Benoit Stichelbaut / Workers cleaning beach of spilt oil from cargo boat "TK Bremen", beached by heavy winds. Erdeven, Brittany, France, December 16th 2011.

Benoit Stichelbaut / Cargo boat "TK Bremen" beached by heavy winds. Erdeven, Brittany, France, December 16th 2011.

Gerrit Vyn / Flock of oiled Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) on a beach behind an oil covered containment boom. This nesting colony is the largest in Louisiana and was heavily contaminated by the BP Deepwat...

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of oiled bird nesting colonies in Barataria Bay area of the Mississippi River delta, with oil spill containment booms attempting to prevent more oil coming ashore. These waters are contami...

Gerrit Vyn / Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) juvenile, heavily oiled as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Baldwin County, Alabama. USA, June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Human footprint and oiled beach from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Baldwin County, Alabama. USA, June 2010.

Wild Wonders of Europe / Carwardine / Aerial view of Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) swimming through oil slick, Skjalfandi Bay, Northern Iceland, July 2009

Jack Dykinga / Navajo Falls with travertine formations in the river acting as circular-shaped spill ways, Havasupai Reservation, Arizona, USA

Dan Burton / Aerial view of the shipwrecked 'Napoli' with tugs and oil spill visible on water's surface, near Sidmouth and Branscombe, Devon, UK, 2007

Mitsuaki Iwago / King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) covered in oil, South Georgia Island

Gerry Ellis / Fisherman, Nick Collins, with oyster harvest one year after BP disaster, only a few are alive out of 2,000 bivalves, Louisiana

Benoit Stichelbaut / Workers cleaning beach of spilt oil from cargo boat "TK Bremen", beached by heavy winds. Erdeven, Brittany, France, December 16th 2011.

Benoit Stichelbaut / Workers cleaning beach of spilt oil from cargo boat "TK Bremen", beached by heavy winds. Erdeven, Brittany, France, December 16th 2011.

Bryan and Cherry Alexander / Oil spilling from pipes and polluting lake near Niznevartovsk, Khanty Mansiysk, Western Siberia, Russia, 2000.

Bryan and Cherry Alexander / Oil spill from leaking pipes polluting lake near Niznevartovsk. Khanty Mansiysk, Western Siberia, Russia, 2000.

Bryan and Cherry Alexander / Oil spilling from pipes and polluting lake near Niznevartovsk, Khanty Mansiysk, Western Siberia, Russia, 2000.

Bryan and Cherry Alexander / Oil spill from leaking pipes polluting lake near Niznevartovsk. Khanty Mansiysk, Western Siberia, Russia, 2000.

Gerrit Vyn / Adult Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) incubating on nest. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. Baldwin County, Alabama, USA. June 2010. NB. This section of coastline was affected by the BP Deepwater...

Gerrit Vyn / Heavily oiled adult Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus). This bird was oiled by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. Baldwin County, Alabama, USA. June.

Gerrit Vyn / A sign along the road alerting motorists to a Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) and Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) nesting colony adjacent to the road. Gulf Islands National Seashore, which was affecte...

Gerrit Vyn / A lightly oiled Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) fledgling on the beach waiting to be fed. The bird was oiled as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Raccoon Island, Ter...

Gerrit Vyn / Flock of Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) oil covered fledglings wait to be fed in a nesting colony on Queen Bess Island. These birds have little chance of survival as their feathers are too damaged, a...

Gerrit Vyn / Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) juvenile oiled and waterlogged, as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak, drowning in waters adjacent to a nesting colony on Queen Bess Island. Barataria Bay ar...

Gerrit Vyn / Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) juvenile oiled and waterlogged, as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak, drowning in waters adjacent to a nesting colony on Queen Bess Island. Barataria Bay ar...

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of Queen Bess Island in the Barataria Bay area of the Mississippi River delta, with oil spill containment booms attempting to prevent more oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon leak coming ash...

Gerrit Vyn / Cross signs commemorating damage to environment and wildlife, erected by residents of Grand Isle in protest to the damage caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Plaquemines...

Gerrit Vyn / Beach cleaners, and a woman taking a cell phone photo of the oil contamination, resulting from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, Orange Beach, Baldwin County, Alabama, USA, June...

