Persuasive Essay On Oil Spills

Danger: Oil Spill Today, many marine animals are in danger because of man’s greed for oil. Many people believe that oil spills should be monitored and that the oil company or person that are responsible for the oil spill, must pay a fine to clean it up. Even more Americans believe that oil spills could be reduced if we put limits on the number of drilling platforms and enforce stronger laws and punishments. Oil spills are a cause of accidents on oil drilling platforms, and these spills affect the environment, economy, and tourism industry. Therefore, because oil spills lead to animal deaths, tax increases, and negatively affect gas prices, we must limit oil drilling and increase oil drilling safety procedures to diminish oil spills. Both land and marine animals are immediately impacted by oil spills. Oil spills are a dangerous pollutant that affects the ecosystem in harsh ways. Turtles are the most common and severely affected marine animals. Wallace “J” Nichols, a Research Associate of the BP oil spill, explains:
The sea turtle is… becoming one of the poster species… because it gets hit at every life stage from the babies and the female turtles on the beach to the turtles who have to eat and make a living in the ocean at the surface and on the bottom. (Gulf Oil Spills Effects on Wildlife)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) went out to see how many turtles were harmed or killed during the BP oil spill in 2010, and they report, “About 450 living, oiled sea turtles were rescued, brought into rehabilitation, cleaned, and released back into the wild… Over 600 turtles were found dead during the oil spill…” (2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Sea Turtles, Dolphins, and Whales.) Turtles were severely affected, but birds had a greater toll to pay. Moe Flannery, a Collections Manager of the Ornithology and Mammalogy Department of California Academy of Sciences,