Should Offshore Oil Drilling Be Allowed Environmental Sciences Essay

The time has come to put a stop to offshore drilling. Finding renewable resources and alternative energy can help put an end to drilling into our ocean floors and help us become an independent nation. There are an abundance of technological capabilities available in our world today and these should be pursued in depth to not only solve the current crisis, but also to ensure that the same tragedy does not occur again. The technology is here and the time is now. Renewable resources are “resources that can be continually reproduced over a short period of time” (Renewable Resources). Here are a few examples: wind energy generates electricity by using the wind, wave energy produces electricity by using the power of ocean waves, and bio energy uses biomass (plant materials, landfill or animal waste) to produce heat or electricity.

One example of barriers that prevent us from obtaining renewable energy is utility rate structure. “Unfavorable utility rate structures have perennially been a barrier to increased deployment of renewable energy technologies. Unless carefully monitored to encourage the development of distributed generation, rate structures can increase the cost of renewable energy (e.g., through stand-by rates, lack of net metering) or completely disallow connection to the electrical grid” (EPA). Another difficulty that prevents us from attaining renewable energy is the complexity in obtaining environmental permits for major industrial facilities. Transmission is another concern that prevents us from having renewable resources available. Many renewable resources are located in remote areas that lack ready or cost effective access to allow for transmission to the user.

The building of the Alaskan Pipeline cost eight billion dollars for eight hundred miles of pipeline” (Thinkquest). It would be much more cost effective to drill for this oil in the ocean where the cost to transport the resource to the coastline and ultimately to the end user will be far less costly. Each year, the annual cost just to run this pipeline is roughly two hundred and ten billion dollars.

In addition, the start-up costs alone are so immense that they are essentially unavailable. “States that have not established clear utility regulations that enable investments in transmission to be reimbursable or coordinated planning and permitting processes, slow the development of utility scale renewable projects in their territory” (EPA). “The only problem with things like biofuels and solar energy is, ironically, they still need oil to get up and running. Solar panels require the use of oil during its production, and ethanol has to be processed using the very substance it is supposed to replace” (Heigler).

The benefits of offshore drilling certainly outweigh the dangers of extracting oil from deep-water drilling off the coast of the United States. Specifically, there are a couple of reasons that support our continued practice of offshore oil drilling. First, it will create jobs that are essential for our country and the economy to thrive as an independent nation. Allowing offshore drilling will also make us less dependent on foreign oil. Yes, our nation is addicted to oil. Another reason to drill is that it provides us with natural gas, alternative fuel and gas and oil that fuel our aircrafts, ships and homes. However, now we are in the twenty-first century and it is time to put our advanced technology to good use.

Continuing to drill will create jobs; nevertheless, using alternative energy sources will also create jobs and help preserve our planet at the same time. Offshore drilling creates countless jobs that help sustain our economy. Our stable economy is achieved through a consistent and stable work force that allows our citizens to work and pay for their needs. This economic system of checks and balances perpetuates a stable economy for us all. Offshore drilling alone accounts for such a great number of these jobs; a system that relies on the combined efforts of such a vast array of occupational titles that the number of total jobs currently available is “four-thousand, four hundred eleven” in the United States alone (Careers).

Some examples of jobs that are unique to this field of work are; Drilling Supervisor Jobs, Senior Drilling Engineer, Drilling Business Development Manager, and Field/Mechanical and Equipment Engineers (Careers). These occupations are so unique to this field of work that a myriad of trained oil workers have virtually no useful skill that can be easily transferred to another job. If the oil drilling workers lose their jobs, many would have to be retrained into another line of work since there are no alternative locations to move to for oil drilling work.

One of the largest companies currently pursuing the development of oil and gas resources is British Petroleum. This company began as Anglo Persian Oil in the year 1909. In 1954, it became British Petroleum. This company’s reach is worldwide. Its revenue in the United States is approximately two hundred forty-six billion, with ninety-two thousand employees (BP).

Our reliance on the natural resource of oil and continuously increasing demand

for it has driven us to seek out new locations to tap into–the coastal waters that

surround the United States. This remarkable feat is one that must be mastered and

performed without flaw. British Petroleum has successfully drilled for oil off the coastal

waters of the United States for more than three decades, yet their recent tragedy is one

that poses such a grave danger to our environment that the result may be irreversible

damage to our entire ecosystem.

