Bush ok's Gulf of Mexico Drilling

[H2Andy]

well, this is not fair

bill obviously knows what the **** he's talking about

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[Wildcard]

A list. How I put an A and not an O? I have no idea, must be the CWMs Im bathing in tight now.
Shooting the pipeline. It was penetrated once by a 338 WIn mag. He had shot it many time but finaly hit a "soft" spot. Spilled 150,000? ish barrels of oil. Drunk native.

There are many short term fixes to long term problems. Like the idiot in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago that wanted everyone to buy electric cars because they dont burn oil. Hawaii produces 95% of it's electric power from oil They have tried wind many times. They get federal money, they put them up then they go beach and let them fall apart. Geothermal? We have a volcano that has been erupting for 23? years now yet there have only been two test plants set up and they were on the wrong side of the island!
DU? Do you even understand the difference in U235 and U238? The depleated uranium your worried about does not come from fuel rods. It's biggest hazzard is that it emmits radon, just like rocks. It can be locked in an ammo can and it's safe. I did a dirty bomb/DU clean up plan for a hazmat management class a few years back in addition to working with it all the time and all three of my testicals are just fine
If we can harness cold fussion, we are good to go for electric power. We need to develop more natural gas reserves/lines/ refineries. We need to keep working on all teh different alternatives and we need to get the easy oil now to help slow the OPEC nations down. The first step is to stop driving so frikkin much!

 

[H2Andy]

Like the idiot in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago that wanted everyone to buy electric cars because they dont burn oil. Hawaii produces 95% of it's electric power from oil

well, the electric cars produce their own electricity. they're hybrids, really

however, i did some adding up a while back, and for a Prius to pay off the difference from a cheaper car over the life of an auto loan (48 months) in money saved on gas, gas would have to hit $8.00 per gallon ... so ...

didn't add up for me

The first step is to stop driving so frikkin much!

i agree. cutting back on all energy consumption would be a great first step. i wish they could make the hybrids a lot cheaper.

it's a no-brainer at about $15,000

 

[Wildcard]

well, the electric cars produce their own electricity. they're hybrids, really

however, i did some adding up a while back, and for a Prius to pay off the difference from a cheaper car over the life of an auto loan (48 months) in money saved on gas, gas would have to hit $8.00 per gallon ... so ...

didn't add up for me



i agree. cutting back on all energy consumption would be a great first step. i wish they could make the hybrids a lot cheaper.

it's a no-brainer at about $15,000

Hybrids ar bad technology. The batteries will be shot in a couple of years and will cost a buttload to replace. They don't get much better MPG that my old WV diesel rabbit at 55mpg with a 16Y/O driving it. To work properly they need a longer running engine that strictly charges the batteries at top preformance levels. The ideal situation is an all electric car with a hydrogen fuel cell to charge it and nano carbon fiber capacaters for storage.

 

[H2Andy]

The ideal situation is an all electric car with a hydrogen fuel cell to charge it

true, but until we get there, hybrids are a great step up. it's not just the mpg, but the emissions they (don't) give off

i just wish they weren't so expensive

 

[Bill51]

true, but until we get there, hybrids are a great step up. it's not just the mpg, but the emissions they (don't) give off

i just wish they weren't so expensive

Expense is often a good indicator of pollution emissions and energy consumption upstream in the production process that is overlooked in too many analyses.

 

[H2Andy]

sure, which is why i wish they were cheaper

they're getting there ... the 2008 Prius will be somewhat cheaper, and will probably have ion batteries

 

[mrjimboalaska]

Andy,
Hybrids are cheap, it all depends on what you want.
My truck cost 2x the cost of a prius, but then again it will pull 15,000 lbs, haul 6 adults, and do this while going 70mph......
and when not pulling, gets 25mpg.....Chevy Duramax.....LOVE IT.....
battery technology has improved greatly in recent years, but needs much more improvement for car applications.
Frankly, we need to get away from driving 60miles each way to work. My bad, I did that for 9 years while working at Micron Technologies.

 

[Bill51]

Andy,
Hybrids are cheap, it all depends on what you want.
My truck cost 2x the cost of a prius, but then again it will pull 15,000 lbs, haul 6 adults, and do this while going 70mph......
and when not pulling, gets 25mpg.....Chevy Duramax.....LOVE IT.....
battery technology has improved greatly in recent years, but needs much more improvement for car applications.
Frankly, we need to get away from driving 60miles each way to work. My bad, I did that for 9 years while working at Micron Technologies.

Astute observation. In 1998, I participated in a study group organized by OMB on behalf of GSA consisting of the telcom and facilities management industries with human resources and a few other specialties thrown in. One major obstacle identified and an opportunity for rather large energy savings was improving the poor management skills in large American firms.

We have the technology to implement more satellite offices and telecommuting that could cut commuting travel drastically, but we lack managers with the abilities to remotely manage employees. We have many of what Deming called “portable managers” who lack the required understanding of what their employees actually do and they wind up managing by watching them rather than being able to accurately manage by results. To be more blunt, we have many people carrying the title of manager that are overpaid supervisors trying to supervise professionals – pretty screwed up. The other management skill lacking is controlling office politics in remote work locations. Too many managers tend to put too much confidence in mediocre employees they see every day rather than excellent employees that are working in a remote site.

There are many other opportunities for energy efficient transportation that are being blocked by government bureaucracies. There is a wonderful twin-engine diesel aircraft that can get over 20mpg at 200mph and has been flying in Europe for several years – but is still battling to get FAA and EPA approval to be sold in America. Government is not the solution.

 

[drbill]

My commute consists of rolling out of bed, putting my bathrobe on and walking 30 ft to my desk. Even when I had a real job here on the island, I was able to walk to the office in 5 min. Of course the island is a special case. However before that, on the mainland, I was able to ride my bike 7 miles each way.