Offshore Oil drilling questions

[robjimz]

Hi there! I'm not really a scientist or anything, but my name is Robert Jimenez and I am currently a senior at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. I am writing a research paper on the topic of offshore oil drilling in the United States and more specifically on the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act, which was introduced this past year, and would prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and North Atlantic planning areas.

Part of my research paper assignment requires me to contact professionals/experts on my topic to get their opinions and or more information that they could possibly have. Our professor requires us to ask those experts some questions and use their answers as part of our paper. I created an account on this forum with the hopes of getting these questions answered by experts or professionals on here. Thank you to whoever does answer them(:

These are the questions:

-Do you know what the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act, that was introduced this past year, is?

-What is your opinion on offshore oil drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and North Atlantic planning areas within the United States?

-One argument against offshore oil drilling is the possibility of an oil spill such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (more commonly known as the BP oil spill), and the damages it could cause the environment and/or local economies. What is your opinion on this and do you find this argument to be a good argument?

-One argument in support of offshore oil drilling within the U.S. is that it would create more jobs for Americans, while at the same time improve the economy and also that the U.S. will rely less on foreign countries for oil and gas. Do you find these arguments to be good arguments and what is your own opinion on this argument?

-Any other thoughts? opinions? or solutions on this topic?

[iNow]

Do you know what the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act, that was introduced this past year, is?

Not until you mentioned it here, no.

 

What is your opinion on offshore oil drilling on the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and North Atlantic planning areas within the United States?

I believe it's a misguided approach to energy policy relying on infrastructure of the past. While I understand the business reasons for wanting to do it, the downstream consequences strike me as too severe for us to rationally continue doing it.

 

One argument against offshore oil drilling is the possibility of an oil spill such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (more commonly known as the BP oil spill), and the damages it could cause the environment and/or local economies. What is your opinion on this and do you find this argument to be a good argument?

Any argument that helps us move away from dirty energy is a good one, though I find many others far more salient. Climate change, ocean acidification, drought, resources wars and refugee issues as sea levels rise, as well as the instability and warfare that comes with it all I find far more pertinent, though the spills are disgusting, too. That said, we burn daily in only about 5 hours the total amount of oil that was spilled in total during those ~92 days that well was blowing out of the BP well.

 

One argument in support of offshore oil drilling within the U.S. is that it would create more jobs for Americans, while at the same time improve the economy and also that the U.S. will rely less on foreign countries for oil and gas. Do you find these arguments to be good arguments and what is your own opinion on this argument?

No, because the same argument works equally well (and potentially better) when discussion clean energy manufacturing, installation, and service. Whether it's solar, wind, batteries, or other, there are likely to be millions of jobs created in that space were investments wisely focused there, as opposed to the few hundred / few thousand jobs offshore drilling would create.

 

Good luck in your studies.

Edited December 4, 2015 by iNow