The 1971 San Francisco Bay oil spill occurred when two
Standard Oil Company of California
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is headquartered in S ...
tankers, the ''Arizona Standard'' and the ''Oregon Standard'', collided on January 18, 1971, in the
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. The resulting 800,000 gallon spill, the largest in Bay Area history, threatened sensitive natural habitats both inside and outside the bay, including the
Bolinas Lagoon
Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal estuary, approximately in area, located in the West Marin region of Marin County, California, United States, adjacent to the town of Bolinas. It is a part of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. In 1974, ...
, and contributed to the growth of activism against pollution, after thousands of bay area residents volunteered to clean up beaches and rescue oil soaked birds. A number of environmental organizations had their origins in the spill cleanup. Standard Oil spent more than $1 million in the clean-up.
Inception of International Bird Rescue and volunteerism
In March 1971, California's Fish and Game Department estimated that 7,000 birds were oiled during the incident, most of which died prior to collection or while being taken into care. At the end of January 1971, roughly 200 of the 1600 birds "brought in" were still alive. Ultimately less than 80 of those survived.
The resulting environmental destruction from the spill, specifically the avian population, prompted volunteers to rescue some 4,300 birds. At the time, knowledge on how to care for oiled birds was low. Despite best efforts, only 300 or so animals were ever deemed fit to be released. The remnants of this volunteer force eventually resulted in the creation of the
International Bird Rescue
International Bird Rescue is a nonprofit organization that rehabilitates injured aquatic birds, most notably seabirds affected by oil spills. Founded bAlice Berknerand members of the Ecology Action, including veterinarian James Michael Harris, D ...
in an endeavor to increase knowledge and research in bird rescue.
One of the largest volunteer turnouts since the
1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
came of this event.
See also
*
''Cosco Busan'' oil spill
*
List of oil spills
*
John Francis, an environmentalist whose career began with the spill
References
External links
Photographs of the spillat SmugMug
40th anniversary blog at the International Bird Rescue Research (founded at the time of the spill)
"The early bird gets the oily bird" a first hand account of the volunteer bird cleaning efforts at FoundSF
PRBO Conservation Scienceoriginating in the spill
PBS film of work constructing oil barriersat Bolinas Lagoon during the spill
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Oil spills in the United States
San Francisco Bay oil spill
Environment of the San Francisco Bay Area
Disasters in California
Petroleum in California
Standard Oil
San Francisco Bay oil spill
San Francisco Bay oil spill
San Francisco Bay oil spill
Environmental issues in California
History of the San Francisco Bay Area