A crippled tanker, the Prestige, carrying more than 20 million gallons (around 67,000 tons) of oil split in half off the northwest coast of Spain on Tuesday (Nov. 19), threatening one of the worst environmental disasters in history. Should the tanks leak, the resulting spill would be more than twice the size of that caused by the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident, warned the World Wildlife Federation.
An oil slick 70 miles long and five miles wide in the rich fishery region was visible even before the rear of the tanker sank on
Tuesday, threatening a large portion of the Spanish coastline. Damages were estimated at 90 million euros ($90 million)
but were expected to spike following Tuesday's development. The accident has put around 1,000 fishermen temporarily out of
work. Soldiers and volunteers rushed to dozens of beaches that were blanketed in thick sheets of oil to assess further damages.
Meanwhile, environmental experts removed more than 150 oil-covered animals, primarily seabirds, for treatment. "We've seen
many dead fish and birds and many others in agony when we rescue them," Ezequiel Navio, from the World Wildlife Fund, told
MSNBC. The government warned that the oil spilled could continue to seep into some of the many inlets that penetrate the
coastline.
The Oil companies need to take greater responsibility to avoid 
leakage in the case of accidents. We request that oil companies:
- Create tanks that are held inside the ship tankers that will be strong enough to withstand a ship wreck.
- Ensure that oil is carried in tanks that if sunk, will not allow leakage in 50 years when the tanks have rusted through OR find a way to ensure that tanks are not left at the bottom of the ocean to rust and leak.
- Take all measures to ensure a ZERO tolerance approach to accidents.
Please sign and urge responsibility amongst The oil company CEO's! Following several shocking and environmentally destructive oil slicks we, oil consumers across the globe insist that you take greater responsibility to ensure that no more slick happen.
We request that you:
1) Create tanks that are held inside the ship tankers that will be strong enough to withstand a ship wreck.
2) Ensure that oil is carried in tanks that if sunk, will not allow leakage in 50 years when the tanks have rusted through OR find a way to ensure that tanks are not left at the bottom of the ocean to rust and leak.
3) Take all measures to ensure a ZERO tolerance approach to accidents.
Thank You,
The Undersigned.
