In the history of Marine oil spills, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill ranks number one in enormity. It occurred on April 20, 2010 and was a result of an explosion that took place on an offshore oil Platform located in the Deepwater Horizon (Cleveland, 2010). I believe that drilling in this area should be stopped, since the negative effects of an oil spill far outweigh the benefits obtained by the mining company. This is due to the simple reasoning that the habitat belongs to the entire society living around it together with a great host of living organisms, as compared to the company (in this case BP), which is only owned by individuals for their own profit-making. Furthermore, most of these environmental damages are irreversible or/and may have long-lasting repercussions.
One of the reasons why I am against the drilling is the mere fact that despite BP oil company having the undisputed ability to drill for oil from the deepest offshore environments, they lacked a matching ability to foresee and deal with disasters amicably (Safina, 2011). Secondly, while BP tried to reduce the impact of the spill by using oil dispersants, which mixed oil with water, they alternately increased the eminent contact of oil to fish amongst other organisms that flourish at the floor of the sea, such as oysters or clams. The third effect is that wildlife can physically interact with oil either through inhalation, ingestion, or absorption and may end up being harmed. Planktons such as fish eggs or algae can also be contaminated. Furthermore, the tourism and the hotel industries suffered immensely from the incident, as well as other economic activities related to conventions and recreation along the Gulf Coast (2011). A drastic fall in the harvest of shrimps and oysters resulted in inflated prices in Mexico and as far away as in New York restaurants. Thousands of hotel cancellations were also received.
