Preview

Oil Spills

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
662 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oil Spills
Oil Spills:
Their Environmental Impact on Our Oceans
How do we prevent oil spills? (The last part)
Oil spills are the most devastating environmental disasters. On the surface, oil spills directly pollute oceans, kill sea life, and damage the environment we live in. Furthermore, oil spills hurt the nation’s health, environment, tourist and the fishing business. Therefore, oil spills impact the entire economy and our standard of living. How do we prevent future oil spills and protect our oceans?
I. We need to develop new alternative energy technology and limit drilling offshore. (Picture) A. The theory of Peak Oil 1. Peak Oil: “Hubbert’s Peak” (clip) 2. Inventor: the Shell geologist, Dr. Marion King Hubbert in 1956 3. Concept: limited resources, more demand / extraction, hard to get to, and higher cost (Microeconomics) B. Natural resources are limited and nonrenewable,
1. We need to invest in and develop new energy technology for alternative fuels, and we will be less dependent on oil.
a. Electric powered cars, solar power, hydro power and wind power
b. Use ethanol instead of gasoline for an alternative fuel c. Cars of Tomorrow With Energy-Saving Technology (link) C. Substituting renewable resources for nonrenewable resources lessen the burden of the energy crisis, decrease conflict between rising demand and falling supply, and built a better energy future.
II. Government’s regulations and legislations are necessary for preventing oil spills.
A. After gulf oil spills, “Obama administration announced it will not allow offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic coast for at least seven years (USATODAY.com).” 1. Considering risk of offshore oil drilling, government formed industry-led safety institute 2. “The Oil Pollution Act” took place for oil industry 3. Environmental preservation:
Government program and fund investing in companies engaged in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Gulf Oil Spill took place in the spring of 2010 and is known as one of the most devastating environmental disasters in American history. The Gulf Oil Spill took place on the Deepwater Horizon/BP MC252 drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico which had an explosion and killed 11 workers and this caused the drilling platform to sink. The explosion caused oil to leak into the Gulf of Mexico and nearly 134 million gallons of oil was released into the Gulf. Oil traveled all the way to the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The marine life was severely depleted; the oil killed marine life, birds, and other animals who depend on the Gulf. This environmental disaster showed some major downsides to globalization, which is the…

    • 136 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Today, with the continual and rapidly growing need of energy demand by big nations like United States and China continuing to furnish their domestic consumptions of oil have led to increased prices of gasoline whereby alternative forms of energy production are sought. With this in mind, offshore drilling can be a viable option for satiating the need of oil and also to boost the economy of the nation. In this report, I am going to discuss how the current Deepwater Horizon rig explosion has led to disastrous oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico causing environmental problems and also discuss how the oil spill if resolved and with safe and secure drilling techniques, the economic impact of offshore drilling can outweigh the environmental issues.…

    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people do not realize the impact of the oil spills that occur in the ocean. It is like putting water into a heated oil frying substance. It is quite catastrophic. With all the oil spills that have already occurred it is important to help clean ,and prevent oil spills from reoccuring. There is indeed a lot of reasons as to why we should clean and help prevent oil spills from happening but here are the three main reasons. First reason being oil spills cause immense harm to the marine habitats that intern affect the entire ecosystem disrupting its cycle. A second major reason being is all the things that the oil contains and where they go. The third reason we found that plays a major role involving…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In order to reduce the overall demands for gasoline in America, I would propose for an alternative form of energy to be developed, which in turn could be used as a type of substitute for gasoline. This would eventually force the…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    EHAP notes

    • 3187 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Supply and demand (fewer laborers, higher wages; less demand for food, lower prices for agricultural products)…

    • 3187 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Rodman D. Griffin’s article entitled “Alternative Energy: Can Renewable Energy Sources Replaces Fossil Fuels?” is about alternative methods of getting energy. The article goes into great detail of how America has gone into such an increase in using oil and other non-renewable resources. America spends billions of dollars a year on oil and gas to fuel the countries working class. This was incorporated in my paper along with other facts that Griffin uses throughout his article. His article gave me insight to the crisis that we face everyday and a new wave of thinking when it comes to alternative energy.…

