from the human intrusion accompanying

the use of these vehicles.

In California, about 500,000 acres of public land are

open to use by off-road vehicles, and California conserva-

tionists have fought since the late 1980s to ban the sport in

state parks. Off-roaders, however, waged their own battle.

Editorials in magazines for off-road vehicles users urged

readers to ignore posted property, sue for the right to use

the land, and lobby their state and federal elected officials.

More than 30 states now have enacted legislation that

regulates the sale and use of off-road vehicles, especially

motorized ones. The legislation was more a reaction to the

safety problems inherent in three-wheel vehicles than to the

detrimental ecological effects of the vehicles in pristine areas.

1019

The Consumer Product Safety Commission listed almost

1,000 deaths related to the use of ATVs from 1982 to 1988,

and hundreds of product liability suits have been brought

against manufacturers.

[Ken R. Wells]

ESOURCES

ERIODICALS

Daerr, Elizabeth. “Park Victories Losing Ground.” National Parks (July–

August 2001): 18.

“Environmentalists Decry Bush Administration’s Off–Road Vehicle Pol-

icy.” Knight–Ridder/Tribune Business News, June 25, 2001.

Kilian, Michael. “EPA to Limit Pollution From Engines in Boats, Snowmo-

biles.” Knight–Ridder/Tribune news Service, October 19, 2001.

RGANIZATIONS

The Wilderness Society, 1615 M St. NW, Washington, DC USA 20036,

800–843–9453, Email: member@tws.org, http://www.wilderness.org/

standbylands/orv

Offshore drilling

see

Oil drilling

Ogallala Aquifer

The Ogallala

Aquifer

is an extensive underground

reservoir

that supplies water to most of the irrigated agriculture in

the central United States. Discovered early in the nineteenth

century, this aquifer—also known as the High Plains re-

gional aquifer—became a major economic resource in the

1960s and 1970s when advanced pumping technology made

large-scale

irrigation

possible. In 1980 this aquifer sup-

ported 170,000

wells

and provided one third of all irrigation

water pumped in the United States. In the last several de-

cades, Ogallala-irrigated agriculture has redefined the land-

scape of the central United States by fostering economic

expansion,

population growth

, and the development of

large-scale agribusiness in an

arid

region.

The High Plains regional aquifer underlies eight states,

including most of Nebraska and portions of South Dakota,

Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New

Mexico. Covering an area of 175,000 square miles (453,250

sq km), the aquifer runs 800 miles (1,288 km) from north

to south, and stretches 200 miles (322 km) at its widest

point. Nebraska holds by far the greatest amount of water,

with 400–1,200 feet (130–400 m) of saturated thickness,

while much of the aquifer’s southern extent averages less than

100 feet (30 m) thick. Geologically, this aquifer comprises a

number of porous, unconsolidated sand,

silt

, and clay forma-

tions that were deposited by wind and water from the Rocky

Mountains. The most important of these formations is the

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Oil drilling

The Ogallala, or High Plains, Aquifer. (Line draw-

ing by Laura Gritt Lawson. U. S. Geological Survey Water

Resource Investigations Report.)

Ogallala formation, which makes up seventy-seven percent

of the regional aquifer. The aquifer’s total drainable water

is about 3.25 billion acre feet.

Large volume use of

groundwater

became possible

with the invention of powerful pumps and center-pivot irri-

gation in the late 1950s. The center pivot sprays water from

a rotating arm long enough to water a quarter section (160-

acre) field. This irrigation technique is responsible for the

characteristic circular pattern visible from the air in most

agricultural landscapes in the western United States. Al-

though installation is extremely expensive, center pivots and

powerful pumps enable farmers to produce great amounts

of corn, wheat, sorghum, and cotton where low rainfall had

once made most agriculture impossible.

