The Drilling For Offshore Drilling

Environmentalists are one the biggest critics against the notion of increasing domestic oil drilling. By increasing the amount of drilling we do in the United States, we increase the risk of disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Disasters are hardly the only source of economic damage either, to find oil reserves under the ocean, seismic waves are generated into the ground. These waves bounce off the ground back up to the ship, where computers and scientist can use the results to make educated guesses on whether or not oil is located under the surface. These seismic waves can wreak havoc with marine animals like whales; where in one case over 100 whales beached themselves to get away from the painful experience (Nixon). Using seismic waves does not even guarantee that oil might be located underneath the surface, the only way to tell is to actually drill into the potential finds causing even more destruction for what might be for no gain. Once oil is found and drilling has begun, the amount of damage done to the environment can become unimaginable. The recent example is that of the Deepwater

Offshore drilling has become an essential part of today’s oil production and demand for energy. With the growth of population comes the increasing demand for oil. The oil industry today, is one of the most used providers of energy. Today in the 20th century the majority of the population in America has a car and cars needs gas to run. The oil reserves in the earth that are easily accessible via land are starting to run dry and are becoming harder to find. This is why we have begun to see more and more offshore oil drills. Although there are benefits of offshore drilling such as profit, lower gas prices, and becoming less dependent on foreign oil. There are also many drawbacks in which if something were to go wrong, the mistake would be catastrophic impacting the environment, the nature, and have trickling effects all around the world.

Offshore oil drilling is a big contribution to obtaining oil for the U.S., but it is also a big controversy to continue offshore drilling or to stop the drilling. most of the world’s energy comes from the use of oil, even though there are other resources to use oil is the most commonly used, But there is a shortage in oil especially in the U.S. so they suggest drilling for oil in the ocean to reach unexplored oil wells. There are benefits in offshore oil drilling such as jobs, domestic fuel, and environmental benefits. Those that argue the U.S. should expand the offshore oil drilling believe that the benefits drilling brings will help the U.S. out of its foreign oil dependency. Although the side effects are have big impacts just like the benefits. The side effects include environmental risks, oil dependency, and whether or not there is enough oil. Offshore oil drilling is a subject not many know about, there is a lot of research that still needs to be done and a lot of research that still does not give positive conclusions. All in all I believe Energy Efficiency is the best solution to offshore drilling an example would be using electric cars, using solar, and wind power for electricity, and changing how we obtain energy altogether.

Offshore drilling is a topic of extreme debate and argument and one of the most debated parts of that is whether or not it benefits the economy in the U.S. One of the first things to note is that stopping offshore drilling could potentially damage the U.S. economy, and therefore how much energy we can overall use. According to Mason, Joseph R., author of, "The Oil Industry Supports Many Louisiana and Gulf Region Economies", we can see the statement, "the moratorium would produce broad economic losses within the Gulf and throughout the nation as a whole". We can gather, from this, that ceasing offshore drilling/offshore oil production, could potentially harm the U.S. economy, and as I said before the economy being damaged overall decides

Americans have been drilling for oil for more than half of their existence. Before the 1850’s oil was of little use and had no market for commerce as there was not one overwhelming use for it. Until around the 1850’s, when technology advanced, with it sparking search for one of the most sought after natural resources that countries would later go to war over, petroleum oil. Early inventions like the kerosene lamp provided a new stable home necessity to live by, increasing the demand for crude oil. This would be met in part by Colonel Edwin Drake, who drilled the first successful oil well in 1858. While Drake’s invention for extracting crude oil from the ground would bring about a new era for industrialization, his “black gold” would bring about an even larger effect, the environmental disasters caused by man. For over one hundred and fifty years of drilling for oil, both on shore and offshore, has led to some of the worst catastrophes to both nature and mankind. While many of these catastrophes have led to the deaths of hundreds of crew members, they have also led to long lasting effects on the environment, local and national economies, legislation, regulations, and human morale. These following effects can be seen in the most recent and most contaminated marine oil spill in history. To the media and public it’s known as the British Petroleum offshore drilling oil spill in 2010.

major risks off shore drilling the causes and the effect on the environment. The overall argument

Humans are a poisonous sludge, slowly poisoning ourselves and all other inhabitants. There are many ways we do this, offshore oil drilling being one of them. Offshore oil drilling is the process of drilling into the earth and pulling up petroleum, a natural fuel source made of decomposed organisms. While there are many positive effects, there are too many negative ones for oil drilling to continue. Offshore oil drilling is too dangerous to be considered safe for use in the ecosystem. Not only is it too dangerous, oil rigs are made in an environment many would deem too hazardous for settling any type of structure. Oil drilling kills many people each year and pollutes the marine environment, killing the oceans natural inhabitants.

When the solution of water, chemicals, proppants, and sand leak into the ground, it can contaminate ground water (Fracking Fury). The mix of chemicals the workers use can be very toxic to any living thing. The mix does not only poison the water, but contaminate it so severe that it cannot even be cleaned in a water treatment plant (Fracking Explained). To further the chance of this happening the drillers, by law are required to leave a variable amount of the toxic liquid in the hole and seal it up (fracking good idea?). Leaving it miles deep in the earth to poison our ground water. The chemicals do not only pollute the water we drink, but also the air we

Offshore oil drilling is a controversial topic because when oil spills, it does extensive amounts of damage to the environment. Countries capable of mining oil in the ocean reap the economic benefits in addition to reducing their dependency on external oil. While it is uncontroversial that offshore drilling is a massive boon for those countries, the environmental consequences of a spill also affect the economic welfare of nearby residents. Oil contaminates animals through a process called biomagnification, where chemicals progressively become more detrimental to the animals the higher they are on the food chain. When oil spills into the ocean, it impairs the growth of native species and deteriorates the ecosystem. As a result, the livelihood of people in the tourist industry, fisherman, and shrimpers is crippled and may take decades to recover.

Spills like these cause us to see the bad of oil drilling, especially in the ocean where the oil can spread to marine life in surrounding water. There are many cons with drilling for oil, but there are also many pros. Personally it becomes hard to weigh the pros

Oil companies are still fighting to lift the ban on offshore drilling. Six years after the BP Oil Spill they are faced with new drilling and oil exploration. The practice of offshore drilling is being used to extract and recover oil from the depths of oceans for international consumption. Offshore drilling or the expanding of oil exploration will continue to destroy the marine wildlife in their environment and other industries in the process.

Unconventional drilling has become an increasingly popular method to extract natural gas from shale gas reserves that were once unfeasible to reach. In the United States, it was a combination of technological innovation that led shale gas extraction to be both achievable and cost effective. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as hydrofracking, merges the long used knowledge of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to access natural gas or petroleum in deep rock formations. There have been many negative environmental and social effects that surround hydrofracking, which has caused controversy over the safety of this process. In particular, nearby real estate is experiencing a decline in value from these fracking activities due to the public’s

Unconventional oil and gas operations mix directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' to unleash fossil fuel and oil from underground rock. Studies have targeted on potential pollution from this method that will increase endocrine disrupting chemicals in surface and ground water. Now, researchers report high levels of EDC activity within the surface water close to a hydraulic fracturing wastewater disposal facility in West Virginia. A question has risen whether there is an increased risk of diseases for the populations living near these operations. A warning has been given by the scientists

Oil spills usually occur as temporary accidents, while pollution from trucks happens every day. Therefore, offshore drilling does not contaminate the water as badly as the United States thinks.

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.