More than 1000 people protested today about deep sea drilling for oil. They are worried about accidents during the drilling which could spill oil in the sea. Anadarko – an oil company from Texas – is one of the companies drilling for oil. It was also involved in the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010.
In 1969, a big gas and old field – the Maui field – was found off the coast of Taranaki in NZ. This has supplied New Zealand with gas to parts of the North Island and nearly 50% of the oil we need. However, now it is possible to drill in deeper parts of the sea and it is also possible that New Zealand has more gas and oil. Protesters say that deep sea oil drilling has risks. The Minister for Energy says they are very small risks and technology has improved since the oil disaster in the US.
Protesters also believe New Zealand should look at more green technology to replace fossil fuels. The government believes that finding more oil would improve our economy.
Listen to April 9th 2013 to hear more about this.
Vocabulary
- spill – a liquid falls by accident e.g. spill a glass of milk on the floor
- risks – danger, something bad could happen
Questions
1. What is green technology?
2. Do you believe that the government should spend money on green technology instead of drilling for oil?
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Aramis de la Nuez
College of Applied Sciences, Nizwa
OMAN