High-volume pumping has also reduced the amount

of available groundwater. Most water in the High Plains

aquifer is “fossil water,” which has been stored underground

for thousands or millions of years. New water enters the

aquifer extremely slowly. In most of the Ogallala region,

pumping exceeds recharge rates, a process known as water

mining, and the net volume is steadily decreasing. Region-

wide, less than 0.5% of the water pumped each year is

replaced by

infiltration

of rainwater. At current rates of

1020

pumping, the resource should be 80% depleted by about

2020.

As saturation levels in the aquifer fall, consequences

on the surface are clearly visible. Many streams and rivers,

dependent on groundwater for base flow, run dry. The state

of Kansas alone has lost more than 700 miles (1,126 km)

of rivers that once flowed year round. Center pivot irrigation,

requiring a well that can pump 750 gallons (2,839 liters) per

minute, is beginning to disappear in Texas and New Mexico,

where the aquifer can no longer provide this volume.

Groundwater pollution

is becoming more concentrated as

agricultural chemicals

seep into a shrinking reservoir

of Ogallala water. Many high plains towns, formerly rich

with pure, clean groundwater, now have tap water that is

considered unhealthy for children and pregnant women. As

the Ogallala runs dry, the region’s demographics are also

changing. Many farmers assumed heavy debt burdens in the

1970s when they installed center pivots. Drying wells and

falling production have led to farm foreclosures and the

depopulation of small, rural towns. Regional populations

that swelled with irrigated agriculture are beginning to shrink

again. Land ownership, formerly held by independent fami-

lies and ranchers, is increasingly in the hands of banks,

insurance companies, and corporations, which provide little

support to local communities.

[Mary Ann Cunningham Ph.D.]

ESOURCES

ERIODICALS

Aucoin, J. Water in Nebraska—Use, Politics, Policies. Lincoln: University of

Nebraska Press, 1984.

Kromm, D. E., and S. E. White. Groundwater Exploitation in the High

Plains. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992.

Oil

see

Petroleum

Oil drilling

Petroleum

occurs naturally in the earth in porous rock,

found anywhere from thousands of meters underground all

the way to the earth’s surface. The porous layer of rock

normally lies between two nonporous layers, so oil does not

flow out of its

reservoir

. In most cases water and/or

natural

gas

occur along with petroleum in the rock. Oil can be

extracted from the rock by sinking a pipe into the earth until

it penetrates the saturated porous rock. In most cases, oil

will then begin to flow of its own accord out of the rock

and into the pipe.

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Oil embargo

The upward flow of oil can be caused by a number

of different factors. In some cases, the porous layer of

rock is covered by a hollow cap filled with natural gas.

Pressure of the gas forces petroleum out of the rock into

the pipe. In some cases, gas pressure will be so great as

to force oil out of a new well in a fountain-like effect

known as a “gusher.”

In other cases, the pressure of water also present in

the saturated rock pushes oil towards and into the pipe.

In still other instances, gases dissolved in petroleum exert

pressure on it, forcing it up the pipe.

The ease with which oil flows through a rock layer

and into a well depends on a number of factors. In addition

to water and gas pressure, viscosity of the oil determines

how easily it will move through rock. Even under the most

favorable conditions, no more than about 30 percent of the

oil in a rock layer can be extracted by any of the natural

methods described above.

The term primary recovery is used to describe the natu-

ral flow of oil by any of the means described above. By

adding a pump to the well—secondary recovery—an addi-

tional quantity of oil can be removed. Even after primary

and secondary recovery, however, 40–80% of the oil may

still remain in a reservoir. All or most of that oil can be

recovered by a variety of techniques described as tertiary

recovery.

All forms of tertiary recovery involve the injection of

some kind of fluid into the oil-bearing stratum. A long pipe

is stuck into the ground parallel to the oil-recovery pipe.

Into the second pipe is injected a mixture of

carbon dioxide

in water, steam, or some combination of water and

chemi-

cals

. In any one of these cases, the injected material diffuses

through the oil-bearing rock, pushing the petroleum out

and up into the recovery pipe.

