Off Shore Drilling

Oil is essential to American life. It gives us control of our lives and helps us function as normal, productive parts of society. But, oil can pose many risks to the United States. Almost everyone can recall the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico because of the recent BP oil spill. So how beneficial would it be to expand off shore drilling? Some executives and congressional supporters believe expanding off shore drilling would be a benefit to the United States. Factors to evaluate when considering the idea of expanding off shore drilling are the many possibilities of accessible oil, the revenue it could create, and the problems it will create for options of green energy.

Off shore drilling could be expanded to the many suspected possibilities of accessible oil. In an article in the New York Times, Ken Salazar who is an interior secretary for a proposed plan to expand off shore drilling, stated that "his proposed offshore lease strategy made available more than 75 percent of undiscovered and technically recoverable oil and gas resources" (New York Times). If there is truly this much undiscovered resources, supporters believe it should be harnessed to the advantage of the United States. The idea of resources coming from the United States is encouraging to taking steps of reducing our dependency on foreign countries for oil.

If the resources are available, so is the possible revenue generated by it. Oil is essential, therefore it will always be generating revenue. The United States sends millions of dollars to foreign countries for oil. If off shore drilling was expanded the United States could reduce the amount we send to foreign governments by $15 million and create 190,000 jobs by 2013. (EnergyTomorrow.org). If this is true, the economy would rise dramatically and become more stable, something many people in the United States want to occur.

If off shore drilling was to expand, the money being invested in green energy could be taken away and focused on oil. Energy is expensive, regardless of where it’s coming from. The United States has always been a leading country that changes the world with its innovations. If we cease to invest in green energy and stopping the use of oil, we will be totally contradicting the image we have sent out for decades to the rest of the world. If we want to stop green house gases from being admitted, then green energy is the way to go. The effects of global warming will not be stopped if we continue to use oil as a source of energy. Green energy is just as effective as using oil, and expanding oil will only hurt the efforts the United States has made in green energy. So is it truly worth it to waste our efforts on something that will reproduce negative effects in the long run?