To Drill or Not to Drill

HUM 111

Assignment

Week 2

I have read with great interest the debate on drilling for oil. While I realize there is some chance of oil spills and accidents, I disagree with the statements that drilling is not worth the trouble because it would take up to 10 years to get any oil to market if we started today. Maybe the 10-year estimate is right, but that would still be 10 years sooner than if we wait and continue debating. I think we need to do whatever we can to get our country out of the grip of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and start using the resources we have here. We need to harness wind power, atomic power, and water power where possible.

Actually, the politicians pushing to drill in Alaska and off the Gulf coast have the same basic goal in mind, to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Most of those are also pushing to increase the use of nuclear energy as part of the plan, which the Obama administration is not in favor of. If ANWR had been opened in 1995, it would have been on line for 5 years now, cutting our need for foreign oil by 20% per year. Instead it is at least 10 years away from production. Alternative energy is great, except for the major fact that none of it is truly a viable option for today.

Despite those that rant against it, Green technology is expanding and is a growing trend. There is a lot of oil undiscovered and a lot is already discovered but not pumped. It is rapidly popularity as it becomes more and more expensive to drill, pump, and to refine. Clean coal is a somewhat misleading phrase. It is not actually clean; it is burned in a cleaner manner.

The Obama administration announced plans to open up new areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf to “responsible” oil and gas exploration and development, including a large chunk of the Alaska coast, calling the move vital to bolstering U.S. economic growth and energy security. In announcing the new off shore strategy, Obama sought to sever what he called...