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Photo: Sea otter in Prince William Sound
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A sea otter shares the waters of Alaska's foggy Prince William Sound with a spill-containment vessel nearly a decade after the Exxon Valdez ran aground and fouled these pristine waters with 11 million gallons (40 million liters) of crude oil. Intense clean-up efforts after the disaster lasted more than four years.

Now, evidence of the spill is hard to detect. But some beaches still have Valdez oil buried just below the surface. And scientists say some animal species, including sea otters, harbor seals, harlequin ducks, and herring, have yet to recover from the spill's negative effects.

(Photograph from "In the Wake of the Spill: Ten Years After Exxon Valdez," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Karen Kasmauski
INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING WALLPAPER

For Windows 95 or Higher
  1. Determine which size is appropriate for your monitor.
  2. Click the size you wish to download. (See the top of this page.)
  3. After the image appears in your browser, click the right-hand button on your mouse.
  4. On the menu that pops up, select SET AS WALLPAPER or SET AS BACKGROUND.

For Mac OS X
  1. Determine which image size is appropriate for your monitor.
  2. Click the size you wish to download. (See the top of this page.)
  3. After it appears in your browser, drag the image onto your desktop.
  4. From the Apple menu select SYSTEM PREFERENCES.
  5. Select DESKTOP.
  6. In the pull-down menu marked "Collection," select CHOOSE FOLDER.
  7. Locate desired image file and double-click it.


INSTRUCTIONS FOR DELETING WALLPAPER

For Windows Users (Internet Explorer)
  1. From your desktop, click the "My Computer" icon.
  2. Once the window opens, click the following folders, in this order: Local Disk (usually C: drive)
    • Documents and Settings
    • Your Username
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    • Microsoft
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  3. In the "Internet Explorer" folder, you will find a file called "Internet Explorer Wallpaper.bmp."
  4. To delete this file, click the file name with your mouse, then right-click and scroll down the menu to the "delete" option. Or simply hit the "delete" key on your keyboard.
  5. The wallpaper image will remain until the computer is restarted. To delete from view without restarting the computer, right-click anywhere on an open area of the desktop, scroll down and select "Properties." (This will open the "Display Properties" window.) Click on the "Desktop" tab, select a different background and click "OK." This will change your desktop background immediately.

For Mac OS X
  1. Locate the "Applications" folder in the Macintosh hard drive and choose "System Preferences."
  2. Select "Desktop & Screen Saver." This will show you what wallpaper is currently displayed on your desktop.
  3. To change the current photo, select a new photo from the drop-down menu.
  4. To remove the photo permanently from the desktop, locate the photo on the hard drive and drag it to the trash. This will delete the image.

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