The Environmental Effects of The Oil Industry

2641 Words6 Pages

The Environmental Effects of The Oil Industry

The worst imaginable environmental catastrophe that could occur in Maryland has just become a reality. The lifeblood of Southern Maryland's Watermen has been forever affected. The ecosystems of the Patuxtent River and Chesapeake Bay have been irreversibly contaminated. The Three Mile Island and Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents have affected the world ecosystems; but the Chalk Point oil spill has reached us here in Southern Maryland. The ethical considerations with generating electricity from fossil fuels, specifically oil, has a profound impact on us all. We all use electricity to make our lives easier and more productive. By using this electricity have we given our permission for the oil companies free reign in order to provide us with the service we demand?? Are we just as responsible for the oil spill as the corporate leaders who run the companies? As citizens we are in a position to develop and enforce regulations to protect ourselves. Do we also protect the environment; or is the environment just something for us to use? These and many other moral dilemmas exist for modern man.

The world wide oil industry supplies mankind with many life improving products and services. At the same time these technological advances challenge us with numerous ethical considerations.

Electricity is one of the chief products of the oil industry. We use oil to heat our homes and businesses. We use oil to produce electricity to light our homes and businesses also.

Transportation is another benefit of oil. Of course we all know that we use oil to run our vehicles, but that is not the only benefit. Oil is also used in combustion engines.

The oil industry ha...

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...emonstrated above each group identified has a chance to police and control the operation of these facilities. They all can choose to pass the buck and blame someone else; or they can step up and take control. We all have an ethical responsibility to do what is right. We need to protect the environment while ensuring human prosperity. The Government is here for us, they work for us and we must ensure that they do what we want, not what is best for industry or big business.

Work Cited

"Facts about Oil." American Petroleum Institute. Online American Petroleum Institute October 21 1999

"Frequently Asked Questions." American Petroleum Institute. Online 1995-2000, American Petroleum Institute June 17 1998

United States. Cong. Constitution of the United States of America. Washington: GPO 1999

Beavers, Patsy. Telephone interview. 2 October 2000

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