It is not a good proposition to boycott British Petroleum because if that happens, the oil company will not be able to pay claims to the people who have lost everything in the Gulf of Mexico. A boycott would also affect the small business owners who own these stations and further cripple their livelihoods. The only connection these business owners have with British Petroleum is the contract to buy gasoline. “To win back customers, they’d like British Petroleum’s help in reducing the price at the pump” (Nola).

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has damaged the ecosystem, an

undetermined amount of land, ocean, animal species and plant life. The production of life that begins in the marshes is now laden with massive amounts of oil. The cycle of life that begins here will be suffocated by the oil and therefore cease to exist.

The natural lifecycle of the many animals that reproduce in this region is greatly affected. Innumerable animal species are returning to the Gulf region to breed among the damaging plumes of oil that saturate this once vibrant ecological labyrinth. The newborn offspring will be immediately subject to the hazards of the oil-filled environment and incapable of escaping from it. The food needed to sustain the new life in this region will come from the oil tainted environment and be directly fed to the newborns. The oil that is then ingested can cause poisoning of wildlife. Animals on every level of the food chain are affected as each one feeds on another to continue the cycle of life.

The animals that reside in the Gulf of Mexico, life-long inhabitants, each contribute to an immense ecosystem that make up the complex weave of life that, until now has thrived uninterrupted. Thus far, hundreds dead birds, sea turtles, dolphins, fish and starfish have washed up onto the shore. The collective damage to the animal life in this region may not be completely realized for many years. This disaster will permanently alter the lives of countless animals. The newborn animals are immediately subject to exposure of the oil-filled environment and incapable from escaping from it.

The direct physical effects on the animals exposed to the oil are lethal. Exposure to the oil can cause animals to suffer impairment of their red blood cells. Further, damage to or suppression of marine mammals’ immune system can cause bacterial or fungal infections. Oil can also deteriorate the thermal insulation of the animal’s skin, thus damaging their reproductive system. Injury to the airway or lungs of marine mammals can cause congestion, pneumonia, emphysema, or death by breathing in droplets of oil, fumes or gas.

The clean-up has been slow and it appears there is twice as much leakage as what can be cleaned up. British Petroleum is still trying to burn off the oil on the surface of the ocean which is then polluting the air. At this point, every regulatory authority and British Petroleum is not moving fast enough to clean this mess up. They have the technology and the dollars to do this. There is not much progress being made and it has been almost three months. “Tar patties from the Gulf oil spill started washing ashore on Front Beach around noon on Monday, a day after the oil first made landfall on the Mississippi mainland in Jackson County” (Al.com).

Twenty billion will only make a dent in helping these residents regain control of their lives. This tragedy is a true example of what can happen when big business goes well beyond the unwarranted point of trying to cut costs. Their actions repeatedly support this statement. They are not paying the fishermen who are no longer able to work to support their families. They are not paying for mass groups of workers to be trained to assist with clean up, nor providing the few who have received the training briefing the proper respirators to wear.

The jobs that were plentiful for residents along the Gulf of Mexico have all been lost recently due to the Federal Government’s moratorium on all oil drilling, which was implemented in response to the Deep Water Horizon oil rig. Offshore drilling is one of the biggest sources of financial revenue for the population in and around this geographical region. Residents who have grown to rely exclusively on their steady income from oil drilling are rapidly experiencing such financial loss that their lives have become filled with financial uncertainty and their expectations for achieving employment remains in peril. From the highest paid engineer to the lowest man on the rig, the loss of countless jobs that once were plentiful when the oil was being actively drilled will have a negative impact on their lives as well as our economy. “It will trickle down; the economy will get even worse,” said Perry Clement, a local who serves as a deck hand on several fishing boats, and is struggling for income. “It’s the delicate balance we have, with the oil and the fishing” (Marketwatch). This ban proposed to put a six month seize on all deep water oil drilling in the United States. This decision would stop any new permit approvals for deepwater drilling at more than thirty existing deepwater wells.

In addition, the moratorium will further cripple the jobs for immeasurable other independent drillers, equipment makers, hardware stores, manufacturers, and transportation systems that provide direct and sustained support to the effort of drilling for oil. Even with a situation as grave as the Chernobyl accident, we did not halt the production of or rid the world of nuclear power. The government’s decision to stop all drilling until we can find out the cause of the disaster and prevent further ones from occurring does not support our overall economy. Offshore drilling will always be a risk, but the nation must move forward and continue to make progress.

“Today, over eighty percent of world petroleum reserves are state-owned and controlled by countries that have the power to manipulate supply and price with impunity, this fact goes directly to the heart of energy security” (Energy Independence). According to most forecasts, oil will remain the top global energy source for the next few decades, even with the ongoing development of natural gas, nuclear, and renewable resources.

Today is day 70 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The latest news is that a federal appeals court in New Orleans will hear the government’s appeal of a ruling overturning the deepwater drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico on July 8. The six-month moratorium was ordered in late May by the Barack Obama’s administration after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. A group of offshore petroleum service companies sued, saying the moratorium would inflict long-term economic damage. A federal judge agreed with the companies and barred the government from enforcing the ban.

British Petroleum and the Coast Guard sent oil-scooping skimming ships in the Gulf of Mexico back to shore because nasty weather is churning up rough seas and powerful winds. Although Tropical Storm Alex was projected to stay well away from the spill zone before possibly making landfall as a hurricane near the U.S.-Mexico border, its outer edges were causing problems out in the Gulf. Waves were as high as twelve feet Tuesday in some parts of the Gulf (AP).

British Petroleum says it will give cash and other help to the owners, operators and suppliers of the gas stations around America that bear its name. They say they have been struggling because of boycotts prompted by the oil spill. John Kleine of the British Petroleum Amoco Marketers Association says “outlets will get cash based on volume, with the rates being higher for outlets in the Gulf than for that elsewhere in the country” (AP). They also will see reductions in credit card fees and get help with national advertising.

While wildlife casualties are many, there were seventy-two pelicans released Tuesday, in Georgia and last week sixty-two pelicans were rehabilitated and released on the Texas coast. About fifty-thousand sea turtle eggs from beaches in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama will be dug up and moved to Florida’s Atlantic Coast in hopes of keeping the hatchlings alive. Without this intervention, federal scientists believe, most, if not all, the hatchlings this year would be at high risk of encountering oil and dying.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommended that the nests be collected near the end of incubation and taken to Florida’s Atlantic Coast for final incubation and release. Hatchlings begin emerging from nests in early to mid-July” (Straub). The production of life that begins in the marshes is now encumbered with massive amounts of oil. The cycle of life that begins here will be suffocated by the oil and therefore halt. Damage has been done to coral reefs, sea grass, and mangrove habitats which are breeding areas of many fish and crustaceans. This unique ecosystem is also home to many smaller species such as mussels, crabs, oysters, shrimp and plankton.

The direct physical effects on the animals exposed to the oil are lethal. Exposure to the oil can cause animals to suffer impairment of their red blood cells. Further, damage to or suppression of marine mammals’ immune system can cause bacterial or fungal infections. Oil can also deteriorate the thermal insulation of the animal’s skin, thus damaging their reproductive system. Injury to the airway or lungs of marine mammals can cause congestion, pneumonia, emphysema, or death by breathing in droplets of oil, fumes or gas.

Increasing demands for oil continue to multiply by the day. Extracting oil resources from land have proven costly and inappropriate due to the location and availability. Continued independence of our nation will be achieved through a decline in our reliance on foreign countries which will ultimately create jobs that sustain our economic future. British Petroleum has successfully drilled for oil off the coastal

waters of the United States for more than three decades, yet their recent tragedy is one

that poses such a grave danger to our environment that the result may be irreversible

damage to our entire ecosystem.

British Petroleum’s CEO been transparent in revealing his true feelings about this disaster on numerous occasions. Recently, he stated that “we care about the small people”. Are the “small people” he refers to the entrepreneurs who are independently wealthy because they work in harmony with nature, providing a precious food commodity to thousands without ever impeding the natural cycle of life for over a century? He also stated that nobody wants this thing to be over with more than him because he wants his life back. I am certain that the eleven men that died on his oil rig want their lives back.