Daily headlines keep people informed of the worsening conditions of the oil catastrophe that recently occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The frustrating thing about this event is that it isn’t the first, or probably the last, time that a massive amount of natural space and wildlife has been put at great risk.

When discussing offshore drilling and its effects, it's almost inevitable to also have to discuss what will be required to clean up the various messes created by this work. Consider that it isn’t just petroleum coming up out of the ground, but it is also a handful of toxins, gases, and other harmful substances. When you couple that with the fact that the operations are occurring far below the surface of the oceans, it generally means that more than a single environment is at risk.

Consider also that the methods of identifying just where to drill can affect wildlife as well. Which species are affected by this? Sonic blasts can upset the delicate natural “radar” of a marine mammals and lead to mass beaching of creature such as whales and dolphins. Of course the effects are not limited to creatures beneath the waves because the infrastructure necessary for offshore drilling often requires alterations to the surrounding landscape as well. Artificial canals and supply roads, massive harbors and ship yards, and transportation routes can all lead to enormous amounts of damage to the environment.

This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2010.