For my entire life, I have vacationed on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. During this time, I have become very familiar with the sandy beaches and open blue waters. One summer I noticed a dark object many miles into the water. Usually I can recognize if it is a boat or a distant island, but this was very small and stationary. I asked my parents what it was, and they told me an oil well had been built there over the last year. Suddenly that dark speck on the horizon became very clear. I knew about the dangers of oil refinements, and I wondered why someone would want to risk damaging such a beautiful place?
Off-shore drilling has always been an issue of importance, however during the 2008 elections; the topic entered the presidential debates. Gas prices had soared since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, tensions in the Middle East were worse than ever, and the American public was becoming very positive towards alternative fuels. The Republican Party was in favor of ending the moratorium and opening up US coastal ways for drilling because they claimed this would lower gas and food prices for American families. The party even took on the war cry, “Drill, baby drill!” The Democratic Party initially opposed opening up new waterways and instead took the position of enforcing new rules for off-shore drilling. However, like politicians do, President Obama changed his position on the topic once he gained office. Three weeks before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill dumped millions of barrels of oils into the crystal blue waters of the Gulf Coast; Obama announced he would open new areas to off-shore drilling. Three weeks later, Obama gained the largest disaster of his presidency and it would continue for the next six months.
I vacation at Hilton Head every summer too! Sorry, I thought that was pretty cool. But, you are definitely a very good writer and this post caught my attention immediately and made me want to read on to learn more. I felt engaged with what you were saying through this whole post. I do believe that the Gulf Oil spill is the largest, worst natural disaster we have ever seen. We all know the dangers of off-shore drilling. However, I believe that this cannot be viewed as Obama's fault. I feel like you're saying Obama did this. I could be wrong though. I think this is BP's fault. They knew there were problems with their well and they chose to ignore those problems and hope nothing bad happened. Now they are trying to push the blame on everyone but themselves. I think they are to blame. Off-shore drilling sounds like a great idea because there is an abundance of oil in our waters. Had we known about the dangers that BP's oil well presented, then I doubt Obama would have opened that area to off-shore drilling.
ReplyDeleteI think the situation becomes much more clear when you have a real life example. I’ve never been to Hilton Head, but I can understand how a situation would be an eye-opener to the ever expanding world of off-shore drilling. The thing is I can understand the push behind an increase in off shore drilling (less reliance on Middle East countries for energy needs, etc.), but if they want to increase drilling, then the government should step up safety precautions. If companies want to be able to drill, then they need to have a sure fire plan for disasters such as the gulf oil spill. They also need to be held responsible in a timely manner. The problem with the BP disaster was that they didn’t have a good plan for this situation, not to mention their reaction was slow. While I don’t believe it was Obama’s fault, I do believe the government should have taken a more active role in getting BP to clean up at the beginning. For now though, the stimulus bill delivered some federal grant money for research into renewable fuels. Hopefully, America can find an economic way to make a switch to biofuels and eliminate any off-shore oil drilling.
ReplyDeleteHILTON HEAD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE!! I've been there every year since I was born. Surprisingly enough, I have never noticed this oil well and I must say, I am deeply saddened that they have built one so close to an area where families vacation and dolphins are seen several times everyday frolicking in the water. I can't imagine what would happen if that oil well ever leaked; Hilton Head would never be the same. The Gulf Oil Spill is one of the worst natural disasters and it breaks my heart to see so many beautiful places and animals in the midst of destruction. Off shore drilling seems like a good plan when you realized how much oil we have within our waters, however, it turns even when you have companies such as BP shaking off their problems and mistakes until it's too late.
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