I am having a discussion in another forum on the risks of offshore drilling in the Florida Gulf Coast. Most of the other party's arguments are based on the fact that natural oil seepage is 20 times more than man made spills and therefore the risks of drilling are minimal. Globally speaking I have no argument against that statistic, but oil seepage is distributed all over the world and an accidental oil spill in the Florida Gulf Coast could bankrupt the Tourism industry in all that area. The recent Timor Sea spill is 100 miles long... all the coast from Tampa to Naples... Can anyone help me gather recent facts/stats on the risks of offshore drilling near heavily used and beautiful pristine beaches?
They are still finding oil all over Prince William Sound 20+ years after the Exxon Valdez spill. Sea otter populations are ~50% of what would be considered normal. Every tide change washes oil into the sea water, and back on to the beach/rocks. Fla is a more benign place than Alaska, but why are we chasing a few barrels of oil when we should be weaning ourselves both due to peak oil, and CO2?
As with most things, there is some truth in what they are saying. However, comparing oil seep to oil spills is apples to oranges. If they were equivalent, the Santa Barbara Channel would be a wasteland. Natural Petroleum Seeps Release Equivalent Of Up To 80 Exxon Valdez Oil Spills UCSB Hydrocarbon Seeps Project
Yes but... Oil seeps are natural and some say they are responsible for 80% of oil in marine environments, some say only 10%... which number is best? Additionally, oil seeps are distributed globally and I am sure there are no oil seeps next to Waikiki, Tahiti and many other renowned beaches... otherwise they will not be famous and nobody would go there. I am trying to make the point that regardless of the size of oil seeps, drilling close to a nice beach (which does not currently suffer the inconveniences of natural oil seeps) is too darn risky...
