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Brandon Tucci
Ms. Hensel
English IV
November 9, 2015

Final Research Paper

Off-shore drilling adds a massive amount of un-needed pollution into the earths waters.
For example a deep water Horizon oil drilling rig blowout in April, 2010 that released
approximately two hundred million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This event, out of
many, supports the fact that off-shore drilling should be banned due to the wide ranged
devastation it brings to the environment. Should off-shore drilling be banned due to high risk
environmental pollution?
There are serious environmental impacts associated with each stage of offshore
drilling. The process of drilling releases thousands of gallons of polluted water into the ocean,
known as drilling muds (Offshore Oil Drilling). The more these processes continue, the more
the earth and the environment will hurt from it if nothing is done. High concentration of metals
have been found around drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and have been shown to
accumulate in our food chains (Global Marine Oil Pollution). Knowing that oil pollution affects
the food chain that us humans consume really provides massive sanitary problems around the
world. Oil spills have the ability to ruin waters and food for humans and can take numerous
years to clean up.
Local communities can experience onshore environmental problems because of
offshore drilling. Impacts associated with infrastructure can severely damage beaches, wetlands

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and coastal habitats, which directly impact local communities that rely on tourism and recreation.
Plants that come in contact with oil can produce massive air pollution and also utilize large
amounts of freshwater to process oil (Offshore Oil Drilling). Onshore effects from offshore
drilling are just as worse and impactful. Washing up on the beaches is black water from oil spills
causing lack of interest from people and tourist in these areas. Beaches become less sanitary
and are being closed down due to the oil form offshore drilling (Offshore Drilling Rigs).
Many tons of oil is being dumped into the earths environment. The U.S. National
Academy of Sciences averaged the total worldwide annual release of petroleum (oils) from all
known sources to the sea has been estimated at 1.3 million tons (Offshore Oil Drilling). The
range is wide from a possible 470,000 tons to a possible 8.4 million tons per year (Offshore Oil
Drilling). All of the oil pollution comes from many sources, most of it from spillage. Accidents
from ships spilling oil is 12% of all spillage (Offshore Oil Drilling). Natural seeps from pipes
and oil rigs counts for 46% of the oil spillage into the environment (Offshore Oil Drilling).
Should off-shore drilling come to a halt due to the high risk environment
pollution? Off-shore drilling is damaging more habitats each day and it will only tear down
more if nothing is done to keep it contained. The animals in these habitats, and humans that
depend on them for meals, are suffering from a problem that can be fixed or regulated to lessen
the damaging effects. Off-shore drilling will continue to be a major problem that is being over
looked more and more each day as the environment and people around it suffer from the effects.