No More Drilling for Oil

Claire Insley, the Vegan Society of Aotearoa’s media spokesperson, addresses the government’s decision to expand oil and gas exploration in the waters of Aotearoa.

I am old enough to remember being told in school that there were only 30 more years left of fossil fuels left in the ground. As this was in 1984, you can tell that we have more than bypassed that date. Why were we told this at that time? Partly, it was a matter of cost of extraction, smaller pockets of fuels were known about but, in those days, considered not financially viable.

Even back then, the science was already clear that burning fossil fuels was a bad thing for the environment, but there was very little encouragement to do better. Solar and wind technologies were still very new and not invested in. At that time, governments were not keen to act for the environment and there was little impetus to do so.

Fast forward to today and the world has changed dramatically, and not for the better. We have more information about the damage being done to the climate through burning fossil fuels, yet globally we are burning more than ever! The “only 30 years left” mark was also due in part to the global “carbon budget”, we had already pulled out more oil than the world could stand us to burn. More recent reports suggest that we have only six years left of the global carbon budget to stay within 1.5 degrees of warming.

It is clear that the last thing humanity should be doing is issuing new oil contracts, yet that is exactly what Aotearoa’s new government plans on doing. Rolling back much of the environmental protections that had been put into place by the previous government, we are looking at a non-stop rush towards extreme climate chaos. Drilling for oil in the precious waters around New Zealand has always been a contentious issue, and now that new areas for exploration have again been opened up, it seems to defy logic.

In 2018, the government announced that no new permits would be issued for offshore oil exploration. In 2021, the last of the deep sea oil and gas exploration permits outside Taranaki was surrendered. New Zealand has long produced oil and gas from various oil fields around the country, especially in the Taranaki region. There are 37 active petroleum permits currently operating in New Zealand.

Not only do these actions endanger life on land, they are extremely disruptive to ocean life. Our oceans are dying as their ability to soak up the excess carbon decreases every year, meaning they are less oxygenated. Humanity has fished most global fish stocks to the point of collapse, practices such as bottom trawling destroy the very fabric of the sea beds and the beginning of life on Earth. We barely understand what happens on the ocean floor, yet destructive fishing practices wreck it completely.

Oil exploration uses seismic testing, which is highly disruptive for much marine life, especially migratory mammals. The oceanic life cycle is being hugely disrupted from all angles. Once we have killed it, there is no going back. Instead of protecting what we have left, the current government is hellbent on destroying it all, so the oil industry can continue making profits. They have never failed to make huge profits in my lifetime!

Drilling for oil has always been a risky business. Whilst human safety may have improved, there are still the risks of leaks and explosions. The MV Rena spilled over 350 tonnes of oil into NZ waters over six weeks from 5 October 2011, the impacts of which were huge for the native birdlife in the area. Over 2000 birds were killed by the oil in one way or another, and that is just those we know of. Yet oil spills can and will continue to occur globally, leading to more contamination of our oceans. 

They say that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. Yet we continue to stand by and do nothing. There are giant islands of plastic debris swirling around our oceans, as global currents cause much of the plastic to accumulate in certain areas. Already we see sea life dying of starvation as their stomachs are filled with plastic instead of their food. All around the world animals and humans are filling up with plastic, as microscopic particles are in the rain.

Where does all this plastic come from? The oil industry. The continuous search for more and more of this poisonous substance will be never-ending, until the majority of the population stand up and say no!

If you feel strongly, please sign these petitions to protect our waters from fossil fuel explorations and drilling: 

• action.greens.org.nz/saveoilandgasban 
• www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/tag/oil-and-gas

Aotearoa Vegan and Plant Based Living Magazine
This article was sourced from the Winter  2024 edition of The Vegan Society magazine.
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The articles we present in our magazine and blog have been written by many authors and are are not necessarily the views and policies of the Vegan Society.