    • 2056 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Every resident in this community is reliant on outside sources that use non-renewable resources for power and to clean our water. Every day the resources used are depleted and will eventually run out; in the meantime we set idly by and watch prices escalate. Fossil fuels emit many pollutants (EPA, 2008) into the air and encourage global warming. Those outside sources subject this community to rate increases and dependency on weather conditions. Renewable energy is found in many forms, generated by the earth. Effectively harnessing these energies will reduce gas emissions (EPA, 2008.)…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Environmental degradation is one of the largest threats the human population is facing today. However, most individuals in society seem to just tweet and Facebook about the growing environmental issues, instead of taking any real initiative. Most of society has become completely oblivious of the activities carried out by oil companies, whom have caused the most severe damage to our environment. In, “Fuel the Machines,” Jossie Malis nicely depicts the environmental consequences produced by the fuel industry. Throughout the animated clip, we see that the ocean water is polluted with trash, machinery parts, carcasses’ and ultimately oil. There is a seen with a toxic substance spewing out of an oil pipe that instantly disintegrates a seahorse. There is a whole scene where there is line of pump jacks spanning across an entire field. On top of that, there is a big oil…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deep sea oil drilling is very hazardous to our environment. If these places are exploited, and the oil burnt, we will be on track for a six degree rise in global average temperatures. Two degrees is generally accepted by scientists and governments as the tipping point of dangerous climate change. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill was terrible and if something went wrong in New Zealand then it would go very wrong. the depth they want to drill in is almost twice the depth of the Gulf of Mexico. For an oil spill to be fixed in the Gulf of Mexico it took a matter of days whereas at nearly twice the depth this would take significantly longer. Tourism is a very large factor in the New Zealand economy. If an oil spill where to occur than at this depth…

    • 157 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Off Shore Drilling

    • 2358 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The crude oil industry has become prominent since mid 19th century. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the development of drilling methods has brought oil into a drastically larger extent of mass production. Petroleum is one of the important extracted compositions of crude oil in the U.S. Until today, it is globally used mainly as fuels in transportation. Other uses include heating homes, powering industry, and providing raw material for plastic manufacturing. The great importance of oil to the country has led to the exploitation of its resources in the past century. Not only exploiting land resources, the government is also beginning to exploit resources under the sea. Off shore drilling is the method of extracting crude oil from the seabed. It has been a controversial issue in the U.S. of whether or not off shore drilling should be expanded. In this essay, I am comparing and contrasting the reasons why some people are supportive of off shore drilling in the U.S., and why some people are in opposition to it. I will discuss three major aspects upon this issue; the three aspects are national security, economy and environment.…

    • 2358 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people are debating how to best meet energy needs in the United States. Some argue that the country must decrease its dependence on oil and invest in alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. Others argue that changing to new power sources is unnecessary and expensive. They state that the United States should search for oil in Alaska, the Gulf Coast, and other currently unexplored areas within the country. I will state my opposition on this issue.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To Drill or Not to Drill

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The United States hopes for prosperity and energy security. The oil produced in the world today 25% is consumed by the United States, which only holds less than 3% of the world’s proven oil reserves (Biencke and Gerard, 2010). The United States is in need in creating a clean energy future and increasing the efficiency of energy and support policies that will initiate innovation in the clean-technology sector (Biencke and Gerard, 2010). The United States has to hinder our dependency on oil, and there has to be more innovations on wind and solar power technology (Biencke and Gerard, 2010). Biencke, F., and Gerard, J.M. (2010). Should the U.S. Halt Offshore Drilling [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook].…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gulf Oil Spill

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana coast has experienced countless oil spills but unlike those BP’s oil spewed directly from the bottom of the ocean. It is difficult to accurately determine the complete extent of the damage caused by the oil spill because data on the condition of the environment in that area before the disaster is lacking. Even now the effect on organisms such as those in deep-water marine communities is hard to determine. But one thing is certain; the oil spill impacted every level of the complex environment that is the Gulf of Mexico.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    End of Nature

    • 3102 Words
    • 13 Pages

    1 d) Everything we do involves fossil fuels and in order to change it we would have to change the way we move around, spaces we live in and jobs we perform and food we eat.…

    • 3102 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Energy is very important, especially for the people of the United States. It has become an integral part of our lives and we have grown dependent on it. Therein lies the problem, however, because the more we use it, the less there is. We have to find alternative forms of energy before it is gone and we are left high and dry. Not only is our sources decreasing, it is also polluting our beautiful world. Reducing the use of energy and finding alternatives is our only choice when considering the future of America. Cheap gas may sound great right now but once it is gone, it is gone for good. We cannot be selfish and only think of the now, we must look to the future and preserve our resources so that our grandkids will have a good life. We have made…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics