The Online Newspaper of Lakewood High School

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Oil Drilling

    Oil+Drilling

    Oil drilling is another way that people like to ruin natural landscapes to get money. But while to many people, drilling may seem like a vague concept that seems somewhat ominous, there are so many more ways that it is harmful that anyone would originally think.

    First of, many wildlife systems are incredibly sensitive and can be disrupted by even the smallest of changes. So imagine the impact of giant drills and construction and noise on such a delicate system, cutting off migration routes and possibly endangering species. And that is just when the system is going as planned. Oil spills are much more common than anyone would think (with one Colorado company reporting over 160 spills every year). Even a small amount of oil released into the environment has the possibility of giving animals cancer and reproductive failure. And almost everyone remembers the horror of the BP oil spill in 2010, which caused extensive damage to the ecosystem.

    Not only are there these obvious drawbacks to the practice, but the construction associated with drilling also can cause light pollution, irreversible damage to the landscape, and releases of methane gas that contribute to global warming.

    But it gets worse. Trump might be approving drilling off of the East coast. This is a bad idea for many reasons. Not only will it affect the landscape (and the entire Earth) negatively, but if there was an oil spill, it could damage Maine’s 1.5 billion dollar lobster industry, and ruin an entire economy.

    Today (Friday) is the last day to comment publicly about this plan and the horrible impact it could have. So speak up!

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