Environmental Effects of Ocean Drilling

This paper analyses the environmental risk that may occur due to the ocean drilling and the long term effects that can result as the scientist continue with their discoveries. In will also discuss the impact caused by excessive machines on the aquatic live. Ocean drilling is part of human activity that involves heavy machines being used to drill sea beds in an effort to discover what lies beneath the sea or water bodies. Too much of these activities are harmful mostly to the marine organism and also to the humans themselves. There is need to control and regulate ocean drilling so as to minimize environmental risk attached to it.

Offshore drilling take place in deep seas and oceans. The scientists and engineers always attempt to find oil and gases trapped in the sea beds, they use sophisticated tools in their operation and this calls for great professionalism and care for they are not only efficient but dangerous if they are not handled carefully. The oil or gas traps may be found near or several feet beneath the ocean, this calls for patients and hope since the final outcome will only tell if the process is worth further exploration or not. While undertaking these major operations we have to keep in mind the dangers that it may pose to the environment. For us to minimize the risks involved there are certain measures that we must put in place.

The drilling process take place under the sea floor, thus water on the sides of the drills will be forced in one way or another to mix with the extracted contents. Since the scientists are not interested with water, it must be returned to the ocean and during extraction water mixed with other fluids used by the machine need to be purified first before being released. This is the first step taken in keeping the environment save and is done by mechanical methods. Some other toxin substances may also be extracted during the operation and these substances should never be released to the water bodies as it may be harmful to the aquatic animals (Boesch D. & Rabalais N 163).

Other environmental factors that need to be taken into consideration are the oil spill after extraction. Despite that we may be careful in extraction there are always leakages that occur along the pipes carrying the oil. Although they may be very minimal it will cause water pollution and which in turn affects the marine lives (Jagg 67). The spilled oil floating on water surface can also evaporate and when they combined with the burnt gases produce by cars and factories that majorly use the oil produced will cause air pollution and this poses a great danger to human life as it bring adverse weather and climatic changes. In Florida, it's known to be the most affected state by hurricanes and oil drilling along their seas is dangerous since the hurricane can strike the drilling platforms and breaks them thus causing a lot of oil spillage this in turn will affect the environment negatively by making some regions not good for plants and animals. A lot of resources will also be wasted and this leads to poor economic growth (Boesch D. & Rabalais N 194). 

In the drilling process there are also some other pollutants associated with it. Example is mud produced in the drilling process which are combined with toxic chemicals from radio-active substance which spreads widely from the production site and are very harmful to the organisms at the base of the sea. This may wipe some species completely and thus affecting the diversity of the aquatic lives. The influence brought about by oil drilling is not only felt by the marine life but also by the people living at the shore side. This calls for strict measures and regulation that protects the entire ecosystem from human disruption and interference. International bodies and the federal government should not allow such activities to be carried out without specialized training on how to protect the environment and its surrounding. The protection of the environment should be the concern of everyone and since some countries benefits economically through oil drilling they should be regulated so that they can only drill specific places only not everywhere in the whole sea (Koeberl & Montari 73).

Workers operating the machine at the site should be well trained on safety and handling measures to reduce oil spills and regular maintenance of machine should be done keeping in mind that there is direct relationship and dependency between land and marine organisms. Further research should be done in advance to establish the actual points where oil and gases are located to avoid drilling so many places in search of them. Moreover, explosives should never be used as this scares away marine life and breaks the natural food chain of animals (Jagg 73). 

Construction of rigs and platforms in the sea also restricts the movement of ship and other sea vessels. This is risky in navigation and can block ships or even cause accidents which may result to deaths and injuries to people.

 The sea constructions therefore should be well plan and put at visible places for navigators to see in advance and avoid heating them. Some sites that were drill and exploited earlier should not be left unprotected since other human activities like swimming and sea sports may take place in those areas and this may pose as a hazard. For our environment to be free from such risks there is need to totally get rid of oil drill and embrace other sources of energy. By so doing we will be preserving our environment and at the same time enhancing God's creation. This will also benefit everyone and reduce cases of conflicts among nations competing for production and supply of oil (Boesch& Rabalais 153).