To Drill or Not to Drill? Prospectus Intro

So I have decided to change my topic from invasive species to offshore drilling which I think is a much more accessible and relevant topic to today's environmental issues. Offshore drilling has become a major topic of debate in the US today as oil prices are rising and the search for energy independence is on the forefront of national policy. The logic behind offshore drilling is that the US needs oil, the US has the resources that produce oil, so why not get it from US soil (water)? While it is true that the US does produce some oil already, many people in the general public , the oil industry, and government alike are calling for an expansion of oil drilling and production. Currently America only produces about 10% of the total oil used in the world. Much of this oil comes from the Louisiana coast (an offshore drilling sector), Alaska, and California (half offshore, half on land). The idea of expanding offshore drilling would target the Gulf of Mexico where an estimated 18 billion extra barrels of oil could be produced on top of the 68 billion already being procured.
While the facts are that the US has oil and it can be drilled and used there are also two sides to the debate over whether or not the US should actually follow through with the plan. The side that is in favor of drilling cite the rising price of gas as an important reason to drill. They say that any extra gas would help alleviate the principles of supply and demand. If there is greater supply, the price of gas will go down. The pro side also looks to the dependence on foreign countries (mainly in the middle east) as a unhealthy relationship and one that puts the US at the whim of major oil producing countries. If the US can find and use more of its own resources then we are less likely to be hurt if supply of oil from those foreign producers diminishes or ceases.
On the other side of the ball, those against additional offshore drilling have three main concerns, environmental side effects of drilling, the irrational time line of producing from additional offshore drilling and the dependence on traditional energy resources. The first concern, environmental impact, includes the possible catastrophic risk of oil spills along America's coastlines which would not only harm wildlife and plant species but also ruin the tourism industry in areas such as Florida and Texas. They say it is not a question of if an accident will occur but when it will occur. The second argument against drilling is that the actual time it would take to procure any oil from additional drilling is a minimum of 8 years. The logic is that in eight years is far too long to wait for oil especially since the US would run through the oil found in only three years. Eight years of work and potential environmental damages are not worth three years of oil use. And finally, opponents of drilling say that drilling is a step in the wrong direction. rather than spend millions to find more oil which runs out in a short time span, why not invest in new energy technology which has the potential for clean, renewable use for decades to come.

Texas A+M Economist
http://www.kbtx.com/tamu/headlines/25544349.html

Gulf News Article
http://gulfnews.com/business/opinion/americans-debate-pros-and-cons-of-offshore-drilling-1.118235

Virginia Senators
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60R15M20100128?type=politicsNews

Energy Bill- Offshore Drilling Language
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/01/22/22greenwire-offshore-drilling-language-poses-problems-for-73614.html

Wash Post-Obama Drilling Ban
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/11/drilling-ban-revisited/

Offshore Magazine
http://www.offshore-mag.com/index.html

USA Today Article
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-07-13-offshore-drilling_N.htm

Natural Gas.org
http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/extraction_offshore.asp