Argumentative Essay On Oil Spills

Oil: pitching people against each other and destroying Earth’s habitat since the 19th century. It seems like the conversation on oil is never ending. Nations are constantly waging wars in order to possess the wealth that “black gold” brings. The devastation is inherent in the Middle East, where oil-rich nations and world powers constantly bargain for their gains using human lives. Oil burns and releases toxins and CO2, poking holes in the ozone layer. People inhale oil fumes and suffer with asthma. There are a million ways that oil is destroying human lives, but if we get off land and go underwater, oil’s damaging effect on the oceans’ habitats adds the more reasons to strive for the use of alternative energy sources.
Since oil began to be used widely as a fuel, there hasn’t been a year without a copious number of oil spill incidents. In the US alone, the Office of Response and Restoration of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) responds to over a hundred oil spills each year (NOAA). While spills happen on both land and water, ocean spills are much more difficult to contain and recover from. They happen easily, almost too easily, either caused by carelessness, accidents, or natural disasters, and their negative environmental impacts could take decades to recover from. It seems like as long as humans are still depending on oil, spills will continue to wreck havoc on marine life.
Oil harms marine animals both physically and chemically. Spilled oil can