The Exxon tanker spill was a drop in the bucket
compared to what the U.S. oil industry routinely wastes. In Crude
Awakening, The Oil Mess in America: Wasting Energy, Jobs and the
Environment, Friends of the Earth says we lose the equivalent of
1,000 Exxon spills each year through leaks, evaporation and
inefficient use. Author and senior analyst Jack Doyle highlights 24
case studies of oil disasters and lists hundreds of leaks and
spills since 1985. Doyle also says the major U.S. oil companies
have eliminated some 400,000 oil-exploration jobs that existed in
this country in 1982, sending them overseas. The report has been
attacked by the oil industry. Charles DiBona, president of the
American Petroleum Institute, called it a “gross exaggeration.”
Friends of the Earth, Oil Report, 1025 Vermont
Ave. NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20005, 202/783-7400. 1994. $25
for nonprofits and FOE members, $55 for nonmembers. 800/537-9359.
234 pages.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Crude awakening.
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