It’s been talked about in every newspaper and newsfeed on the web, and now it’s fresh off the press here.

Image courtesy of Madhav Pai on Flickr.

Oil drilling in the Arctic. What’s up with that? Why is oil drilling in the Arctic a bad idea? In a hunt to answer a few of these questions I found an abundance of information on the webpage for the Greenpeace Save the Arctic Campaign. Here I cover some of the main points discussed in the article, it will surely bring you up to date on the oil drilling scandal everyone is talking about.

We all know that oil drilling contributes to global warming. The production and use of fossil fuels causes pollution in the form of greenhouse gases leading to global warming. Not only are these pollutants destroying wildlife habitats, the release of toxic chemicals is also wreaking havoc on our health. As long as oil companies continue to drill oil, these pollutants will continue to be released and will perpetuate global warming.

Now, as a result of global warming, ice in the arctic is melting. Not only is this bad news for Arctic wildlife such as polar bears, seals, walruses, and whales because they are losing their habitat, but it also means the speeding up of global warming. Arctic ice actually helps to regulate global temperatures since the ice reflects sunlight. As ice melts away, the exposed ocean will absorb sunlight. In effect, global temperatures will increase.

So the ice in the Arctic is melting; naturally oil companies are not alarmed by the effects their work is having on our planet, in fact they are saying, ‘hey look, here’s more opportunities to drill oil.” That’s right, Shell has decided to do just that—exploit the ice that is melting in the Arctic to drill more oil.

Not only will their drilling perpetuate global warming, but also the means in which they extract the oil will have devastating effects on the arctic environment. Drilling oil is no walk in the park, it’s actually tricky business that can undoubtedly lead to oil spills, killing off wildlife. Oh, and by the way, there is currently no means of recovering oil spills in the Arctic; once it’s happened, it’s happened.

If this post has infuriated you, you can help save the arctic by signing the Save the Arctic Petition.

Other resources:
http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Policy-Solutions/Drilling-and-Mining.aspx