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thinning of Earths protective ozone layer

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PERIOD 4

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Blog

Oil and gas drilling is a dirty business

Oil and gas drilling has serious consequences for our wildlands and communities. Drilling projects operate around the clock, disrupting wildlife, water sources, human health, recreation and other aspects of public lands that were set aside and held in trust for the American people.

The Trump administration's reckless policies put drilling above all else on public lands. The oil and gas industry is encroaching upon too many of our nation's unspoiled wildlands. And the consequences could be devastating for the environment and local communities.

1. Drilling disrupts wildlife habitat

Oil and gas extraction is a menace to wildlife. Loud noises, human movement and vehicle traffic from drilling operations can disrupt avian species' communication, breeding and nesting. The infrastructure built for energy development can also get in the way. Powerlines, wellpads, fences, and roads fragment habitats for many species.

The pronghorn antelope and mule deer in Wyoming are among the species most impacted. In the winter, some pronghorn travel south from the Grand Teton National Park to the Upper Green River Valley to escape heavy snow. Their journey is one of the longest big game migrations in the U.S.

But recently, animals making this age-old trek have faced a series of obstacles, notably, intense activity in major natural gas fields. The pronghorn have to navigate past enormous wellpads and noisy compressor stations to find what forage hasn't been bulldozed. Future energy development farther south could ultimately have major impacts on the abundance of this herd.

2. Oil spills can be deadly to animals

Big oil spills are known killers of wildlife. Just think back to the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The resulting spill covered 68,000 square miles of sea surface and killed approximately 1 million coastal and offshore seabirds, 5,000 marine mammals and 1,000 sea turtles.

Smaller spills, including of other substances in the oil extraction process, don't always make the headlines but can also be dangerous. During oil extraction on land, drilling fluids are injected into the well for lubrication. These oil-based fluids known as "mud" are supposed to be captured in lined pits for disposal, but they're often spilled and splashed around the drilling site.

Big and small, oil spills have been steadily increasing in the West's top producing states. A recent report by the Center for Western Priorities found that 2,834 oil spills were reported by oil and gas companies in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming in 2018 - a record number since the organization started to collect this data in 2015.

These spills can have long-term environmental impacts and devastating effects on animals through direct contact, inhalation and ingestion of toxic chemicals. Oil and chemical spills can

* Damage animals' liver, kidney, spleen, brain or other organs
* Cause cancer, immune system suppression and reproductive failure
* Trigger long-term ecological changes by damaging animals' nesting or breeding grounds

In spite of these risks, the federal government is attempting to quietly open several marine sanctuaries and wilderness lands to drilling. One of the most shocking plans would hand over 19 million acres of untouched wilderness in Alaska's Arctic Refuge to oil and gas companies. The disastrous move would expose fragile wildlife and tundra to oil spills.

3. Air and water pollution hurt local communities

There are 1.3 million oil and gas facilities across the U.S. - from active production wells to processing plants. More than 12 million people live within 1/2 mile of these facilities, and many are exposed to air and water pollution on a daily basis, which can lead to an array of health issues. The most affected are people of color, who typically live in neighborhoods with more pollution.

Oil and gas production are among the main culprits of air pollution - one of the world's biggest killers according to the United Nations. When fossil fuels are burned by power plants, automobiles and industrial facilities, they generate toxic gases. Breathing this air can trigger respiratory problems such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases, developmental issues and even cancer.

The health risks from oil and gas extraction are not limited to air pollution. The drilling method of "fracking" is known for contaminating drinking water sources with chemicals that lead to cancer, birth defects and liver damage. The controversial method injects a mixture of water and chemicals into rock formations to release oil and gas. As a result, it generates huge volumes of wastewater with dangerous chemicals that can leak to ponds, lagoons and underground aquifers.

Although the health threats from oil and gas production are very real, the federal government continues to push for fossil fuel drilling near communities. The city of Bakersfield, in California, is a sad example of that trend. The Trump administration is pushing to open up more than one million acres of land to drilling and fracking in the region. The move would directly impact Latino communities.

4. Dangerous emissions contribute to climate change

Since the industrial revolution, humans have been burning more and more fossil fuels, releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These emissions have been trapping unwanted solar heat and causing the planet's temperatures to rise. The consequences are all around us in the form of longer wildfire seasons, stronger hurricanes and harsher heatwaves.

Most dirty emissions originate from fossil fuels. The most abundant type of greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, primarily released into the air through the burning of oil, coal and gas that fuel everything from cars to manufacturing. Another gas, methane, is released during the extraction of natural gas through the method of "fracking."

The U.S. is one of the world's top emitters, and yet the Trump administration has done little to tackle the problem. And there's a lot that could be done right here in our back yard. Currently, 24 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, can be traced to fossil fuel extracted from federal lands.

The federal government should rethink its practice of leasing public lands to the fossil fuel industry. They should also regulate leaks and deliberate discharge of methane on our wild lands. Ultimately, the goal should be to install renewable energy projects at appropriate "low-impact" sites on public lands to accelerate the country's transition from dirty to clean energy.

