Offshore Drilling Threatens Our Fish Stocks and Ocean Resources
Offshore drilling endangers wildlife in some of our nation’s
most productive fishing areas. With food prices at an all time high, we can not
afford to jeopardize these vital and finite resources.
Offshore oil and gas operations require serious infrastructure that can damage
beaches, wetlands, and other areas that coastal communities rely on for
tourism, recreation and fishing. Since we know drilling can’t produce enough
oil to make a real difference in meeting America ’s demand, why risk endangering
the fishing industry and our fish stocks?
According to the federal government, offshore drilling operations result in
thousands of gallons of oil being spilled. As storms and hurricanes intensify,
the number of spills is also likely to increase. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
alone resulted in 125 oil spills of petroleum products, totaling 685,000
gallons. Oil is toxic for most fish and marine species. For places like Louisiana and other
states with robust fishing economies, a spill impacts not only the things
living in the water, but the people relying on the coasts to make their living.
From a practical standpoint, the opportunity costs of offshore drilling are too
great when we consider the impacts on our fishing industry. Endangering our
food supply is not worth the 2 or 3 cents in savings offshore drilling would
generate ten to twenty years from now. So instead of putting our coasts
and our precious food supply in harms way, let’s instead invest in safe,
renewable technology that will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign
oil.
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In all the sources that I have checked, i can not find a person that says offshore drilling is a terrible thing, rather that shipping oil is. I am writing an assignment on the views of offshore drilling and i would like your expert help.
1. If safegaurds were put into place to help control oil shipping would offshore drilling appeal to your organization more?
2. Does the act of offshore drilling effect nearby marine life?
3. What kind of safegaurds would need to be put into place to control how oil is shipped to make it safer for marine life?
We already know how to drill. However, we don't know what our next major resource that is going to take the place of oil is yet. So, it is pretty obvious what the logical thing to do here is. DRILL!
Why are food costs at an all time high? Oh, it is because of high oil prices that could be reduced if we would just do what we know how to do, and just drill! It makes sense; I promise. The food products have to be transported from place to place by cars, trucks, airplanes, and boats that all rely on an oil-based product. Food prices are raised due to oil prices. The food products are, most of the time, packaged in plastic containers and/or wraps, and plastic is an oil-based product. Once again, food prices are raised due to oil prices. Do you see the pattern here?
So when you say "offshore drilling threatens our fish stocks and ocean resources," the actual wildlife of the ocean is not your major concern. It is how it could possible effect the prices of food IF there was an oil spill. That is a pretty big "if."