Right now, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is formulating
a new plan for offshore oil and gas drilling. This federal plan will be in
effect from 2017 to 2022, and will determine which areas will be made available
for oil drilling off US coasts. The current 2012-2017 plan restricts drilling
to parts of Alaska and the waters of the western Gulf of Mexico. BOEM is now
proposing to add the entire Atlantic and Pacific coasts to the new five year
plan, as well as the eastern Gulf and additional areas off Alaska. The oil industry
views this proposal as a way to increase business, and therefore industry
representatives and lobbyists have submitted thousands of comments to BOEM in
support of expanding the areas open to oil drilling. Their efforts are further
encouraged by the Obama Administration’s decision to conduct a seismic survey
in the Atlantic. Results from this survey, which will inevitably harm and possibly
kill countless marine mammals and invertebrates, could pinpoint natural gas and
oil deposits along the continental shelf, thus inviting drilling to take place.
The period to submit comments to BOEM on the proposed 2017-2022 plan closed on August
15. Unfortunately, it appears that more comments were submitted in support of
the proposed plan than against it.
Opening
up oil drilling to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts not only steers the focus of
the nation away from developing more sustainable energy practices, but also
comes with the risk of catastrophic damage to coastal, marine, and human
environments. The daily operations of offshore rigs results in the dumping of
toxic metals and carcinogens into the ocean. Produced water, which is often
contaminated with oil, is also discharged from rigs daily.
Perhaps the largest environmental concern
in regard to offshore drilling is oil spills. Oil spills contaminate sediment, smother
and kill wildlife, and the pollution remains in the ecosystem for years afterwards.
In 2007, a study conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
(NOAA) found that over 25,000 gallons of oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil
spill was still caught in Alaskan sand. We have not yet developed effective oil
spill response methods, made ever more evident by the events following the 2010
BP Deepwater Horizon spill which poured oil into the ocean for 87 days. A spill
such as this has negative effects on coastal economies as well. During the
spill, NOAA declared 19% of the entire Gulf a no fishing zone, greatly affecting
the seafood and recreational industries. Tourism during this period also
dropped at drastic rates. Recently, a U.S. District Judge ruled that BP acted
with gross negligence leading to the spill. Studies continue to be released
that document long term negative impacts to marine life and the health of
people exposed to the spill and its aftermath.
The
Atlantic coast has been under a drilling moratorium for decades and changing
that now, when the need for sustainable energy sources is at its highest and
the marine environment is in its most vulnerable state yet, does not make
sense.
News articles about
the harmful effects of the BP Gulf oil spill:
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