5. Oil and gas development ruins pristine landscapes

Infrastructure built for oil and gas extraction can leave behind radical impacts on the land. The construction of roads, facilities and drilling sites known as well pads requires the use of heavy equipment and can destroy big chunks of pristine wilderness. The damage is often irreversible.

A University of Montana study found that between 2000 and 2012, fossil fuel infrastructure occupied about 3 million hectares of land in the country - the equivalent of three Yellowstone National Parks. Those developments removed large amounts of rangelands and vegetation that is used by wildlife and people.

The study's researchers warned that even if oil and gas companies eventually abandon these sites, it can take centuries before the land fully recovers. The problem is that most fossil fuel development is located in semi-arid climate that receives little precipitation. A full recovery would require human intervention and a bundle of resources.

Development of oil and gas complexes can cause serious and long-term damage to land, including

* Stripping the environment of vegetation
* Increasing erosion, which can lead to landslides and flooding
* Disturbing the land's ground surface
* Seriously fragmenting unspoiled wildlife habitats

6. Fossil fuel extraction turns visitors away

Hunters, anglers, hikers, birders and vacationing families go into the wilderness to experience nature in all its beauty. Oil tanks, power poles, noisy compressors and busy roads are not what they expect to see. Too much noise near a good fishing hole, a population of wildlife or a formerly peaceful landscape can ruin anyone's nature getaway.

The unsightly effects of oil and gas can degrade visitors' experience on public lands and ultimately hurt local communities that depend on tourism. Outdoor recreation is a big driver of local and national economies. In 2018, visitors to national parks spent an estimated $20.2 billion on their trips and supported 329,000 jobs, according to the National Park Service.

But under Trump, polluters are getting to call the shots on public lands, ushering in a new era of unbridled energy development on wildlands that deserve preservation.

7. Light pollution is impacting wildlife and wilderness

The glare from oil and gas sites is so strong that it's even visible from space. Photos of Earth taken by NASA satellites show North Dakota's Bakken oil fields burning almost as bright as cities like Minneapolis and Chicago. Much of that light is produced by the burning - or flaring - of natural gas, well pads and storage sites.

Scientists have found that the bright glow hurts pollinators such as bees. These insects have a very important job of moving pollen around to generates new fruits and plants. But luminosity disrupts their sleep, feeding and reproductive cycles, leading to the dwindling of plants such as the cabbage thistle.

The brightness is also changing uniquely beautiful landscapes like the Chaco National Park. The park's pristine skies could disappear to the human eye due to the glare coming from nearby oil and gas complexes. The park is known for being one of the best places in the world to stargaze, but the show could come to an end if the federal government doesn't permanently protect the surrounding area from this development.

Much of America's oil and gas comes from public lands, which is why The Wilderness Society continues to fight against drilling in our nation's wildest places. Check out some last remaining wild places that are just Too Wild to Drill.

For joining the movement to save our lands.

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7 ways oil and gas drilling is bad for the environment

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Blog Oil and gas drilling has serious consequences for our wildlands and communities. Drilling projects operate around the clock, disrupting wildlife, water sources, human health, recreation and other aspects of public lands that were set aside and held in trust for the American people.

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Many aspects of the offshore drilling process can cause environmental impacts, from locating the oil, to drilling and pumping the oil to the surface, to the infrastructure required to drill and transport it. These environmental impacts may vary in intensity depending on many factors, so this is just a summary of some of the potential impacts that are likely to occur.
Locating the oil
Seismic surveys have been reported to impact fish and marine life. Whales in particular are extremely sensitive to the seismic waves generated when searching for oil and gas deposits in the sea bed. The noise causes them to become disoriented, which can lead to disruption to migratory patterns and even mass beachings. It is also reported to impair the health and hearing of fish.
Effects on the ocean floor
Offshore drilling physically disrupts the seafloor habitat and the benthic community. Between the actual footprint of the drill rig, undersea pipelines, dredging ship channels, and the cuttings and other drilling debris, there are many elements of drilling that leave a lasting impact on the ocean floor. This is important to note, especially when considering that many of the world's most sensitive ocean floor habitats are also good sources of oil and gas. For instance, the Gulf of Mexico, the arctic and the Great Barrier Reef are all extremely diverse ecosystems with significant oil and gas deposits.

Some experts claim that oil rig platforms are good habitat for fish. In fact, as part of the "rigs to reefs" program, old oil rigs are tipped over and left on the ocean floor to become artificial reefs.
Water pollution
There are two main sources of water pollution from offshore drilling: drilling fluid and oil spills and leaks.

Firstly, the drilling fluid is claimed to be toxic to marine life. This fluid, used to lubricate, cool and regulate pressure when drilling, contains petroleum products and heavy metals. The impacts of drilling fluid differ significantly, because it's so often made up of different concentrations of the above elements and applied in different ways. Reported impacts include affecting the health and reproduction of marine life, reducing the populations of bottom-dwelling creatures and biomagnifying toxic substances in the food chain.

