{"id":2377,"date":"2020-12-15T18:05:14","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T18:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=139691"},"modified":"2020-12-15T18:05:14","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T18:05:14","slug":"researchers-warn-of-looming-oil-spill-four-times-larger-than-exxon-valdez-if-urgent-action-not-taken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/15\/researchers-warn-of-looming-oil-spill-four-times-larger-than-exxon-valdez-if-urgent-action-not-taken\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Warn of Looming Oil Spill Four Times Larger Than Exxon Valdez If Urgent Action Not Taken"},"content":{"rendered":"
A team of scientists issued a stark warning Tuesday that the possibility of averting an oil spill bigger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez catastrophe and “disastrous environmental and humanitarian consequences” posed by an abandoned oil tanker in the Red Sea are “quickly disappearing.”<\/p>\n
At issue is the corroding Safer<\/em>, moored off the coast of Yemen and under control of Houthi rebels since 2015.<\/p>\n After blocking such efforts for years, Houthi authorities last month approved<\/a> a United Nations plan to visit the tanker early in 2021. U.N. Environment Program executive director Inger Andersen warned<\/a> in July that the vessel’s deteriorating condition and the over 1 million barrels of oil it holds threaten long-term damage to local ecosystems.<\/p>\n