Yet another tertiary recovery approach is to set fire to

the oil remaining in one part of the stratum. The heat thus

generated reduces the viscosity of the unburned oil remaining

in the stratum, allowing it to flow more easily into the

recovery pipe. Any form of tertiary recovery is relatively

expensive and is not used, therefore, until the price of oil

justifies this approach. The same can be said for off-shore

drilling.

Organic materials washed into the oceans from rivers

often settle on the sloping underwater area known as the

continental shelf. In this oxygen-free

environment

, those

materials often decay to produce petroleum and natural gas.

In recent decades, oil companies have found it profitable to

locate and drill for oil in these off-shore reserves.

The technique for drilling from off-shore

wells

generally the same as that used on land. The major difference

is that before drilling may begin a stable platform on the

water’s surface for the drilling rig and ancillary equipment

1021

must be constructed. The drilling platform must be protected

from high winds, waves, and serious storms. In addition,

special safeguards must be taken to protect pipes from break-

ing and releasing oil into the environment. See also Oil

Pollution Act (1990); Oil spills

[David E. Newton]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Freudenburg, W. R. Oil in Troubled Waters: Perceptions, Politics, and the

Battle Over Offshore Drilling. Albany: State University of New York

Press, 1994.

Holing, D. Coastal Alert: Ecosystems, Energy, and Offshore Oil Drilling.

Covelo, CA: Island Press, 1990.

ERIODICALS

Carey, J. “Hot Science in Cold Lands.” National Wildlife 29 (April-May

1991): 4–13.

“Oil and Gas Drilling Threatens Grizzlies.” National Parks 67 (May-June

1993): 13–14.

Petulla, J. M. American Environmental History. 2nd ed. San Francisco:

Boyd & Fraser, 1988.

Oil embargo

The year of 1973 marks one of the most important turning

points in the history of the twentieth century. Prior to 1973,

the world had become accustomed to a plentiful supply of

inexpensive

fossil fuels

coal

petroleum

, and

natural gas

Developed nations had built economies that depended not

just on these fossil fuels, but also on their relatively low cost.

Patterns of urban growth in the United States, to take just

one example, reflected the fact that the average person could

easily afford to drive her

automobile

many miles a day.

The average price of a barrel of oil in 1973, for example,

was $2.70 and the average cost of

gasoline

at the pump

about 35¢ a gallon.

A number of factors combined in 1973, however, to

change this picture dramatically. The most obvious of those

factors was a decision made by the Arab members of the

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

(OPEC)

to cut back on its export of petroleum to many nations of

the world. The reason given for this decision was the support

given by the United States to Israel during the 18-day war

with Syria and Egypt. The action, taken on October 18,

1973, reduced the direct flow of oil from the Arab states to

the United States to zero.

OPEC had been established in 1960 by a Venezuelan

oil man Juan Perez Alfonso. An extremely conservative busi-

nessman who rode a bicycle and read by candlelight to save

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Oil embargo

Cars line up for gasoline along Route 4 in Fort

Lee, New Jersey, in 1974. (AP/Wide World Photos.

Reproduced by permission.)

energy, Perez Alfonso saw OPEC as an organization that

could encourage

energy conservation

throughout the

world.

His objectives were certainly achieved in some places as

a result of the 1973 embargo. Americans, along with citizens

1022

of other developed nations, found themselves waiting in long

lines to buy gasoline, turning their thermostats down to 60°,

and learning how to live with less energy in general.

The embargo also had a devastating effect on national

economies. In the United States, inflation climbed to more

than 10 percent a year, an enormous trade deficit developed,

and interest rates climbed to the high teens. Elsewhere, a

global recession began.

By the time the embargo ended in March 1974, oil

prices had climbed to nearly $12 a barrel, an increase of 330

percent. Gasoline prices had also begun to climb, reaching

57% a gallon by 1975, 86¢ a gallon by 1979, and $1.19 a

gallon by 1980.

The embargo caused developed nations to rethink their

dependence on fossil fuels. Research on

alternative energy

sources

such as wind, tides, geothermal, and

solar energy

suddenly attained a new importance. The United States

government responded to the new era of expensive energy

by formulating an entirely new

energy policy

expressed in

such legislation as the Energy Policy and

Conservation

Act

of 1976, the Energy Conservation and Production Act of

1976, the

Energy Reorganization Act

of 1974, and the

National Energy Act of 1978.

