When a young girl steps out of the ocean after swimming, she suddenly notices oily brown stains on her swimsuit. When he looks into the water again, the tar balls flow with the water current. The girl automatically washes away toxins from her body and no longer wants to go on vacation to the beach. This results in lower tourist rates. Even if accidents do occur, coastal workers continually strive to keep the beaches clean for tourists who visit regularly. The recent British Petroleum oil spill that devastated the Gulf Coast has turned people away from offshore drilling, but this type of drilling can actually benefit the United States without major destruction. One of the benefits of offshore drilling is that it produces less pollution than the average person assumes. Pollution flows through the air in every area of ​​the United States. Transportation emits more pollution than offshore drilling. While both pollute the environment, offshore oil drilling remains far less contaminated than Americans might think. The US Minerals Management Service states: “. . . Since 1975, 101,997 barrels of the 11.855 billion barrels of American oil extracted offshore have leaked” (Baird). Overall, this result should bring some relief regarding pollution. In the article, Baird explains that this number remains less than 1% of the overall oil contamination rate (Baird). According to this information, the pollution found in the United States comes from various sources. If Americans care about pollution, oil drilling should not be a major concern. Pollution from trucks appears to have a greater impact on the environment than pollution from offshore oil drilling. Sean Kilcarr explains: “. . . truck with diesel engine. . . [I'm]...... halfway through the document ...... we are deeply in debt and must look for a way out. Works Cited Baird, Stephen L. “Offshore Oil Drilling: Buying Energy Independence or Buying Time?”. Technology Teacher 68.3 (2008): 13-17. Premier of academic research. EBSCO. Network. March 23, 2011.Kilcarr, Sean. “Emissions Control: Do We Have a Problem?” American City & County 120.2 (2005): 42-46. Professional and career collection. EBSCO. Network. April 8, 2011. "Offshore Drilling Will Create Jobs and Help the Economy." Offshore drilling. Ed. Margherita Haerens. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Views. Gale Opposing views in context. Network. March 23, 2011. "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea." Economist 388.8592 (2008): 29-30. Premier of academic research. EBSCO. Network. April 8, 2011. Zuckerman, Mortimer B. “Stopping the Energy Madness.” US News & World Report July 21, 2008: 118+. Premier of academic research. EBSCO. Network. April 8. 2011.