7 ways oil and gas drilling is bad for the environment 1. Drilling disrupts wildlife habitat. 2. Oil spills can be deadly to animals. 3. Air and water pollution hurt local communities. 4. Dangerous emissions contribute to climate change. 5. Oil and gas development ruins pristine landscapes. 6. New methods of hunting for oil reserves are having significant impacts on animal life in regions that might not even produce any oil. In part driven by new drilling activities endorsed by the Trump administration, energy companies are using seismic testing to reveal where there could be potential oil deposits beneath the ocean’s surface. The testing is performed using a powerful air gun, which blasts a wave of air through the ocean waters into the seafloor so that its characteristics can Impacts to Wildlife and Habitat Oil causes harm to wildlife through physical contact, ingestion, inhalation and absorption. Floating oil can contaminate plankton, which includes algae, fish eggs, and the larvae of various invertebrates. Fish feeding on these organisms can subsequently become contaminated through ingestion of contaminated prey or