Interestingly enough, the OPEC embargo had impacts

that were relatively little known and discussed at the time.

For example, the United States was importing only about 7

percent of its oil from Arab nations in 1973. Yet, almost as

soon as the embargo was announced, prices at the gasoline

pump began to rise. Such a fast response is, at first, difficult

to understand since “old,” cheap oil was still on its way from

the Middle East and was still being processed, shipped and

stored by petroleum companies.

The embargo must also be understood, therefore, as

an opportunity for which oil companies had been looking

to increase their prices and profits. In the years preceding

the embargo, these companies had been feeling increased

pressures from domestic environmental groups to cut back

on drilling in sensitive areas. They were also losing business

to small, independent competitors.

The embargo afforded the companies an opportunity

to turn this situation around and once more increase profit-

ability, which they did. In the one year following the em-

bargo, for example, the seven largest oil companies reported

profits from 40–85%. Two years after the embargo, one of

these companies (Exxon) became the nation’s richest corpo-

ration, with revenues of $45.1 billion.

Neither have the long term effects of the embargo

been what observers in 1973 might have expected. In 1990

the United States imports a larger percentage of its oil from

Arab OPEC members than it did in 1973. And the enthusi-

asm for alternative energy sources of the 1970s has largely

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Oil spills

diminished. See also Alternative fuels; Energy conservation;

Geothermal energy; Wave power; Wind energy

[David E. Newton]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Commoner, Barry. The Politics of Energy. New York: Knopf, 1979.

Silber, D., ed. The Arab Oil Embargo: Ten Years Later. Washington, DC:

Americans for Energy Independence, 1984.

Oil pipeline

see

Trans-Alaska pipeline

Oil shale

The term oil shale is technically incorrect in that the rock

to which it refers, marlstone, is neither oil nor shale. Instead,

it is a material that contains an organic substance known as

kerogene. When heated to a temperature of 900°F (480°C)

or more, kerogene decomposes, forming a petroleum-like

liquid and a combustible gas. Huge amounts of high-grade

oil shale exist in the western United States. By some esti-

mates, these reserves could meet the nation’s fuel needs for

about a century. Although the technology for tapping these

reserves already exists, it is still too expensive to compete

with conventional

fossil fuels

or other sources of energy

now in use. See also Alternative fuels

Oil spills

An oil spill is the common expression used to refer to the

release of crude oil or

petroleum

into water or on land.

Crude oil released in this way represents an evironmental

issue of great concern because spills threaten animals, plant

life and other marine resources. Oil can also cause long

term environmental and economic damage to the marine

ecosystem

near a spill. According to a 2002 report from

the

National Academy of Sciences

, approximately 210

million gal (790 million l) of oil spills into the oceans each

year. Sources include the

wells

from which oil is extracted

and the ships used to transport it, as well as natural oil

seepage

from geologic formations below the seafloor, as

for example in

Coal

Oil Point along the California Coast,

where an estimated 2,000–3,000 gal (7,570–11,350 l) of

crude oil is released naturally from the ocean floor every day.

While accidental tanker oil spills receive the most publicity,

they only account for approximately 20% of the crude oil

released into the oceans each year by human activity with the

remainder largely due to routine oil tanker ship maintenance

1023

operations such as

, discharging, and emptying bal-

last tanks.

Oil and spills are often measured in gal (l) or “barrels

of petroleum”; a barrel equals 42 gal (159 l), and a (metric)

tonne equals 7.2 barrels. Tankers sometimes transport more

than 30,000 barrels of oil (200,000 tonnes).

According to a 2002 study performed by the

National

Research Council

, a total of 29 million gal (110 million l)

of petroleum are released into North American ocean waters

each year as a result of human activities or carelessness.

