To Drill or Not to Drill
Kaiulani Kuehnel
ETH/316 Ethics and Social Responsibility
October 22, 2015
Imran Anwar

To Drill or Not to Drill
In 2004, the Bush administration expressed the need to expedite the set-up of drilling rigs on a crucial part of land to many wildlife species to drill for natural gas. This area of land is a corridor for wildlife migration of many species, a big trout population in the Colorado River, and home to the dwindling population of Sage Grouse. The government wants to drill on this land because of the natural gas that is lying hundreds of feet below the ground, enough oil to supply the nation for one year (Nightline, 2004).
The implications of such a project has the potential to throw the ecosystem into a downward spiral. There are already thousands of drilling rigs, numbering 5,200 in an area crossing five states. The government wants to expand this number to about 10,000. What are the ethical issues of such a project? Encroaching industrial civilization poses a migratory issue for the wildlife. Roads will be built that the animals have to cross, fences made of barbed wire are springing up everywhere, drilling run-off is polluting the rivers, streams, and lakes that harbor a big trout population. The barbed wire fences alone causes much grief for the animals. The wildlife has to choose to jump over the or crawl under the fence. Either way can cause great bodily harm to the animal and in some cases death, if the animal gets snagged on the barbed wire.
Aside from the obvious physical obstacles the animals must overcome, are the ecosystem obstacles, water pollution and depleted land. The run-off from the drilling rigs will find its way into the rivers, lakes, and streams, which are home to many species of aquatic life, including Trout. These water formations are also a source of drinking water for the many species