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The oil spread for 56 days, reaching as far as 470 miles southwest of the original spill site. Altogether it affected 1300 miles of shoreline. Among birds in the region, it was estimated that 250 Bald Eagles had died, 500 Black Oystercatchers were killed, 22,000 Common Murres, 12,000-14,000 Marbled Murrelets, 838 Cormorants, 200 Harlequin Ducks, 300 Pigeon Guillemots, and 400 Loons. .
Sea mammals also suffered. Somewhere around 2800 Sea Otters died as well as a few River Otters. 300 Harbor Seals died directly from oil exposure, and their population declined by 43% in areas affected by the spill. Of the 36 Killer Whales known to inhabit the region, 7 were missing six days after the spill and a year later 6 more were missing. .
There was also a huge financial toll on the local economy, which had much basis in the fishing industry. The total cost of the spill numbers in the billions of dollars. However, ExxonMobil has kept it tied up in the court of appeals has yet to pay for the damage. .
For the spill we give ExxonMobil an F for handling the disaster.
Despite this and other environmental tragedies, ExxonMobil tries its best to put on a face of responsibility and environmental awareness. There integrity statement is the following:.
"The way we conduct our business is as important as the results we achieve. Integrity is the cornerstone expectation that shareholders, consumers, employees and the public demand of corporations. We require everyone associated with the company - directors, officers, employees and suppliers acting on our behalf - to observe the highest ethical standards." .
While this seems to show an excellent determination to be ethical, the company's actions seem to show exactly the opposite. They are, however, doing a few nominal things to appear to show that they care about the environment. Some of these programs are the following:.
Exxon claims that "Our Global Energy Management System (GEMS) is bringing a systematic approach to reduce energy use, environmental emissions, and operating costs.
