Critical Thinking

To Drill or, Not To Drill

For years, there has been a debate in the United States about the need to lessen its dependency on oil, and that dependency will continue to increase if they do not look into alternative sources for energy. People are perturb about how much oil the Unites States buys from other countries and excited that oil and gas exploration will create jobs. Americans use million of barrels of oil each day more than any other country in the world. Reducing our need to buy oil from overseas countries and creating more jobs, was one of the reasons why some people support President Obama’s decision to expand offshore drilling. (2010, Apr 26). Scholastic News. Many lawmakers and environmental groups do not want to drill because as to them the risks to environmental concerns outweigh the benefits. Some concerns are about the toxins that it will bring by the spills, winds and waves. “The real solutions to energy dependence are cleaner cars, cleaner fuels, and clean energy says Doug O’ Malley of Environmental New Jersey”. I do agree that drilling oil is essential, but we should find other alternatives way to drill without harming the environment. We should drill with our own resources and stop depending on other countries. I agree with the plan for responsible oil drilling in Alaska as long as the conservation solutions are in place. Drilling can cause potential harm to the environment and wildlife. We “therefore” should use the revenue from oil and gas drilling to help fund conservation activities that are depleting our natural resources. It is important to think about balance when considering energy information policy and conservation issues. We have a great responsibility to protect and preserve our outdoors for future generations. (Lamar & Markey, 2005).

The perceptual blocks and habits that hinder my thinking when I look at the opposing view is that I tend to look at things my way instead of assessing, analyzing and viewing things from different...