Oil spills and First Nations

Moreover, land claims have not been resolved amongst the various First Nation communities, and the question of development on potential ancestral lands has generated ambiguity over the rights of the Crown versus the rights of the aboriginals. [...] Some variables that are frequently measured are the changes in biomass, the composition of the system, the distribution of organisms, the hierarchal nature of those organisms, and changes in states between organisms and ecosystems. [...] Also, even though the oil was highly viscous, much seeped from boulders down into the pools and crevices of the rocks; then, in the summer months, the preferential radiative absorption of oil caused the re-emergence of the spilled oil onto the beach again. [...] The extent of an impact is controlled by a diverse set of factors, including but not limited to: the amount, rate and type of oil, the location,11 vicinity to sensitive sources, and the choice and effectiveness of the clean-up techniques. [...] In general, predicting the environmental response to a release of a known quantity of oil requires knowledge about the specific petroleum compounds present, the nature of the receiving body of water and the types of species most susceptible to toxic effects.