Should the U.S. Allow Offshore Oil Drilling?

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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.