However, only a small fraction of that environmental

pollu-

tion

is due to pipeline ruptures or oil tanker spills. Approxi-

mately 85% of those spills involve land-based runoffs from

cars and trucks, fuel dumping by commercial airplane pilots,

and emissions from small boats and crafts.

Oil and its properties

The word oil usually refers to petroleum, a liquid that

occurs in

nature

and consists of

hydrocarbons

, a group

of organic chemical compounds of

hydrogen

and

carbon

atoms. Petroleum, also known as crude oil, is classified in

categories that range from light, volatile oils (Class A) to

heavy, sticky oils (Class C), depending on physical properties

and charcateristics. Refined oil is crude oil that has been

processed for use as

gasoline

, kerosene, lubricating oil, and

fuel oils of varying weights.

In spills, the majority of oils spread horizontally to

form a smooth, slippery layer on the surface of water. This

surface is called a slick. When oil stays on the ocean surface,

it cuts off the oxygen supply to the marine life below. The

oil also kills birds, animals, and can harm the water supply

and the coastline.

“Fate” is the term used by scientists to describe

what happens to the various oil components after a spill.

Factors that determine fate include the type of oil, the

quantity spilled, water temperature, and

climate

. The fates

of oil are natural processes.

Weathering

is a series of

chemical and physical changes that causes oil to break

down and become heavier than water. Evaporation occurs

when lighter substances in the oil evaporate and leave the

water surface.

About half of a spill may evaporate within several days.

Warm water temperatures help this process. Although oil

evaporates, the process of emulsification may increase the

size of a spill. Emulsions are a mixture of small drops of oil

and water. Wave action mixes together a water-in-oil mix-

ture called “chocolate mousse.” Mousse may remain in the

environment

for months or years, according to the United

States

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA).

Oxidation reactions may also result from the contact

of oil with water and oxygen. Portions of the slick cling

together in tar balls. Biodegradation occurs when micro-

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Oil spills

organisms like bacteria feed on oil. How oil affects the

environment depends on the rate at which the oil spreads.

The slick is affected by surface tension, which is the measure

of the attraction between the surface molecules of a liquid.

Oil with a higher surface tension usually remains in one

place. If the surface tension is lower, the oil tends to spread.

Wind and water currents also cause oil to spread. Further-

more, higher temperatures can reduce surface tension so oil

tends to spread more in warmer water.

Light refined products like gasoline and kerosene

spread on the water surface and quickly penetrate porous

soil

. The risk of fire and toxic hazards is high, but these

oils evaporate quickly and leave little residue. Heavier refined

oil products are less of a fire and toxic hazard risk.

Oil spills and their aftermaths

After a spill, oil can spread very quickly unless con-

tained, for example, by a boom or a boat slip. The lighter

the oil, the faster it spreads out. For example, gasoline spreads

faster than heavy fuel oil. Faster currents and winds can also

cause oil to spread faster and temperature can sometimes

make a difference as well because colder oil does not flow

as well and spreads more slowly.

Oil spills have occured all over the world. The Cutter

Information Corporation tracks oil spills involving at least

10,000 gal (34 tonnes). It reports that spills of that magnitude

have occurred in the waters of 112 countries since 1960. Oil

spills are also known to happen more often in some parts

of the world. Major oil spills from tankers have occurred in

the Gulf of Mexico (267 spills); the northeastern United

States (140 spills); the

Mediterranean Sea

(127 spills); the

Persian Gulf (108 spills); the North Sea (75 spills); Japan

(60 spills); the Baltic Sea (52 spills); the United Kingdom

and English Channel (49 spills); Malaysia and Singapore

(39 spills); the west coast of France and north and west

coasts of Spain (33 spills); and Korea (32 spills).

The aftermath of an oil spill always results in environ-

mental damage. During the 1991 Gulf War, oil was spilled

onto Kuwaiti land and into the Arabian Gulf when the Iraqi

Army began destroying tankers, oil terminals, and oil wells.

