Oil Spills is the first book to survey the history of oil spills, the problems they create, the types of clean-ups and their efficacy, the legal, social, economic, and ecological consequences of oil spills, their long-term impacts on the wildlife and people who survive them, and the alternatives to oil and its transport. Biologist Joanna Burger writes clearly and accessibly both about the catastrophic oil spills that capture the headlines and the small chronic pipeline leaks that we rarely hear about. Oil Spills is essential reading for everyone concerned with environmental issues and energy policy.