Peer Critique

While reading the blog from classmate Emma King "Whales or Wells?" I find myself morally torn between the exploration and drilling of our coastal waters and the conservation of sea life.  I myself am working towards a degree in Hydrogeology and hoping to pursue a career in the oil industry.  I am about to marry into a family of men who have or are currently working in that industry.   In a perfect world the two sides could come to a compromise or invent a new way of oil and gas exploration that is less damaging to the environment.

While reading Emma's blog I find myself agreeing with her passion to protect our wildlife, however, I do stand more firmly on the side of the oil industry in finding ways wean our country off of foreign resources.  According to an article written by the Wall Street Journal if America were to continue our explorations for natural resources we could halve our reliance on foreign countries. It goes on to state that the U.S. Energy Information Administration claims that by 2020 more than 82% of our crude oil would come from the Atlantic Basin. Offshore drilling explorations could not only find oil and gas but could potentially help determine the best places for wind turbines and other renewable energy.  

Environmentalists are screaming about the danger to sea life should seismic testing be approved, however a collation of scientists have published a type of "go-to" manual on how best to protect the sea animals.  It states that the first step in conducting any offshore testing should be to plan according.  Companies should gather baseline ecological data about a region and learn about what animals might be present. The published manual also states that companies can plan the testing around the animals migratory pattern and test when they are not present  

The bottom line is that while Emma is right to be concerned about the preservation of our most precious sea life, there are ways to continue the battle to draw away from foreign oils and gases all the while being cautious and safe.