• Drilling for oil harms the environment.Oilfield Pump Jack in Texas Oil Patch image by Doodlebugs from Fotolia.com
  
  Oil makes many of the operations of our everyday lives possible. It provides fuel for our cars and electricity for our homes and businesses. Without oil, we wouldn't enjoy many of life's conveniences, such as indoor lighting and temperature-controlled rooms. However, oil drilling causes a number of environmental problems, such as pollution and wildlife endangerment.
  
  

Pollution

• Refined oil in cars produces a great amount of air pollution every year, and a lot of oil ends up back in the environment, damaging the soil and water as a direct result of oil drilling. When the soil and water is damaged with oil it harms plants and food supplies for animals. According to Offshore Environment, about .25 percent of the oil produced around the world goes back into the environment and ends up in the ocean, which equals about 6 million tons of oil per year. Only about 5 percent of this oil comes from oil spills or leaks.
  
  

Wildlife

• Oil spills and oil dumped back into nature doesn't just disappear. It has a deadly effect on the wildlife of the region. When an operation with oil drilling goes wrong, like in the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the populations of wildlife experience incredible loss because the oil destroys their habitats and suffocates them. This throws off the entire balance of the ecosystem and the food chain. According to Wildlife Extra, a Texas Tech University expert predicted that the death of just three sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico would put the entire population of sperm whales in that area in serious trouble for survival. In addition, the gray whale that lives to the east of Russia and north of Japan is critically endangered because of oil drilling that occurs near their habitat and feeding grounds, according to WWF.
  
  

Leaks and Spills

• When a pipe comes loose or an accident on a drilling rig allows tons of oil-or even just a few gallons--into the environment, those around the oil drill are affected. Contact with oil over an extended period of time has a negative effect on all living organisms, and many will die or become sick as a result. Rare spills like the Exxon-Valdez in Alaska or the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico get a lot of media attention, but minor spills happen on a more frequent basis. According to Infoplease, 35 oil spills were recorded in the 43 years from 1967 until 2010. Such spills damage the quality of the air and water, and made a number of local inhabitants and clean-up workers sick.