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Are oil rigs good for our community or not? And if it is how?
Question Date: 2005-03-03
Answer 1:

Whether you think the oil rigs are good for the community or not, depends on what is most important to you. They can be both good or bad, so your own values have to decide which side wins out. Some examples are:
GOOD
1. In Santa Barbara, a lot of oil leaks out into the water naturally, so by having the oil rigs, we may reduce the natural oil leaking out onto our beaches.
2. Almost everybody drives cars, heats houses, and uses plastics. If we want to do these things, we need to get oil from somewhere.
3. The oil rigs provide local jobs and profits.

BAD
1. The oil rigs can have big spills of oil or other pollutants that kill animals and endanger human health.
2. Some people think the oil rigs look ugly and destroy the beauty of the area.

In your opinion, do the good outweigh the bad or not?


Answer 2:

This is a political question, not a purely scientific one. Society needs oil, but oil rigs generate local pollution problems, and the burning of oil releases carbon dioxide, which may affect an increased global temperature.



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