The Dangers of Oil Spills If oil is such a significant threat to our environment and lives. Then why does our government not maintain this properly? Oil plays a major role in the world economy, we are highly dependent on it, and this dependency disables anyone from preventing the offshore drilling of oil. If oil spills are to be avoided, the government should step in to regulate the use of oil by looking to new energy sources as options; such a great risk should not be imposed on nature. Many causes of oil spills are old equipment breaking down, natural disasters, and illegal dumpers. These spills have a drastic effect on our environment, economy, and animal lives.
Many oil rigs in the ocean have very old tankers and equipment, which break down over time. Mr. Heibutzki supports this claim by saying, "Oil pollution is most commonly associated with tanker breakups or disasters at offshore production sites" (n. d. ). This damages the environment in a big way. Spilled oil will eventually sink down and get on rocks, sponges, etc. The oil can also reach beaches that individuals swim in, and make the environment non-livable or swimmable. Many vertebrates swim in this water and ingest the oil, then die. Heibutzki says, "Ingesting or inhaling oil can result in lung, liver, and kidney damage that ends in death, as well as a weakened immune system that compromises an animal's ability to find food and protect itself against predators." (n. d. ).
The second significant effect of the oil spill is seen in the economy. When precious oil or refined petroleum is lost, it affects the amount of petroleum and gas available for use. This means more barrels have to be imported from other countries around the world. Then comes the complicated process of cleaning the oil spill, which requires a lot of financing from taxpayers and contributors. Although the company is responsible for the oil spills and their effects have to clean it up, there is a lot of government help required at t...
