Don't+drill,+baby!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/06/3978727/dont-drill-baby.html

This article talks about the US Interior Department and their plans to open part of the Atlantic Ocean to oil and gas exploration for the first time since the 1980s. The ban on drilling in the Atlantic ocean is still intact until 2017 but the move is expected to be a prelude to that. This is contradictory to the Obama administration's efforts to reduce fossil-fuel consumption in an attempt to reduce climate change.

One of the other adverse affects of drilling is how it can alter migration patterns, mating habits, and communication of dolphins and whales. 34 species (six endangered) of whales and dolphins exist in the proposed survey area.

It also poses a pollution threat to water quality which can affect the appeal of tourist-luring beaches, hurting a major Florida industry. The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico tarred beaches, contaminated fishers and killed a bunch of sea life which harmed coastal businesses. Allowing off shore drilling puts Florida at risk for a similar disaster.

A positive aspect of allowing drilling in the Atlantic would reduce the consumption of imported oil by tapping into the estimated 3.3 billion barrels of oil and 312 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Atlantic; of course another solution to this would be to wean ourselves off oil completely, developing practical renewable energy sources to replace the more harmful oil industry.

I think this article does a good job of explaining the situation, and I especially appreciate how it outlines the many different ways this could be harmful on an environmental level.