The exploration of United States offshore oil and gas drilling begun at the end of the 19th century. In 1896, Henry L. Williams and his associates were inspired by California’s prolific Summerland Oilfield to build a 300-foot pier out into the Pacific and mount a standard cable-tool rig on it. Within a year, the first offshore well was producing oil, and the industry grew exponentially.
This project left behind a beach blackened by oil and marred by rotting piers and derricks. The production of oil soon became the second-largest generator of income for the United States.
In March of 2010, President Obama opened much of the Atlantic Coastline, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the north coast of Alaska to offshore drilling. Not even a month later, the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred, which is currently the longest and most detrimental oil spill in history. The well spewed for 87 days, releasing more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
11 people died, 800,000 birds were killed, and 1,000 dolphins were found dead along the Gulf Coast.
In 2015, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported that there are still up to 26 million gallons of oil remaining on the seafloor. Since this oil spill, zero federal laws have been passed to restrict offshore drilling.
Not learning from the United States’ previous mistakes, the Trump Administration currently has plans to lease 77 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and natural gas drilling under the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022.
What the Trump Administration doesn’t realize is that there is too much at stake to open up more marine ecosystems to the harmful effects of offshore oil and gas drilling.
Drilling muds used to lubricate and cool the drill bit pipe releases toxic chemicals into the ocean that can affect marine life. Fluid trapped underground and brought up with the oil and gas is released into bodies of water, even though some of them contain up to 20% of the oil. Drilling mud and fluids released into the oceans can even include metal cuttings that can be fatal to marine organisms.
Firing air guns, which often occurs during the drilling process, send a strong shock across the seabed that can damage the hearing capacity of marine species and lead to many marine mammal strandings, as they rely on their hearing to navigate and communicate with other marine organisms.
Offshore oil rigs also attract seabirds at night, this increases bird mortality from physical collisions with the rigs as well as incineration by flare and oil from leaks. This incineration also produces black carbon, which contributes to climate change.
Offshore oil and gas drilling is dangerous to everyone involved, and the only way to stop it is to decrease our dependence on oil for energy. Most of the solutions to the problems of offshore drilling deal with finding alternative energy sources, and stopping the extraction of offshore resources altogether.
