Geography Essay
Examine the geopolitical and environmental impacts of oil production in the Bahamas. (15)
Recently, there has been a plan to drill oil in the Bahamas. This oil drilling will take place somewhere in the Southern Bahamas, closer to Cuba. However, there needs to be a referendum to see if the Bahamian public agrees with the thought of drilling oil. Before this referendum can happen, the government has allowed ‘exploratory’ drilling to see if there is actually oil in the Bahamas worth making a referendum about. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has predicted that there is a 95% chance that there are at least 554 million recoverable barrels of oil. If there is a specific amount of oil found, then a company will be able to come into the Bahamas and begin to drill. Because of this, the referendum for oil drilling will be in the year 2014 or 2015. There are many different positive impacts that oil drilling could give to the Bahamas. However, there are negative impacts that are geopolitical and environmental for the Bahamas as well. Positive geopolitical impacts that oil drilling will have on the Bahamas include the effect that drilling will have on the economy in the Bahamas. The unemployment rate in January 2013 was at 14.7%. This means that approximately 52,000 Bahamians are unemployed. If oil drilling takes place, there is a possibility that between 1,500 and 15,000 jobs will be created. These jobs could be the cause of the multiplier effect. The multiplier effect is when there is an increase in spending produces an increase in the national income and consumption. So with this, people that have jobs from oil drilling will have more money to purchase more things and will be able to buy more goods, which will in the long run create even more jobs. According to the government, if oil is found, in the first 10 years of oil production, there will be a total earning of approximately $30 million for the Bahamas. There will also be a way to avoid incoming
Recently, there has been a plan to drill oil in the Bahamas. This oil drilling will take place somewhere in the Southern Bahamas, closer to Cuba. However, there needs to be a referendum to see if the Bahamian public agrees with the thought of drilling oil. Before this referendum can happen, the government has allowed ‘exploratory’ drilling to see if there is actually oil in the Bahamas worth making a referendum about. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has predicted that there is a 95% chance that there are at least 554 million recoverable barrels of oil. If there is a specific amount of oil found, then a company will be able to come into the Bahamas and begin to drill. Because of this, the referendum for oil drilling will be in the year 2014 or 2015. There are many different positive impacts that oil drilling could give to the Bahamas. However, there are negative impacts that are geopolitical and environmental for the Bahamas as well. Positive geopolitical impacts that oil drilling will have on the Bahamas include the effect that drilling will have on the economy in the Bahamas. The unemployment rate in January 2013 was at 14.7%. This means that approximately 52,000 Bahamians are unemployed. If oil drilling takes place, there is a possibility that between 1,500 and 15,000 jobs will be created. These jobs could be the cause of the multiplier effect. The multiplier effect is when there is an increase in spending produces an increase in the national income and consumption. So with this, people that have jobs from oil drilling will have more money to purchase more things and will be able to buy more goods, which will in the long run create even more jobs. According to the government, if oil is found, in the first 10 years of oil production, there will be a total earning of approximately $30 million for the Bahamas. There will also be a way to avoid incoming