Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Exxon Valdez

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management

  • 38 Accesses

Synonyms

Exxon Valdez; Ocean pollution; Oil spill; Sustainability management; Sustainable development; Wildlife

Definition

Around midnight on May 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez grounded on the pristine Alaskan coasts. Such an environmental disaster resulted in more than 10 million gallons of oil being spilled into the waters of Prince William Sound, affecting a natural habitat that had remained virtually intact up to that date. This entry dissects its main causes and the subsequent consequences for the global ecosystem.

Introduction

The modern concept of sustainability management requires total concern with a series of moral-ethical principles in which all members of society are committed to self-sustainable economic development (Stead and Stead 1992), promoting initiatives and measures aimed, among other aspects, to prevent future environmental crises or disasters. In addition to creating a cleaner and more environmentally responsible planet, the aim is to prevent the...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adasiak, A., Richter, C. K., & Spivey, P. (1990). Spill, the wreck of the Exxon Valdez. Final report. Anchorage: Alaska Oil Spill Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, D., Dinnel, P., Orensanz, J., Armstrong, J., McDonald, T., Cusimano, R., Nemeth, R., Landolt, M., Skalski, J., Lee, R., & Huggett, R. (1995). Status of selected bottomfish and crustacean species in Prince William sound following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In P. Wells, J. Butler, & J. Hughes (Eds.), Exxon Valdez oil spill: Fate and effects in Alaskan waters (pp. 485–547). West Conshohocken: ASTM International.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Atlas, R., & Bragg, J. (2009). Bioremediation of marine oil spills: When and when not – The Exxon Valdez experience. Microbial Biotechnology, 2(2), 213–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, T., Schempf, P., & Hodges, J. (1997). Bald eagle population in Prince William sound after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Journal of Wildlife Management, 61(3), 962–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coddington, K. (2015). The ‘entrepreneurial spirit’: Exxon Valdez and nature tourism development in Seward, Alaska. Tourism Geographies, 17(3), 482–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean, T., Bodkin, J., Fukuyama, A., Jewett, S., Monson, D., O’Clair, C., & Van Blaricom, G. (2002). Food limitation and the recovery of sea otters following the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 241, 255–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egan, T. (1989, May 22). Elements of tanker disaster: Drinking, Fatique, complacency. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/22/us/elements-of-tanker-disaster-drinking-fatique-complacency.html. Accessed 29 Sept 2020.

  • Fukuyama, A., & Hoff, R. (2000). Effects of residual Exxon Valdez oil on intertidal Protothaca staminea: Mortality, growth, and bioaccumulation of hydrocarbons in transplanted clams. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 40(11), 1051–1056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, D., Picou, J., & Ritchie, L. (2012). The Exxon Valdez and BP oil spills: A comparison of initial social and psychological impacts. American Behavioral Scientist, 56(1), 3–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, D., Ritchie, L., & Picou, J. (2016). Sociocultural and psychosocial impacts of the exxon Valdez oil spill: Twenty-four years of research in Cordova, Alaska. Extractive Industries and Society, 3(4), 1105–1116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hameedi, M. (1988). Natural and historic setting, Chapter 1. In D. Shaw & M. Hameedi (Eds.), Environmental studies in port Valdez, Alaska. Lectures notes on coastal and estuarine studies (Vol. 24). Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrald, J. R., Marcus, H. S., & Wallace, W. A. (1990). The EXXON Valdez: An assessment of crisis prevention and management systems. INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics, 20(5), 14–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrald, J. R., Cohn, R., & Wallace, W. A. (1992). “We were always re-organizing…”: Some crisis management implications of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Industrial Crisis Quarterly, 6(3), 192–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harwell, M., Gentile, J. H., & Parker, K. (2012). Quantifying population-level risks using an individual-based model: Sea otters, harlequin ducks, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 8(3), 503–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofman, R. (2013). Foreword. In T. Loughlin (Ed.), Marine mammals and the Exxon Valdez (pp. xiii–xvi). San Diego: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover-Miller, A., Parker, K., & Burns, J. (2001). A reassessment of the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on harbor seals. Marine Mammal Science, 17(1), 111–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lance, B., Irons, D., Kendall, S., & McDonald, L. (2001). An evaluation of marine bird population trends following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 42(4), 298–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leacock, E. (2009). The Exxon Valdez oil spill, environmental disasters series. New York: Facts On File.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loughlin, T. (2013). Preface. In T. Loughlin (Ed.), Marine mammals and the Exxon Valdez (pp. xvii–xviii). San Diego: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matkin, C., Saulitis, E., Ellis, G., Olesiuk, P., & Rice, S. (2008). Ongoing population-level impacts on killer whales Orcinus orca following the ‘Exxon Valdez’ oil spill in Prince William Sound. Alaska, 356, 269–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miraglia, R. (2002). The cultural and behavioral impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on the native peoples of Prince William sound, Alaska. Spill Science and Technology Bulletin, 7(3–4), 75–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, F., & Loughlin, T. (2013). Overview of the Exxon Valdez oil spill 1989–1992, Chapter 1. In T. Loughlin (Ed.), Marine mammals and the Exxon Valdez (pp. 1–22). San Diego: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M., Heintz, R., Short, J., Larsen, M., & Rice, S. (1998). Recovery of Pink Salmon spawning areas after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 128(5), 908–918.

