Is offshore drilling bad for the environment?

Question

Is offshore drilling bad for the environment?

Answer 1

All fossil fuel use is bad for the environment. It releases CO2 into the air, which causes global warming.

Answer 2

Well, it is an industrial activity, so there will be localized damage even in the event of everything going as planned.  The big concern is that things will go badly wrong at one of the drilling locations and cause a huge release of crude oil. A large event of that nature would have severe impact.  

It's a question of risk versus reward.  It appears that we do need the oil, but on the other hand it wouldn't be the first time there was a major spill from an offshore resource gathering station (nice euphemism, that one eh), and in fact you can pretty well count on it happening sooner or later.  Is it worth it or not?

Answer 3

Like any other excavation operation there is an effect on the immediate environment, and should a spill happen it could cause a huge disaster.  It is risky.

Answer 4

The drilling itself is not.  The local environment could be temporarily damaged if a significant spill occurred, otherwise the environment would be essentially unaffected.