America 's Drilling For Oil

In 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, causing millions of barrels of crude oil to be leaked out into the Gulf of Mexico. The extensive oil spill created a lot of pollution and far-reaching effects on the tourism industry. The resultant damage to marine wildlife such as fish will continue to be felt for many years to come. Weeks after the event, and while it was still in progress, the Deep Water Horizon oil spill was being discussed as a disaster that will impact global economies, markets, and mining policies. The potential consequences included structural shifts in energy policy, insurance marketplaces and risk assessment, and financial liabilities to be incurred by BP. The law that affected the operation of BP’s business was the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge of pollutants in US’s waters (EPA, 2008). Following the oil spill, regulations have been put in place to regulate oil drilling operations. The Obama administration proposed new regulations on offshore oil and gas drilling. The regulation focused on oil and gas drilling companies to use stronger blowout Preventers that have the capability to close an offshore well in case a drilling breach occurred accidentally.

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

Oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a very controversial topic. On one end you have the people who want to drill for oil to help out our economy, and on the other end there are the environmentalists and the Alaskan natives who do not want their land destroyed. Our economy needs help; oil prices keep rising, gas prices have reached an all time high, and America is depending too much on foreign trade. Drilling for oil in Alaska will solve these problems. There are ways of drilling without disturbing the environment and keeping the animals in their original habitat.

Most people probably do not think about how much of their lives depend on oil. This profitable commodity is constantly being used around the world, twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. From the scented creams people use on their bodies, to the airline jets soaring above, oils are being used. Oil is one of three major forms of fossil fuels, coal and natural gas being the rest. Fossil fuels began forming millions of years ago in the Carboniferous Period when trees, plants, and small organisms died (DOE, 2015). Eventually the fossils sank to the bottom of many swamps and oceans forming layers of peat (a brown, soil-like, and spongy material). Over thousands of years, peat was covered by clay, sand, and other minerals which turned into a type of rock called sedimentary. Over thousands of years rocks piled on top of the peat creating more pressure. Eventually the pressure managed to squeeze water out of the peat and over millions of years, this mineral rich water turned into the three major fossil fuels that people know and use today (DOE, 2015). Regardless of its proficiency and success, the oil industry has become one of the most unethical businesses in the world. Their blatant disregard for the environment and its inhabitants have continuously put them in the crosshairs of many conservatives and concerned citizens. This paper primarily focuses on the ethical dilemmas that surround the oil industry.

On the afternoon of January 28, 1969, a terrible environmental disaster occurred when a well blowout on the Union Oil Company platform A, causing one of the largest oil spill in the United States. The platform was located in Summerland Oil Field pier which 6 miles east of city of Santa Barbara. Riggers desperately tried to repair the well before oil started spreading to the shoreline. Needless to say, the effects of the oil spill sparked outrage from the local community and the media that inevitably caused ecological effects, safety and ethical concerns. It took oil workers a total of 11 days to cap the ruptured pipe, while an estimated 3 million gallons of poisonous black crude oil showered the Pacific Ocean. Sadly, oceans

Oil fracking may seem to be a harmless uprising invention to the standard peer. However, when looking into the concerns and damaging effects from oil fracking, this invention may be more of an issue rather than a solution to retrieving oil. Scientists and researchers began to discover that oil fracking could lead to the release of dangerous chemicals that can be threatening to human life and the environment. CEO’s are also not providing sufficient information and warnings surrounding the oil fracking industry. Articles by Thompson, Perez-Pena, Christopherson, and Gerken, all express the concerns and supporting evidence of the damaging effects caused by oil fracking. Ultimately, fracking is a dangerous method to getting oil because the chemicals