Secondly, the risk of oil spills, leaks and catastrophes is another key consideration. Opponents of offshore oil drilling claim that one oil rig can "dump more than 90,000 metric tons of drilling fluid and metal cuttings into the ocean" over its lifetime (data from Culture Change). Although we are all aware of the effects of oil on seabirds, oil is also extremely toxic to marine life (see Pew Trusts' "The Future of Oil and Water" for a good explanation). However, it should be noted that some specialists say that significantly more oil is spilled into US waters by marine transportation and industrial and municipal sources than offshore oil and gas drilling. Some proponents of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico claim that the marine life in that region is pre-adapted to oil in the water due to natural seeps. There have also been claims that offshore oil drilling can reduce the amount of oil leaking into the ocean from these natural seeps.

There is mixed opinion about the amount of water pollution caused by offshore oil drilling (when there are no catastrophic oil spills). Some specialists claim that discharges into the ocean from offshore drilling (in the US) contain insignificant levels of toxic chemicals due to the regulations at the state and federal level. Environmental groups would disagree, claiming that offshore oil drilling has a significant negative impact on fragile marine and coastal ecosystems, and that the risk of a devastating spill isn't worth taking.

The effects from large offshore oil spills like the recent Deepwater Horizon catastophe are twofold; we must consider the effect of the oil spill itself and the effects of cleanup efforts. When a large amount of oil spills into a body of water, the oil spreads mainly onto the surface of the water and can either remain cohesive or break up due to wave action. Over time, the oil may degrade naturally by weathering, the effects of sunlight, or be broken down by microorganisms. If the oil spill reaches the shore, then terrestrial environments will also be contaminated. Oil spills are extremely detrimental to fisheries and wildlife in both coastal and marine environments, due to the toxicity of the oil and its lasting impacts on the food chain.

Oil spill cleanups can introduce other impacts onto the environment. Floating rings are often used to contain the oil, while other physical, biological and chemical methods are used to remove the oil. Physical removal of the oil can remove large amounts of oil, but decontamination efforts can damage marine and coastal environments. Biological methods include bioremediation; the addition of microorganisms to speed up the degradation of the oil. Finally, chemical methods include the addition of dispersants, which break the oil down into smaller particles. Some dispersants, including Corexit, which was used in the Gulf of Mexico cleanup in 2010, are considered toxic in some parts of the world. The long term effects of the use of bioremediation and chemical dispersants, especially on such a large scale, are unknown.

Air Pollution
Air pollution is generated from the operation of machinery on offshore oil rigs as well as the burn-off of gases. Without factoring in the air pollution from its end product or the refinement process, the oil platforms themselves have an impact on local air quality and globally on climate change. It is estimated that over its lifetime, which is ten to twenty years, "a single rig can pollute as much as 7,000 cars driving 50 miles per day" (USPIRG). The NRDC States that "an average oil and gas exploration well spews roughly 50 tons of nitrogen oxides, 13 tons of carbon monoxide, 6 tons of sulfur oxides, and 5 tons of volatile organic chemicals.

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The Environmental Impacts of Offshore Oil Drilling

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If there had been any doubt before, the recent catastrophe on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico has really driven home the message that drilling for oil is a messy and risky business. Consequently, decisions are now being made that affect the future of offshore oil drilling.

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Planet 100: Offshore Oil Drilling Explained

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Conserve energy, if we conserve energy we would not need to use as much oil meaning less rigs and less spills and waste

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Ensure that environmental health and safety standards are sufficient and enforced to help prevent oil spills.

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the burning of gasses produces air pollution, adding to the global warming and ozone depletion problem.

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The drilling fluid is toxic to marine animals putting harm to them. Huge oil rigs destroy animal habitats. And large oil spills have killed many animals.

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- the drilling fluid is toxic to marine life
- There are many oil spills, and there is tons of metals and chemicals used for offshore drilling that have been dumped into the ocean as a form of waste removal

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HOW WE CAN HELP

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Offshore drilling rigs distrupts the ocean floor habitats.

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formed from the remains of prehistoric plants and animals, Over time, increasing pressure turned into rock then slowly “cooked” the organic matter into petroleum.

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The continental shelf is an underwater landmass which extends from continent, resulting in an area of relatively shallow water known as a shelf sea.

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a large structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas

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harmful material that can enter the biosphere through the land, air, or water

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Vocabulary

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Laws in California, North Carolina and Texas make any responsible party liable for an oil spill.

North Carolina’s law makes the responsible party liable for all clean up and removal costs that arise from the discharge of oil into coastal fishing waters or offshore waters from offshore wells, rigs and platforms.

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Offshore drilling Creates various forms of pollutants, which have negative effects on the ocean and marine life.

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Geologist use satalite maps and study surface features, check rock and soil, and use the Gravity Meter to find signs of petroleum gasses.  Once they find signs of petroleum, they take a sample of the drilling. If the drilling sample is good the build a large oil rig meant to last years over the place, sucking the oil up that is trapped under the ocean.

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Offshore drilling is the operation of oil wells on the continental shelf, sometimes in water hundreds of feet deep.