To Drill or Not to Drill

To Drill Or Not To Drill

Sherry Highsmith

HUM/114

March 23, 2014

Dr. Mary Wilson

To Drill Or Not To Drill

To drill or not to drill, that is the question. I am of the opinion that we should not continue to drill but look for alternative methods in which to produce energy. Oil prices for a barrel of oil have skyrocketed and rise continuously without regulation when demand is high or the economy is not doing well. Natural gas and the cost of coal have also risen. OPEC has the ability to manipulate the supply, although prices are determined by supply and demand (Smith, 2004). The United States is too dependent on foreign energy when it pertains to our consumption. Clean and renewable energy is the direction we should be headed in.

Drilling for oil is not worth the risk. Oil companies refuse to pay attention to the harm they cause to the surrounding environment. The reason put forth by the oil companies are as follows people have cars they need to be filled with gas; we give people warnings about the harmful effects of the surrounding drilling areas, and it too expensive to change from oil to other clean resources. The oil companies know the harm they cause to the people in the surrounding area. The diseases that come from drilling on land are unsafe drinking water, cancer, and tumors.

I believe that the United States should invest money into alternate fueling sources. Off shore drilling at this point is environmentally unsafe. Our environment is changing due to global warming, and off shore drilling makes this worse. I feel very strongly about greedy oil companies destroying the planet in pursuit of more oil at the cost of our endangered species and the health of the American people. Oil companies already hold 5,500 offshore leases that are not being used. I do not know why they need to occupy...