Drill Or Not To Drill Essay

To Drill or Not to Drill: An Environmental Perspective Environmentalists have long struggled with the government to protect wildlife and open lands. In March 2013, The USGS established that there are approximately 10.4 billion barrels of undiscovered oil in the arctic. (Irwin) Ever since Shell and other companies began to show interest in drilling oil, native communities and environmental groups such as Earthjustice, Alaska Wilderness League and Friends of Earth Climate Campaign have began to protest about the environmental implications that come with obtaining the oil. They claim that given that there are no proper spill recovery measures in place, oil drilling in the Arctic affects the environment/wildlife, animals and native populations who call the Arctic their home. The dangers of environmental damage from oil spills are a major concern to environmentalists. At the moment, chances of an oil spill recovery are close to zero at the moment, since companies have not studied the Arctic long enough to know exactly what the consequences of oil drilling are. The last time an oil spill was reported in Deep water …show more content…
The noise of oil drilling affects the migration and communications of the animals that live in the Arctic environment. There are groups of walrus, whales and polar bears that call the Arctic their home, and are accustomed to the peaceful life and non toxic environment. "The survival of the pronghorn antelope in Grand Teton National Park depends on their annual migration from the Upper Green River Alley...But the Jonah oil and gas field has made their age-old trek incredibly difficult, and future energy development will ultimately cut off their route at key passages, threatening their survival as a species"(Six Ways). Many native populations depend on the survival of these animals for their own survival, as they hunt them and use them for food. Alaska is also the