    Google Scholar 

  • NOS. (2021). What is a natural resource damage assessment? National Ocean Service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nrda.html. Accessed 24 Sept 2020.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ott, R. (2008). Not one drop: Betrayal and courage in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palinkas, L., Petterson, J., Russell, J., & Downs, M. (1993). Community patterns of psychiatric disorders after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150(10), 1517–1523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Periferakis, A. (2019). The Yukon Gold Rush: Early examples of the socioeconomic and environmental impact of mining, number 7, Bulletin of the geological Society of Greece. In Proceedings of the 15th international congress of the geological society of Greece. Harokopio University of Athens.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picou, J., Gill, D., Dyer, C., & Curry, E. (1992). Disruption and stress in an Alaskan fishing community: Initial and continuing impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Organization Environment, 6(3), 235–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritter, H. (2020). Alaska’s history, revised edn. West Margin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, R., & Miller, S. (1999). Population dynamics of brown bears after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Ursus, 11, 73–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, J., Rice, S., Heintz, R., Carls, M., & Moles, A. (2003). Long-term effects of crude oil on developing fish: Lessons from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Energy Sources, 25(6), 509–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stead, W. E., & Stead, J. G. (1992). Management for a small planet: Strategic decision making and the environment. London: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiens, J., Day, R., Murphy, S., & Parker, K. (2004). Changing habitat and habitat use by birds after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1989–2001. Ecological Applications, 14(6), 1806–1825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethics, Gender and Sustainability Research Group, Economics and Business Department, University of Almería, Almería, Spain

    Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes & María del Carmen Valls Martínez

Authors
  1. Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. María del Carmen Valls Martínez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pedro Antonio Martín-Cervantes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. London Metropolitan University, Guildhall Faculty of Business and Law London Metropolitan University, London, UK

    Samuel Idowu

  2. Cologne Business School, Ingolstadt, Germany

    René Schmidpeter

  3. College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Nicholas Capaldi

  4. International Training Centre of the IL, International Labor Organization, Turin, Italy

    Liangrong Zu

  5. Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

    Mara Del Baldo

  6. Instituto Politécnico da Guarda, Guarda, Portugal

    Rute Abreu

Section Editor information

  1. )1) Antwerp Management School, (2) Breda University of Applied Sciences, Antwerp, Belgium

    Lars Moratis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Martín-Cervantes, P.A., del Carmen Valls Martínez, M. (2022). Exxon Valdez. In: Idowu, S., Schmidpeter, R., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Del Baldo, M., Abreu, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_1102-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02006-4_1102-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02006-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02006-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation