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Environmental Effects of Oil Drilling in Florida

Oil drilling has an environmental impact wherever it happens, but this impact assumes a different character under different conditions. Much of the drilling that occurs in Florida is ocean drilling, done off the Florida coast. This type of oil production has an impact on ocean health. While most publicity focuses on accidents and oil spills, oil drilling has a negative impact on the environment even in the absence of catastrophes.

Leakage
- Events such as the oil catastrophe that struck the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 get a lot of press coverage. This doesn't mean that oil drilling is harmless as long as there are no catastrophic spills. Small spills and leaks happen all the time, but they don't make the news because they are seen as the cost of doing business. The waters off the coast of Florida where deep-sea drilling is happening are being polluted by oil even when the news isn't showing pictures of oil-soaked birds.
Oil Use
- The air and landscape of Florida are being compromised by an economy that is dependent on oil. Oil drilling has a direct impact on the Florida environment because of leakage, construction of drilling operations and transportation of products and material. It also has an indirect impact because, after the oil is drilled and refined, it is burned in car engines and industry, leading to release of greenhouse gases. In a semitropical environment such as Florida, which already gets very hot in the summertime, climate change is a critical concern for plants, humans, animals and entire ecosystems.
Hurricane Risk
- The east coast of Florida is in the direct path of many hurricanes. Offshore oil drilling rigs are very vulnerable to damage or destruction by hurricanes. They have no land to buffer the impact of the hurricane. If an oil drilling rig is destroyed by a hurricane, the risk of a massive oil spill on the shores of Florida is very real.

Nature