EDITORIAL
Exxon beats the rap,
Alaska foots the bill
F.xxonerated. Exxhausting, Exxasperuting.
Call it what you will, but the mighty oil conglomer
ate got off the hook easy. Way too easy.
On Tuesday, a federal judge approved a plan in
which Exxon will pay Si billion in settlements for the
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The plan will end all fed
oral and state litigation against the oil giant.
At first glance, the settlement appears Exxpansive
The $1 billion includes $900 million, which Exxon
will pay over the next 11 years, as well as $100 mil
lion, which will go to state and federal agencies for
their roles in rehabilitating Prince William Sound. In
addition, Exxon was hit with a $125 million fine by
pleading guilty to four misdemeanor counts.
Now let’s take this settlement step by step
The $125 million fine is a sham. In return for ac
cepting the fine, Exxon was permitted to drop two felo
ny charges. Four misdnmv.anor counts for the biggest
environmental catastrophe ever. When the Exxon \'dl
dez ran aground, nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil
spilled into the sound.
The amount of damage to
fishing grounds, bird nest
ing areas and the shore
lines is incomprehensible.
To give only four misde
meanor counts is akin —
legally speaking — to let
ting a serial killer walk
away with probation and
100 hours of community
service.
For a company that
stated profits of $2.2 bil
lion in the first quarter
alone of 1991. a $1 billion
settlement is a crude joke.
On top of that, Exxon
only has to pay $25 mil
lion of the fine. Because of
earlier "restoration ef
forts" to Prince William
Sound, the court suspend
ed the other $100 million.
In all fairness, Exxon did
try and contain the spill.
The amount of
damage to fishing
grounds, bird
nesting areas and
the shorelines is
incomprehen
sible. To give
only four
misdemeanor
counts is akin —
legally speaking
— to letting a
serial killer walk
away with
probation and
100 hours of
community
service.
but only after the damage was already done. Rewarding
the company for "controlling" something that
shouldn't have happened in the first place is complete
ly ludicrous.
Five months ago. the court rejected a similar settle
ment proposed by Exxon. This time, the difference was
an additional $50 million for restoration of the sound.
But $50 million isn’t even going to make a dent in the
en vironm cn tal d am age.
The Exxon proposal was accepted in the face ot
new reports that the damage to the sound could ex
pand to as much as $15 billion. Who's going to pay for
the restoration? Certainly not Exxon, and the state of
Alaska simply can't afford it. So a once pristine, beauti
ful bay will forever remain shrouded in oil residue.
Thankfully, there are still hundreds of civil suits
pending against Exxon. But any hope of raking the con
glomerate over the coals is gone. One-on-one against
private citizens, Exxon will triumph. They have the
crushing financial means, a bevy of lawyers, and a slew
of slick legal maneuvers that would make even the
most despicable ambulance-chaser cringe.
Corporate Exxtortion, nothing less.
..FROM TUE
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LETTERS
Genetics
Although i cannot state with
certainty that there is a genetic
predisposition to lumiosexu.ili
ty, I must say that Jon
Wollander's ((!/>/:'. Oct W)
knowledge of genetic s is fatally
flawed
If, us ho says. " a non-re
producing gene pool would
quickly eliminate itself." how
would conditions such as lav
Sac hs disease and Cystic: l ihro
sis bo accounted for7 These are
genetic ally inherited conditions
that are fatal in childhood. Ice
fore the individual can repro
dure The answer to this is that
for most genetically inherited
traits (all except for those on
the 2d pair of chromosomes),
every normal human being has
two genes For each trail there
are ut least two variations of the
gene that can he inherited, one
dominant, and one recessive
If all genetically inherited
traits were dominant, then
Wollander's theory would be
correct and all persons having
at least one dominant gene
would express the given trait
However, the fact is that all
trails are not dominant. There
are conditions stall as Fay
Sac hs and Cystic Fibrosis as
well as many other non-fatal
ones that are recessive traits
In order for the conditions to bo
expressed, an individual must
possess two copies of the reces
sive gene.
There are many more inili
viduuls who c arry only one re
cessive gone than have the con
dition. When two people who
each, unknowingly, carry a re
cessive gene for the same trail
have a child, there is a one in
four chance that the child will
inherit both copies of the reces
sive gone and therefore have
the condition. Thus, it is quite
possible, according to "the the
ory of evolution” (as well us
Ihi! basic laws of biological sci
ence), for a trai! that does not
allow reproduction to survive
1 hope this has cleared up
any confusion about the con
cept of genetics caused hy
Wullander's letter,
Sarah Nlckrola
Biology
Superiority?
Your Oct. 7 editorial on the
rise in hate crimes said that ra
cial prejudice stems from "the
unfathomable human condi
tion, of which fear, ignorance,
and intolerance are a part."
True, yet those three ele
ments omit this potent fourth:
the insei urity of many. People
who are insecure socially fi
nunciallv mentally emo
tionally . often invent a leading
ol superiontv over others who
appear to !«• merely different.
So, to he "superior” provides
a sense of security.
James Heermance
Eugene
Leftovers
1 have heard that athletics are
an integral part of the universi
ty experience A lot of people
seem to think so, especially
judging by the tens of thou
sands of people who attend
football games Of course, I
wouldn't know, since I (ain't af
ford a decent seat at a Universi
ty football game, were I in
clined to go in the first place.
I know, students get free tick
ets to home games. But these
are not really free since our In
cidental fee money buys these
tickets from the athletic depart
ment Not only that, but they
are arguably the worst seals
available, and the number of
them is limited
If the athletic department
wants to push the idea that ath
letics — especially sports like
football and basketball - are
worth the effort the University
puts into them, then they
should make these sports ac< es
sible to all students. Free tick
ets should be available for all
students, not just the leftover
seats. Give the best seats to the
students of the University, and
let everyone else take our left
overs.
1 don't want my education
dollars to fund minor league
teams which benefit the NBA
and NFL more than the Univer
sity I say give sports hack to
tin: students! Access to the
games for all students, or the
athletic department can hit the
bricks.
And by the way. I liked those
silly statues in front ol the Gas
anova Complex But no one
thought to ask the students
about that one, either.
Ron Harper
Sociology
Coming out
Friday, Oct. 11, is National
Gay and Lesbian Coming Out
Day. We would like to ask fat
uIty members to take a few mo
ments in classes this week to
mention the contributions of
guy men and lesbians in your
respective academic disci
plines. (Give us a call if you
need some name suggestions;
we will try to help.)
This simple ideu Is a way of
countering the current atmos
phere of hale, harassment and
crime. It's a time to let students
know that the University re
spects tho diversity of lesbians
and gay men.
Dominick Vetri, Law
Deltra Ferguson, Women’s
Studies
wX DEMAND 1W 'lt*j net Tflose
EMPLO'rtES WNO WMF A ''DIFFERENT
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