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Bad Effects of Offshore Drilling in Florida

The debate on offshore drilling is a long-lasting and heated discussion. Offshore drilling, and in particular the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010, clearly highlights the negative effects that offshore drilling can have on the environment. President Obama described it as a "massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster." Those opposing offshore drilling point to environmental damage as well as health and safety hazards among the negative effects of drilling far off the coasts of Florida.

  1. Beaches and Mangroves

    • A Tampa Bay article "Where Offshore drilling goes, beaches suffer," suggests that offshore drilling off the coast of Florida will negatively affect the beaches of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Beaches where offshore drilling occurs are prone to having tar balls and empty oil drums wash up on them. Florida's beach-tourist industry suffers when the beaches turn from pristine sand to the possibility seen in Texas beaches, which according to the article, have turned into "the trashcans of the Gulf." When BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore platform exploded, the oil that spilled threatened the fragile ecosystems of Florida's beaches and coastal mangrove forests.

    The Ocean and its Inhabitants

    • Despite the fact that oil companies have improved the technology associated with bringing up oil from beneath the ocean floor, other contaminants and toxic chemicals are brought up as well that pollute the ocean where offshore drilling occurs. According to a USA Today article, "Worth the risk? Debate on offshore drilling heats up," sea animals are harmed even during the phase of exploration preceding offshore shore drilling, and once the drilling begins, the water is contaminated by arsenic, benzene and other pollutants. Pollutants associated with offshore drilling are harmful to various forms of sea life and when spills occur such as 2010's BP Deepwater Horizon spill, sea birds, marine mammals, fish and sea turtles are killed due to the pollution.

    Health, Safety and Livelihood Risks

    • Offshore oil rigs are exposed to inherent safety hazards that rig workers may not be able to avoid when things go wrong. For example, the BP platform explosion which took place on April 20th of 2010 claimed 11 rig workers' lives, according to Environment Florida. The oil that proceeded to spill into the gulf contaminated the fish, thus encouraging a potential health risk from sea food consumption as well as proved tremendously detrimental to the livelihoods of Florida's fisherman.

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