Growing up near the Chesapeake Bay, I was bombarded with guest speakers since grade school on environmental protection. I knew what an ecosystem was by fifth grade, and in seventh grade our class took a field trip to Smith Island and Port Isabel in the Chesapeake Bay for more intensive education on how humans are connected to ecosystems. Water and ecosystems are important to public health around the world because water touches all of our lives. And when that water is contaminated with oil, many global health problems arise, but those health problems may be worth the benefits from the oil. This is particularly evident in the context of the Lower Mississippi Delta, where for many Louisianans; oil platforms provide them with work. Humans depend on oil, one of Earth's limited resources, and it is central to our way of life: transportation, heating fuel, electricity generation, everyday materials, and even plays a role in the manufacture of our food (Catherine Gautier). The economic benefits of oil are numerous; new technologies and innovations of which oil is one of the main contributors contribute to a prosperous future. Every time we use oil, even if we recycle it, some of it will definitely be lost. As such, hoping that the free market has the ability to efficiently allocate a non-renewable resource over time (Stephen F. Williams) will not solve our oil problems, now or in the future. Lack of oil or energy in a region usually leads to poverty and fear (Gautier). This dependence on oil, or crude oil, could be damaging if the Earth were to run out of this resource. In addition to accidental spills causing serious damage to the environment and subsequently causing harm to humans, oil has direct impacts on human health. The problems are...... middle of paper ...... William Keck. “Environmental health in public health”. Principles of public health practice. Albany: Delmar Publishers, 1997. 584-588. Print.AWF. “Louisiana River Control.” American Wetlands: Resource Center. American Wetlands Foundation, nd Web. November 16, 2011. .Williams, Jeff. “Louisiana Coastal Wetlands: An Imperiled Resource.” Marine and Coastal Geology Program. United States Geological Survey, November 3, 1995. Web. November 14, 2011. .Marshall, Bob. “LAST CHANCE: The fight to save a disappearing coast.” New Orleans, LA Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - NOLA.com. The Times-Picayune, March 4, 2007. Web. November 15. 2011. .