Approximately 9,000,000 barrels of oil were spilled in the

Arabian Gulf, forming a slick measuring some 600 mi

(1,600 km

). When the slick moved close to Saudi Arabia,

people pumped water into the area between the beach and

the oil. Some 400 mi (640 km) of the western shores of the

gulf was oiled, with Saudi Arabian shores the most severely

affected, the spill destroying most of its shrimp fields.

In 1989, the

Exxon Valdez

ran aground Bligh Reef

Prince William Sound

, Alaska, spilling more than 11

million gal (41 million l) of crude oil. The spill was the largest

in United States history and focused worldwide attention to

the damage caused by oil spills. The first day, thousands of

animals died. During the month after the spill, more than

1024

7,000 sea otters in Prince William Sound died. Other casual-

ties included more than 100 bald eagles, and 36,000 birds

including puffin, auklet and other species. As the oil spread,

people tried to rescue wildlife. They had to calm terrified

animals. Rescuers fed animals and kept them warm. When

the animals were stronger, people started cleaning birds and

mammals.

Three methods were used in the effort to clean up the

spill, namely burning, mechanical cleanup and the use of

chemical dispersants. Burning was conducted during the

early stages by placing a fire-resistant boom on tow lines,

with two ends of the boom each attached to a different ship.

The two ships with the boom between them sailed very

slowly throughout the slick until the boom was full of oil.

They then towed the boom away from the slick and the oil

was set on fire. The procedure did not endanger the main

slick nor the Exxon Valdez, because a safe distance separated

them. Mechanical cleanup was also carried out using booms

and skimmers with people cleaning birds and mammals.

Chemical dispersants were also used in the cleanup effort

but were not very effective because there was not enough

wave action to mix the dispersant with the oil in the water.

The aftermath of the Exxon Valdez spill included the

adoption of the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The law

created a spill clean-up fund, set penalties for oil spillers,

and directed the federal government to respond quickly to

oil spills. In 1993, federal law required a double hull for all

tankers carrying oil to the United States.

The United States produces an average of 125 billion

gal (473 billion l) of crude oil each year. The country imports

an additional 114 billion gal (430 billion l) and 29 million

gal (110 million l) of oil enter coastal waters off the United

States each year. Nearly 85% of that oil comes from polluted

rivers, small boats, vehicles, and street run-off. As a result,

the National Academy of Sciences has called on the federal

government to work with state environmental agencies to

address these issues.

In the United States, various techniques are used to

respond to oil spills. Containment and recovery are usually

the primary goals of the response team. Equipment includes

booms and skimmers that are used to collect the oil and

store it. Floating booms are mechanical barriers that extend

above and below the surface of the water to stop the spread

of oil. They can be used to surround a slick completely and

reduce its spread, to protect harbor entrances or biologically

sensitive areas, and to divert oil to an area where it can be

recovered. Dispersants are

chemicals

used to break up oil

and keep it from reaching the land. Furthermore, the spill

response team works to keep birds and animals away from

the oil spill area. Their equipment includes propane scare

cans, floating dummies, and helium balloons.

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Oil spills

Workers clean up an oil-fouled California beach. (Corbis-Bettmann. Reproduced by permission.)

Oil spills on a global level

The EPA, the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

, and the American Petroleum Institute are

among the sponsors of the International Oil Spill Confer-

ence. Since 1969, the conference has been scheduled every

two years. Goals include delineating the overall oil spill

problem and exploring ways to prevent and respond to spills.

A 2003 conference was planned in Vancouver, British Co-

lumbia.

Oil spills are a global problem. In 1999, the tanker

Erika caused the greatest oil spill in European history. The

tanker broke and spilled 3 million gal (11 million l) of oil

off the coast of Brittany, France. The following year, a

pipeline ruptured and spilled 343,200 gal (1.3 million l) of

oil into Guanabara Bay in Brazil. And in 2000, the tanker

Westchester ran aground south of New Orleans, spilling

567,000 gal (2.1 million l) of oil into the Mississippi River.

That was the largest spill in the United States since the

Exxon Valdez.

