According to Jeffrey Chanton of ActionBioscience.org global warming is raising our oceans at a rate of 1 to 2 millimeters a year. This increase in depth is particularly noticeable during hurricanes as they crash into shores with an average category rating of 2 and 3. As if this wasn't enough of a threat oil industries, congress, and the white house now want to allow offshore drilling.
Let's look at the Georges Bank area off Cape Cod Massachusetts. According to geologists there are approximately 57 million barrels of oil lying there beneath the seabed. Currently Georges Bank is a protected area due to overfishing in the 1970's. This area's ecosystem is already in a delicate state with only the haddock bouncing back from being over fished. Can the benefits of drilling for oil and natural gas possibly outweigh the risk of further damage to this area? Reporters Carolyn Y. Johnson and Lisa Wangsness of the Boston Globe examined the proposed output from the plateau under Georges Bank. With the 57 million barrels of confirmed oil there and the 72 trillion cubic feet of natural gas we would have enough fuel to keep the country going for count them folks 2 days!.
Another article in the USA Today by Rick Jervis, William M. Welch, and Richard Wolf discusses the possibility of 18 billion barrels of oil off the coasts of the United States including protected areas in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Santa Barbara. With the addition of these 18 billion barrels of fuel the country could keep running for another I love this 2 ½ years!.
Wow. That's all I can say about it. We can get another 2 ½ years plus 2 days of fuel for the low cost of future damages. This is like buying money with a credit card! It makes no sense.
First, it will be at least 10 years before we see any output from these new oil platforms. Second, in order to retrieve the oil canals have to be dug in the seabed floor. These canals will damage the habitat of native sea life.
