The Pros And Cons Of Offshore Oil Drilling

There are millions of different species that live in the ocean, some so small you can’t even see them, and some so big they’re hard to miss. We use oil for practically everything you can think of. In our transportation, plastic, clothes, etc, there is some sort of oil involved. About 30 percent of that oil comes from offshore drilling. Offshore drilling is when there are oil rigs built into the ocean floor on the coasts of many different places, like the Gulf of Mexico and California. While the oil that we get from the ocean is widely used, it does not mean that it is good or is extracted in a good way. Offshore oil drilling has had negative impacts on marine ecosystems and should stop being built. In 2010, a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico spread throughout the water and injured more than 100,000 animals. Many protected species began to perish because of the toll the oil took on the creatures. “The spill also oiled more than a thousand miles of shoreline, including beaches and marshes, which took a substantial toll on the animals and plants found at the shoreline, including seagrass, beach mice, shorebirds and others,” (A Deadly Toll). The majority of people remember seeing photos and videos of volunteers cleaning up ducks, birds, and

The government gives billions of dollars to oil companies each year to help pay for things like oil rigs. In fact, “Average costs vary widely between different types of oil rigs, ranging from around $20 million to as high as $1 billion,” (How do Average...). The profit for one oil rig may make it worth it, but there are many other things that money could be going towards good things. Schools get some money, but budget cuts are not unfamiliar to schools in the slightest. The millions of dollars that go into building one oil rig could go towards schools that provide children with an