President Trump has recently signed an executive order that seeks to decrease the stringent regulations on offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. According to Mr. Trump, this will create thousands of new jobs and generate more American wealth through the oil industry. But at what cost?

What we all must understand is that when oil is retrieved from the ocean floor, it’s not the only thing that comes out. Many toxic chemicals, such as arsenic, lead and mercury are also entering coastal habitats. These chemicals can result in adverse effects in both humans and animals, such as glycolysis inhibition, cardiovascular system damage and nervous tissue destruction. You can only imagine how marine life near offshore drilling sites can be affected. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 resulted in increased heart attack rates within bluefin tuna inhabiting the area, increased death rates for baby dolphins birthed in the area, and so many more deleterious effects on the 8,332 species living at the site of the spill.

In addition, the risk of a large oil spill is still a very real threat to both the natural environment as well as human civilization. The Eastern United States borders the Atlantic, making this region of America a prime candidate for offshore oil drilling under Trump's executive order. If a spill were to occur, this would profoundly affect our fellow Americans living in coastal regions in the Eastern United States. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, workers responsible for cleaning up the spill experienced detrimental health effects such as short-term memory loss, nervous system impairment, and a high rate of miscarriage. Permitting offshore oil drilling on our coasts puts our citizens at risk of experiencing such debilitating symptoms in the event of an oil spill.

Furthermore, Mr. Trump’s plan to promote offshore oil drilling will most likely not generate the vast amount of income he thinks it will. The price of oil has drastically declined ever since 2012, and it doesn’t show any signs of coming back up any time soon. The economic effects, however, are beside the point. We should not risk the lives and health of thousands of marine species and people just to make a profit. The passing of this executive order only further shows how much control large industries have over the individual as well as the environment.

I would like to leave you with this final thought: if we no longer have a habitable planet, we no longer have an economy. How is our economy supposed to exist if the planet that gives us life is dead? How is human civilization supposed to continue if all the habitats from which we harvest our natural resources are dead? I believe this executive order is taking us in the wrong direction, in the direction in which profits are prioritized over the health of the environment and the American people. I sincerely believe that we can do better than this.