The US Gulf Oil - Essay Example

US GULF OIL. The two articles bring out a sharp contrast between those who are for the oil drilling process and those against it. Kent Gaber in his article argues that there is the need for oil therefore; offshore drilling of the oil is the solution to the escalating oil prices. The politicians are also in support of the expansion of the drilling area to increase production of oil in order to curb the energy crisis in the country whereas Bob Keefe is more concerned of the effects to humanity and the aquatic life that would come about as a result of conducting this exercise. Gaber is for the opinion that majority of the Americans are in favor of the oil drilling process for the hope of the reduction of oil prices but kefee argues that the drilling would bring devastating effects to the aquatic life, the water movement and contribute dangerously to global warming. Gaber further argues that the oil price crisis is more complex than it is assumed by the American people. Furthermore, the unavailability of the complex drilling equipment as Gaber argues is the impediment to the drilling process leading to low production and not being able to meet the demands of oil for the American people whereas Kefee argues that lack of this equipments both for drilling and for monitoring the whole process in order to avoid the risk of spillages as lead to oil leakages and spillages and thus causing unwanted effects to the environment. The Government is in full support of the oil drilling process with the congress arguing that oil drilling is the way to go in its quest to fight the energy crisis saying that the past oil spillages are unlikely to occur due to the use of new technologies in the drilling process but at the same time there is no human endeavor without faults and hence exposing humanity to risk. (Gaber, 7&Kefee, 40) The drilling as the American people think is expected to result in immediate reduction of the global oil prices but Kefee argues that this is not the case as drilling does not directly result to decreased oil prices as it is a complex process which could take years or decades for the situation to change. The oil drilling companies are pushing further to the deeper waters where the oil is more and thus resulting to more and more exploitation of the environment. The government is in support of this as it aims to lift a ban on the drilling sites and allow more drilling to take place .Gaber argues that although the whole process is aimed at benefiting the American people, it is incredibly dirty and it could damage the precious coastal beaches. (Gaber, 8&Kefee, 15) Gaber also argues that company leases have taken place as a result of the inadequacy of oil and this therefore supports his general believe that the companies should be allowed to drill oil in order to keep them in operation but Kefee is states categorically that the more the oil the companies are allowed to exploit the more it is detrimental to the environment and the people in it. This is constrained by the fact that only a limited number of individual companies have got the technology to exploit the oil and on top of that it normally takes a long period of time before the oil starts flowing. (Gaber, 7&Kefee, 40) Kefee further says that even the long serving personalities in the oil industry such as Bullock are against the idea of allowing more exploitation of oil arguing that offshore drilling and management are not the sole solutions to the oil crisis as it involves more that just that. He further says that the risk of a tanker causing spillage is higher than the benefits that could be obtained by merely drilling more wells of oil but Gaber says that the available oil fields are limited for the increasing number of oil exploiting and drilling companies and therefore it requires expansion of these fields to cater for the increased number. Some Americans such as Jacqueline M. Lloyd believe that their status quo has changed as a result of the oil drilling and transportation process. The oil spillage he says has changed the aquatic animals’ behavior and also that of the beach water movement, this has necessitated him to change his carrier to become an environmental activist in order to protect the environment but Gaber believes that it is better to cushion the fuel prices by increased oil exploitation. (Lloyd, 2-10) and (Gaber, 11-23) Gaber also believes that even if the companies have got what it takes to exploit the oil, there are other areas that the technology is applied to exploit the oil where business is booming and therefore the available expertise is applied elsewhere and therefore limiting the quantity of oil that is exploited but a different opinion from Kefee is that not every possible mistake could be eliminated by the said modern technology. Robert says that some of the oil spillages have been deemed insignificant but they do contribute negatively to environmental degradation and if possible they should be eliminated completely as they are likely to cause global warming and other environmental problems and despite the advance in technology spillages are still unavoidable but at the same time there should be better profits to environmental degradation. (Robert, 2-20) Some oil companies have shifted to pursuing other projects because of the poor oil prices due to the limited oil exploitation resulting in a higher number of companies competing in a small amount of the oil they therefore expect the government to lift the ban on oil exploitation instead of having limited number of oil companies in order to curb the level of environmental degradation that is experienced in the world. Bob, K. feels that the current oil amounts are not able to meet the needs of the American people and therefore exploitation of more oil could result in reduction of the oil prices. He also says that the area should be expanded more to the deeper waters where there is plenty of oil but Kefee suggests that there are other environmentally safe sources of energy that could be exploited and that getting oil from other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Brazil could be more cost effective and environmentally safe. (Bob, 1-30) In conclusion, I believe that it is fair to maintain the environment clean and natural than to degrade it because this could result to detrimental effects to humans and the aquatic life. An effect such as global warming resulting in climate change is eminent. But in order to reduce the fuel prices the government should embrace the environment friendly sources of energy. It should also be clear to the American people that the more the oil is exploited the more the degradation of the environment. Work cited. Bob, K. National Debare: Weighing Advance Verses Fears. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (GA Cox Washington Bureau August 2, 2008:1-30 Herman Gunther .Florida Geological Survey. Exploration for Oil and Gas in Florida, 1956: 1 Robert ,O. Vernon and Charles W. Hendry Exploration for Oil and Gas in Florida, Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular No. 1, 1959:2-10. Jacqueline M. Lloyd Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular 111. Florida Petroleum Production and Exploration, (1997, 1994 and 1995):16. ------------. Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular 111.Florida Petroleum Production and Exploration, (1997, 1994 and 1995):12. Read More