How does offshore drilling affect the marine life?

Question

How does offshore drilling affect the marine life?

Answer 1

Marine life is hard already, but since offshore drilling is done by companies from the private sector, I would be surprised if the marines even got involved ;)

Answer 2

Ask the Norwegians- they have been doing it clean and effeciently for years. Maybe the moratorium has given us several years to let others come up with better ways of doing it without experimenting in our waters. Shell Oil has developed an in-situ method for extracting shale oil that would use relatively little water and does not involve making creators on wide portions of land. Instead, heating rods are stuck into the earth that heat the shale and then oil falls into a pool below to be collected. Virtually all of the current pollution and “spillage” comes from large tankers transporting oil from other countries and natural seepages. Thus, drilling for our American oil would actually reduce the risk of oil pollution by reducing the number of international oil tankers entering our ports.

Answer 3

Well assuming there are no spills or accidents they are very noisy. Ever notice how you're not supposed to tap on the tank at the fish store? It bothers them considerably and I think can also harm them since water is practically incompressible and carries sound and vibrations much more readily than air. I'm sure the same can be considered for the ocean waters.