Offshore drilling bill passes house - CONTACT YOUR SENATORS!

[ChillyWaters]

We have PLENTY of room to complain even though we don't do the things you mentioned above. Why? Well obviously (to most poeple) it's because they are not available to the average consumer. Being environmenally sensible is a luxury that most people can't afford.

Sure. I'll just nip out to the dealer and buy an electric car. On my way home I'll pick up a windmill for my house and get zoning permission to set it up. No problem. Then I'll sign up for a dive trip on a boat that only runs on biodiesel.

Actually, soem of the things on his list ARE doable. North America loves their cars, and big ones at that. Canada isn't very good in this regard, but Americans are still twice as bad.

We could all choose to stop buying stupid SUVs... I laugh everytime I see one. And they just seem to be getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. What the hell do people need these vehicles for!

Oh yeah, and we could choose to commute more responsibly: carpooling, bussing, etc. There are a LOT of things to do to drastically reduce your gas usage.

I have a small car, and with the recent gas hikes, I've further decided to start running to/from work. I've lowered my consumption nearly about 40%. Yes, YOU can do something if you want to. Stop complaining about what you can't do, and do something that you CAN do.

- ChillyWaters

 

[trigfunctions]

refinery capacity is also a problem, but you have to get the crude out of the ground first.

we're up to something like 80 Mbd of demand and are nearly maxed out at pumping capacity. things like drilling in ANWR would only produce 1 Mbd at peak pumping capacity in ANWR (which would take years to get there) and we've been growing at around 1 Mbd/yr of demand as China and India come online and increase demand on global crude supplies.

we're not going to run out of oil under the Earth, but its going to get harder and slower and more expensive to pull it out. and once the rate that we can pump it out maxes out and the demand exceeds that, then the price will spike. of course spiking oil prices means that other oil fields become economical to operate and that creates more reserves -- again we're not going to run out of oil -- but we're not going to get the expensive oil fields online fast enough with a pumping capacity to offset oil fields like ghawar dropping their production.

Good posts Lamont. Putting more oil rigs in the gulf is like going to Home Depot to buy buckets to put under a leaking roof instead of actually fixing the roof.

 

[TCDiver1]

By the way, the hollywood had this problem figured out years ago in "Back to the Future." It's called a Mr Fusion. Would that be cool or what?

 

[jbichsel]

I could go on. Pollution from oil and gas rigs is a fact. A fact that almost all floridians don't want in their back yard.

Ok, I'll agree to that and agree that it is undesireable and we do need to get off the fossil fuel wagon. But until a viable, affordable, sustainable, efficient alternative is reached, do we just shut off the valve and bring our country to a stop?

At what point do we look at third-world countries and begin to hold THEM accountable for THEIR pollution?

The deforestation of Asia creates more pollution than all of the U.S. factories combined. Yet we Americans are reportedly the cause of every bad thing that happens everywhere.

I would rather have drilling operations happening on our coast or ANWAR where we can watch and regualte and minimize the effects, than off in some primitive area of the world where no one is watching and even more wretched things happen that no one sees or cares about.

 

[LeFlaneur]

The federal government has some sweet tax incentives to encourage domestic oil drilling. Participation in oil and gas venture are one of the best tax advantaged investments in the country.

A lower percentage of incentives have been earmarked to develop "alternative" or "non-conventional" energy. But you have to read the fine print since most of that money goes to developing "clean" coal technologies (an oxymoron since "clean" coal is still dirtier than oil or gas). It also goes to coal-bed methane drilling.

On the whole, about 14% of our energy incentives go to technologies that are acutally considered clean or renewable -- ie solar, wind, hydrogen, wave, biomass, etc etc.

Follow the money and follow the tax breaks and you'll see where our priorites remain, no matter how much lip service gets paid to cool hydrogen cars.

 

[bruehlt]

Ok, I'll agree to that and agree that it is undesireable and we do need to get off the fossil fuel wagon. But until a viable, affordable, sustainable, efficient alternative is reached, do we just shut off the valve and bring our country to a stop?

At what point do we look at third-world countries and begin to hold THEM accountable for THEIR pollution?

The deforestation of Asia creates more pollution than all of the U.S. factories combined. Yet we Americans are reportedly the cause of every bad thing that happens everywhere.

I would rather have drilling operations happening on our coast or ANWAR where we can watch and regualte and minimize the effects, than off in some primitive area of the world where no one is watching and even more wretched things happen that no one sees or cares about.

No - I want them to FIX the damn problem! I want the american people to wake up and realize that we only have 1 earth - once its gone, its gone. Shifting the pollution to another area is not the answer. Fixing the problem is!

[Poltical content edited by Moderator - Rick Inman]

 

[TheRedHead]

I predict SUVs will just go out of style like station wagons (which are coming back in) and there will be a move to sexy looking cars.

 

[Trinigordo]

I know I am butting my head in where it isn't wanted but here goes. All you tree-huggers should not oppose the idea of these NG/oil rigs as the incidence of spillage is very small in this modern era of oil exploration. Not to mention the absolutely amazing eco-systems these rigs provide.

In my mind the only problem for this whole matter would be the resolving of the federal/state incomes from the profits made.

 

[Trinigordo]

I predict SUVs will just go out of style like station wagons (which are coming back in) and there will be a move to sexy looking cars.

Sexy looking cars? What like a car with an exact replica of me on the hood?

 

[carlthecat]

I would rather have the flux-capacitor and take my chances with lightning.

"1.21 gigawatts!!! How could I have been so careless? Do you know how much energy that is? It can only be produced by a bolt of ligtning, but unfortunatley, you dont know when and where it is going to strike!!!" - my friend, Doc Brown