Gerrit Vyn / Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) juvenile heavily oiled as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico, sitting in mangoves. Raccoon Island, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, USA...

Gerrit Vyn / Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) juvenile heavily oiled as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico, sitting in mangoves. Raccoon Island, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, USA...

Gerrit Vyn / Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) lightly oiled juvenile on shoreline. Hundreds of these birds from the largest Louisiana nesting colony on Raccoon Island, were badly oiled as a result of the BP...

Gerrit Vyn / Oiled beach, contaminated by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. Baldwin County, Alabama, USA, June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Waves washing oil ashore from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. Baldwin County, Alabama, USA, June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Black oil washing ashore from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. Baldwin County, Alabama, USA, June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of oiled bird nesting colonies in Barataria Bay area of the Mississippi River delta, contaminated by oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Plaquemines Parish, Louis...

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of an oil stained beach, contaminated by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Grand Isle, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA, July 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of an oil stained beach, contaminated by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Grand Isle, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, USA, July 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Clean-up workers on the beach in response to oil coming ashore from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Baldwin County, Alabama. June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Oil spill response vessels in Mobile Bay, responding to the impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Mobile County, Alabama, USA, July 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of an oil covered island and displaced oil containment boom in Barataria Bay area of the Mississippi River delta, contaminated as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf...

Gerrit Vyn / A plastic bottle covered in oil on a beach. This beach was repeatedly contaminated with oil by the BP Deepwater Horizon spill. Baldwin County, Alabama, USA June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) lightly oiled as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Standing in a coastal marsh. Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida. USA, June...

Gerrit Vyn / Aerial view of Slickbar oil booms on the beach at Grand Isle, used in the clean up and containment of hazardous oil, from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Jefferson Parish, Louisi...

Gerrit Vyn / Slickbar oil booms on the beach at Grand Isle, used in the clean up and containment of hazardous oil, from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. USA, July...

Gerrit Vyn / Human footprints and oiled beach from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Baldwin County, Alabama. USA, June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Oil spill response vehicles grooming a white sand beach before sunrise. Many clean up efforts from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak were cosmetic in nature and aimed to cover up the damage. These veh...

Gerrit Vyn / Houses and oiled beach from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil leak. Baldwin County, Alabama. USA, June 2010.

Gerrit Vyn / Flock of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) roosting on Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay. The nesting colony on this island was heavily impacted by the BP Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico oil...

Tom Gilks / Greenpeace protesters closing down forcourt of BP petrol station, in response to the oil-spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Central London, UK, 27 July 2010

Tom Gilks / BP Petrol Station closed down by Greenpeace protesters, in response to the oil-spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Central London, UK, 27 July 2010

Dan Burton / Aerial view of the shipwrecked 'Napoli' with tugs and oil visible on water's surface, near Sidmouth and Branscombe, Devon, UK, 2007

Charlie Hamilton James / Collecting dead seabirds after Braer oil spill, Sheltand Island, Scotland, UK, 5th January 1993

Charlie Hamilton James / Dead seal on oil polluted coast after Braer oil spill, Sheltand Island, Scotland, UK, 5th January 1993

Colin Seddon / Common Guillemot {Uria aalge} covered in oil, UK.

Norbert Wu / Oil spill clean up on beach, Huntington Beach, California

Norbert Wu / Oil spill on beach, Huntington Beach, California

Norbert Wu / Oil spill on beach, Huntington Beach, California

Michio Hoshino / Workers attempting to clean oil residue off of local beaches after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / Underwater view of oil spill and sludge in water as a result of Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / Steller's Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) trio on buoy with oil stains on their fur, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) killed by Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / High tide mark shows oil on rocky shore spilled by Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / Diver beneath Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaska

Flip de Nooyer / Common Murre (Uria aalge) and Little Auk (Alle alle) dead on the beach, Europe

Norbert Wu / Oil spill on Huntington Beach, workers cleaning up, California

Flip Nicklin / Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Flip Nicklin / Close-up of oil-covered kelp, Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaska

Charlie Hamilton James / Dead guillemot from Braer oil spill, Shetland Scotland 1993