Did you know that 80 percent of pollution to the marine life is a cause of land based sources? Many citizens today overlook the overwhelming amounts of pollution in the ocean because it is not directly connected to their lives; little do they know it affects the ecological protection, socioeconomic effects and health risks in today’s society. This raises the question of what exactly is at stake and is it worth it in the long run to oversee the long-term effects of oceanic pollution? Indefinitely, oil pollution is harming marine life and the human population but even after over a century of oil pollution, when is just too much?

There is various oil drilling regulations that occur throughout the United States. These laws are regulated depending on the location and have specific jurisdictions on a local, state a federal guideline. Permits must be obtained with proof of plans, monitoring and clean up, before a company can begin to drill for oil. These permits are regularly looked over and the re-examination of spill attentiveness and prevention plans is inspected. Specific laws also ban drilling to occur surrounding soil, groundwater, rivers, lakes and ocean waters. Diane Bacher, of eHow Contributing Writer explains, “Regulatory compliance programs grant permits for drilling that contain details on where drilling can occur, under what conditions, and with what technologies, taking into account the geology landscape where the drilling will occur”. Due to the heavy restriction laws on oil drilling and with the increased costs of oil, the demand to finding loop holes in drilling laws are created in order to open more drilling sites and exploration. Is it important to consider both sides of the argument, which is more important, protecting the environment or protecting our wallets?

Bibliography:

Bacher, Diane. "Oil & Gas Drilling Regulations." eHow: How To Do Just About Everything. eHow Contributing Writer, Web. 1 Feb 2010. .

Embach, Carolyn. "Oil Spills: Impact on the Ocean." Water Encyclopedia: Science and Issues. 2010. Advameg, Inc., Web. 28 Jan 2010. .

"Environment ." Chevron Human Energy. May 2009. Chevron Corporation, Web. 1 Feb 2010. .

"Oil and Chemical Spills." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 21 Jan 2010. Web. 20 Nov 2007. .

"WWF for a living animal." Problems: Ocean Pollution. WWF, Web. 28 Jan 2010. .