If ever there is an oil spill anywhere near as large as the one in the Gulf of Mexico, not only with it turn our birds black with oil, but it will also ruin New Zealand's fishing and tourism industries. DID YOU KNOWthat more than 50% of all the available jobs and 70% of all exports in NZ rely on our world-wide reputation for being "clean and green"? Chairman of Te Runanga o Kaikoura, Marc Soloman, said "we’ve pushed the pure New Zealand theme, but here we have a Government weakening those processes to have a clean green environment." Not only will an oil spill threaten the lives of the sea and shore life endemic to our country but we will no longer be looked at as an idillic place to live, meaning less tourists and more people without jobs.
The reason Anadarko are drilling so deep in the first place is because we are running out of oil. Ever wondered why this crude oil is called a "fossil fuel"? It is literally made out of fossils. Tiny plankton -- microscopic plants and animals that live in the ocean -- floated to the ocean floor during the Jurassic period, a time when giant sauropods and carnosaurs roamed the Earth over 180,000,000 years ago. The plankton was buried under layers of mud and, as time went by, turned into gas and oil. But this did not happen in a matter of days! It took millions of years, and if we use up all the Earth's fossil fuels now, we will run out, forever.
And now the few benefits of drilling for crude oil.
Peter McIntyre, president of the Otago Chamber of Commerce, believes that the oil drilling will actually bring more jobs to our country. "It's about jobs.
More jobs for our city. High-paying jobs for our city." McIntyre is suggesting that with the extra job opportunities, "the whole city would reap positive benefits". This would mean more money in the area that is being drilled in, which, if used in the right context, could mean free healthcare/dentistry and richer communities.