America must wean itself off of dependence on foreign oil, and one valid solution to this problem is offshore oil drilling and production. America’s economy is heavily based on petroleum, as though it is the nation’s blood; a necessity for survival. About 25% of oil produced in the U.S. comes from offshore rigs. Most of the U.S. coastline has been off limits for oil drilling since the early 1980s. Due to environmental concerns after an oil spill off the coast of California in 1969, an offshore drilling moratorium was imposed. Since then, the U.S. has amplified its energy consumption to where it uses nearly 25% of the world's oil. Meanwhile, the U.S. produces about 10% of the world's oil. That has made the U.S. heavily reliant on imported

Throughout world history, people have come up with brilliant new ideas to make life easier, and as time goes on, research, making food, and getting news, has all become instantaneous. It now only takes the push of a button to cook a thanksgiving meal or the click of a remote to find out what’s happening across the world. These things are often taken for granted, and rarely does someone stop and say: “I wonder what turning on this extra lamp does to the environment?” This statement sounds insignificant when there are people starving in other countries and people are training for the army. Yet, being concerned about the environment is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the environment should be one of the biggest concerns among people, as

To begin, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill was a man-made environmental disaster that occurred in 1989. On March 24, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 barrels of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound in Alaska (Piatt, Lensick, Butler, Kendziorek & Nysewander, 1990). Eventually, this oil spread across 30,000 km² of water, damaging ecosystems and marine life along the way (Piatt, 1990). Evidently, this oil spill is considered to be one of the most destructive man-made environmental disasters in history (Dimdam, 2013).

There were a number of causes for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, most of which had more to do with the human element that with any technology itself. The four biggest ways that humans contributed to the disaster, as explained by journalist David Coburn, was the fact that British Petroleum’s (BP) past success built a sense of complacency, the shifting the burden of proof, the normalization of deviance and the fact that promoters for an industry also serve as that industry’s regulatory enforcers.

Without clear, agreed upon metrics it is arguably a matter of perspective as how to rank the worlds’ worst oil-related disasters. Living in North America, one may recount the Exxon Valdez spill or

Oil Drilling has many effects on the environment from the air we breathe to the oceans that inhabit many species. While one of the outcomes of oil drilling is money, it is forgotten that money won’t help repair all of the damage that is done to mother nature. Not only does the outcome of drilling for fossil fuels affect the oceans, rainforest, etc. it also has an effect on local business’ and the health of humans. If people want change, they need to be the

The petroleum industry experienced a major maritime disaster that was referred to as the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. The tragedy was a result of an explosion that resulted into the death of eleven individuals (Wolf & Mejri, 2013). Five months after the disaster and announcement of successful completion of the closing up of the oil well, approximately 780 million

With the huge impact of the oil spill on marine life and coastal regions, fishing and tourism industries of the places affected in the Gulf Coast severely declined. In the fishing industry, the incident led to an approximate $2.5 billion loss, while tourist industries experienced a loss of a predicted $23 billion (Jarvis, 2010). In addition, the moratorium placed on deep water drilling left 58,000 workers unemployed (ibid).

Has anyone noticed that the gas prices have become affordable for everyone, the gas prices across the United States have decreased because of the growth of exploration to locate oil in states across America. Our nation has become one of the world’s largest oil producers. Our country does not export crude oil and import much less annually (Black). Although we are enjoy lower oil prices, the ramifications to our environment are taking a toll by increasing the number of oil spills. Thousands of gallons of oil are spilled each year from offshore facilities. The government can’t regulate storms and hurricanes that cause hundreds of oil spills. Oil is toxic for most fish and other marine species and cleanup methods can only remove a small fraction of oil spilled in marine waters (Black). Although gas prices have diminished, the healthy life of our oceans are coming to an end because of the marine pollution caused from the big drilling companies. The threat of oil spills increase with the higher number of offshore drilling areas up and down the United States coasts (Black). With offshore drilling the pollution is increasing which is altering the patterns of the fish and marine mammals around the world. Our water sources are the leading food sources in the world and many countries rely on them to feed the population. These water sources provide many job opportunities allow0ing people all over the world financially steady lives. Although