Environmental organizations concerned with oil spills

include the Sea Shepherd Conservation. Founder Paul Wat-

son’s goal in 2002 was to create a coalition of oil producers

1025

and conservationists. The coalition would develop airborne

teams that would respond to oil spills within 12 hours. Team

equipment would include items for cleaning wildlife and

pumps for oil.

[Liz Swain]

ESOURCES

OOKS

Burger, Joanna. Oil Spills. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University

Press, 1997.

Fingas, Mervin F., and Jennifer Charles. The Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup,

Second Edition. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000.

Garcia-Martinez, R., and C. A. Brebbia, eds. Oil and Hydrocarbon Spills,

Modelling, Analysis and Control. Southampton, UK: Computational Me-

chanics (WIT Press), 1998.

Hayes, Miles. Black Tides. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999.

Keeble, John, and Natalie Fobes. Out of the Channel: The Exxon Valdez Oil

Spill in Prince William Sound. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999.

RGANIZATIONS

EPA - Oil Spill Program, UNIDO New York Office, Toll Free: 800-424-

9346, Email: oilinfo@epa.gov, <http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/>

Environmental Encyclopedia 3

Old-growth forest

International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited, Staple Hall,

Stonehouse Court, 87-90 Houndsditch, London, U.K. EC3A 7AX

+44(0)20-7621-1255, Toll Free: 800-424-9346, Email: central@itopf.com,

<http://www.itopf.com/index2.html>

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration., 14th Street and

Constitution Avenue NW, Room 6013, Washington, D.C. USA 20230

(202) 482-6090, Fax: (202) 482-3154, Email: answers@noaaa.gov, <http://

www.noaa.gov>

Oil Spill Response Ltd (ORSL), 1 Great Cumberland Place, London,

U.K. W1H 7AL +44 (0)20-7724-0102, Toll Free: 800-424-9346, Email:

orsl@orsl.co.uk, <http://www.oilspillresponse.com/>

Sea Shepherd International., 22774 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

USA 90165 (310) 456-1141, Fax: (310) 456-2488, Email:

seashepherd@seashepherd.org, <http://www.seashepherd.org>

The National Academies, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC USA 20418 (202) 334-2000, , <http://www4.nationalacademies.org>

Oil-recycle toilet

see

Toilets

Old-growth forest

The trees stand tall and thick of girth. The air about them

is cool and moist. The

soil

is rich and matted by a thick

organic blanket. People marvel at the forest, imbibing its

grandeur, coveting its timber. In another area, across the

mountains, perhaps, the trees stand stooped and scraggly.

The air about them is parched. The soil is coarse, barren,

and hardened to the elements. People pass by the forest,

ignoring its dignity, rejecting its worth.

These images reflect extremes in old-growth forests.

The first is the compelling one: it exemplifies the common

perception of a

ecosystem

at the center of a bitter environ-

mental controversy. The second depicts an equally valid old-

growth forest, but it is one whose fate few people care to

debate.

The controversy over old-growth forests is the result of

competition for what has become a scarce natural resource—

large, old trees that can be either harvested to produce high

value lumber products or preserved as notable relics as a

forest proceeds through its stages of ecological

succession

This competition is a classic environmental struggle, im-

pelled by radically different perceptions of value and conflict-

ing goals of consumptive and nonconsumptive use.

What is an old-growth forest? Before the modern

debates, the definition seemed simple. Old-growth was a

mature virgin forest; it consisted of giant old trees, many

past their prime, which towered over a shady, multilayered

understory and a thick, fermenting forest floor. In contrast

to second-growth timber, the stand never had been har-

vested. It was something that existed in the West, having

long since been cut in the East.

1026

Old-growth Douglas fir forest, Pacific North-

west. (Photograph by Tom and Pat Lesson. National

Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers, Inc. Re-

produced by permission.)

In the mid to late 1980s several professional and gov-

ernmental organizations, including the

Society of American

Foresters

, the U.S.

Forest Service

, and California’s State

Board of Forestry, began efforts to define formally “old-

growth forest” and the related term “ancient forest” for eco-