Topic: Offshore Drilling
Country: Malawi
Delegate Name: Matt Mayer
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Malawi position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
Malawi understands the reality of our global addiction to oil and realizes we need change. We must move forward from what we could have done to avoid this situation and must instead turn our gaze to what will sustain the generations after us. Offshore drilling is a practice that should be completed in a short term fashion. We must not celebrate the findings of these underwater oil deposits, we must instead adapt and advance to cultivate newer energy sources. This is not to speak of the 'morality' of the petroleum industries drill sites, but it is to say that given the eventual absence of petroleum on Earth we must act strategically to savor the lasts of a dying industry. We must also work towards containing our mistakes, far too many times have oil spills damned the land it affected. We can no longer allow our priorities to be profit over safety. This progress will be a long uphill battle but we have come to the point where we no longer have the leeway to take chances. We must – as a global community- create clean, safe, and affordable measures to meet the demands of our growing society. Without these, our world will face times more desperate than we can imagine. The other side to this debate is the lack of efficiency of other energy harvesting outlets. Noting the less the 35% energy conversion output of most solar cells and the unreliability of harnessing wind power, the desire to convert to alternative energy, however ecologically responsible, is economically unappealing. This must change if progress is to be made. There must be a new generation of perfection. There must be a new 'provider' that is irresistible to global investors. And as we embrace clean, safe, and productive offshore drilling we must remember the mistakes of the past and prepare for the trials of the future.
