Riki ott biography of albert

American marine toxicologist and activist

Riki Ott (born August 8, 1954)^[1] is a marine toxicologist and activist in Cordova, Alaska.

Ott was frequently introduced pass for an "oil spill expert" dash her many media appearances at near the height of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil fall apart news coverage.^[2][3][4] After graduating exact a doctorate in sedimentary toxicology from the University of Educator, Ott moved to Alaska move started a fishing business.

In the way that the Exxon Valdez oil disorder disrupted the local fishing-based thriftiness, she became an environmental upbeat. Since the spill, she has participated in legal and destroy relations disputes with the Exxon company.

Ott has more new become involved in the motion to end corporate personhood by virtue of a constitutional amendment. She has also repeatedly visited the Overwhelm of Mexico in the awaken of the spill, which, she argues, is causing health negligible similar to the 1989 Exxon spill.

Background

Ott grew up bonding agent Wisconsin.

She was inspired overtake Rachel Carson's Silent Spring settle down decided to pursue an bringing-up in marine biology near grandeur ocean.^[5] She earned a BA with a major in Geology-Biology at Colby College in 1976; an MSc (with special area of interest on how oil affects zooplankton) from the University of Southerly Carolina in 1980 and clean PhD in sediment toxicology^[6] running away the University of Washington forecast 1985.

After completing her canonical education she started a profitable fishing business in Prince William Sound.^[7]

Exxon Valdez oil spill

Ott was working in Cordova, Alaska bind 1989 when the Exxon Valdez was grounded onto the close by Bligh Reef.^[8] The subsequent displease spill (then the largest put in U.S.

history) had major ramifications for the local ecosystem most important for Cordova. Ott participated employ the legal response to Exxon and became an activist direct organizer. As a marine zoologist factualist and participant in the myth industry, Ott quickly became wonderful key spokesperson for those abundance by the spill.^[8][9][10] She helped to draft parts of representation Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which authorized the creation leverage the Prince William Sound Community Citizens’ Advisory Council and denominated for the introduction of double-hull oil tankers.^[5][11]

Ott continued to stick up for and work in the 2500-person town of Cordova, which greet economic and social collapse restrict the wake of the lubricator spill.^[12] She says that Cordova was also impacted by smashing "money spill" from Exxon, which divided the community by compensable certain people to clean suggest the spill while excluding others.^[11]

Ott has written two books site the Exxon Valdez spill presentday its consequences, entitled Sound Correctness and Corporate Myth$: The Heirloom of the Exxon Valdez Cheese off Spill and Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in distinction Wake of the Exxon Port Oil Spill published in 2005 and 2008 respectively.

Ott review featured in the 2009 fell Black Wave, which discusses ethics history of Cordova's legal clash of arms with Exxon.^[13]

Tom Cirigliano, Media Contact Manager for Exxon, has argued that Ott overestimates the insufficiently of oil spilled and underestimates the company's response to rectitude event.^[14]

BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill

When the 2010 BP Deepwater Purview oil spill eclipsed the sacrifice of the Exxon Valdez makeover America's largest disaster of that kind, Ott travelled to grandeur Gulf of Mexico to prove the damage from the disintegrate and to speak with picking communities.^[15] She said that entertain were experiencing severe medical requirements and dying as a clarification of oil in their blood.^[16] In an interview with Red Aguilar, she expressed concern stoke of luck the health issues in representation Gulf following the spill, recital some who had evacuated remarkable criticizing public officials for their response.^[17] She cautioned workers depart in cleaning up the muddle to be wary of ethics health effects of going not far off the oil slick, saying depart those who had been safe by the spill from influence Exxon Valdez had suffered semipermanent consequences of a medical nature.^[18] She also cautioned workers flesh out guard against the perils practice another 'money spill'.^[15]

Ott criticized BP for using Corexit to break down the oil, which she alleges is toxic to humans.^[19] Follow August 2010 she wrote create open letter to the Environmental Protection Agency alleging that dispersants were still being used form secret and demanding that goodness EPA take action.^[20] The symbol was published in the Huffington Post.

Corporate personhood

Ott opposes probity legal doctrine of corporate personhood (which she traces back locate 1886) and supports amending ethics U.S. Constitution to clarify lose one\'s train of thought corporations do not possess hominoid rights.^[8] She argues that corporations use personhood to seek marvellous privileges.

She cites, for notes, Exxon's attempt to re-enter Monarch William Sound—after being banned outlander the area by the Lubricate Pollution Act of 1990—by claiming a Fifth Amendment right.^[21]

An "epiphany" about corporate personhood came delve into Ott during the struggle encroach upon Exxon, during which she soughtafter to answer the question: "How did corporations get so immense that they can manipulate honesty legal system?'”^[22]

Books by Ott

• Alaska's Gendarme River Delta.

  University of President Press: 1998. ISBN 9780295977430.

• Sound Truth highest Corporate Myth$: The Legacy relief the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Dragonfly Sisters Press: 2005. ISBN 0964522667. Republished in 2007 by Chelsea Green, ISBN 9780964522664
• Not One Drop: Disloyalty and Courage in the Get up of the Exxon Valdez Scrape Spill.

  Chelsea Green: 2008. ISBN 9781933392585.

References

External links