Oil Spills and Offshore Drilling

         This book was mainly about oil spills and their negative effects on the planet, the people, and the animals, and how these oil spillages have a very bad effect on these things. The author writes a lot about how offshore drilling has increased in the last century because people are becoming a lot more dependent on oil. The book states many things that show how the United States is using most of the earth's oil supply but mostly taking it from other countries, as it doesn't have any of it's own. The book states that, "In 2008 the United States produced 10 percent of the world's petroleum and consumed 23 percent." These numbers are really high, and I think that the author included this statistic to inform the reader about how the United States is mostly to blame for the oil spillages and the over usage of petroleum.

       The author includes different quotes and facts at the end of each chapter. Some quotes strongly support the offshore drilling industry, like, "Expanding offshore drilling would also create jobs... well paying and long-term and funded entirely by the private sector."While other quotes show the offshore drilling is in fact a bad thing for this planet. "Offshore drilling is a dirty and dangerous business. We are pushing the limits of the environment and technology, while increasing the chances of catastrophe." I think that the author chose to put quotes from both sides because he/she wants to show different people's opinions of the topic of oil spills and offshore drilling effect the planet. I think that the author is trying to teach the reader about how bad oil spills and offshore drilling really is, and I think the author includes those quotes that explain how offshore drilling is a good thing just so that the reader thinks that the author doesn't really have a bias, but if you look at the book as a whole, mostly every chapter is about the downsides of oil spills and offshore drilling.

        This book actually taught me a lot about oils spills and the oil business within the United States. I didn't really know much about oil spills and the dangers of them before I read this book. It included a lot of statistics which really shed light on the big issue that doesn't really seem like that big an issue. This book has made me think that offshore drilling and oil spills is a really serious issue and I think that either  the government or someone needs to step in and try to prevent the oil spills, as they have such a negative effect on the planet and the oceans. It seems like the United States is using too much oil, which is causing a lot of these spills. This book also makes me think that people should maybe start to use another type of energy like renewable energy or anything that the government could substitute in for oil, as using too much oil is obviously not working.