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  1. #1
    Phero Guru Rbt's Avatar
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    Default Is the well running dry already?

    visit-red-300x50PNG
    Well if

    you all get tired of discussing politics and global warming, how about this issue?




    http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/1...rious-oil.html
    The opposite of love isn't hate.
    It's apathy
    .

  2. #2
    Moderator belgareth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rbt View Post
    Well if you

    all get tired of discussing politics and global warming, how about this issue?




    http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/1...rious-oil.html
    I'd say

    that the report is probably predicated on current use and current suppliers. There is an ocean of oil under the US

    that we have not been allowed to drill, even though it would have done our economy and our national security a lot

    of good. This disaster in the gulf will only make matters worse for drilling and I have to wonder about the

    circumstances of the accident. The timing of it, coming right after Obama said he would authorize more offshore

    drilling and on earth day at that, seems a little too good to be true.

    We do need to focus on alternative energy

    as our best bet, but biofuels, solar and wind are really not viable for major producers. The actual capacity, the

    pollution from them and the ROI are all too bleak be be realistic. Nuclear power is the future and until we get

    serious about most of our energy coming from that source, we are just wasting our time and money.
    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

    Thomas Jefferson

  3. #3
    Phero Guru Rbt's Avatar
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    Honestly, if I were running US fuel

    and oil policy, I'd probably not tap our domestic sources, not just because of any "environmental" concerns, but

    strategic ones.

    Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, pretty much can only survive because they have oil to sell to

    support their economy. Once it's gone, they will probably be in the dumper. So it would be to "our" advantage to

    let them use up their supplies first *before* we start sucking ours. Comes down to polititcal and economic power.



    We may complain about the high price of gasoline here, but by comparison to the rest of the world it's cheap, and

    even the more recent price "crisis" in the US really was just more of an inconvenience than a disaster. Even at $4 a

    gallon I still saw plenty of cars on the road and blowing by me at gas-gulping speeds to boot.

    Plus we all know

    the "bad" news (like the ever-popular disaster movies) get all the attention and press. The good news (or sometime

    just plain reality) is just too boring. I have one friend who seems to be certain that when we hit "peak oil" the

    world will plummet into chaos in short order. I'm dubious. I've seen too many "disasters" come and go in my life

    already and the world is still here, and life keeps going on.
    The opposite of love isn't hate.
    It's apathy
    .

  4. #4
    Moderator idesign's Avatar
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    I think we should be pulling out

    all the stops on all domestic sources of energy. The fact that we've been held hostage by a minority interest is a

    national shame and disgrace. Meanwhile, every sector of our economy suffers through high energy costs. It does not

    need to be that way.

    Don't hold your breath waiting for a responsible energy policy coming from this gov't.

    The systemic blockage from an entrenched bureaucracy, coupled with Congressional self-preservation and an ideologue

    Executive assures inaction for the indefinite future.

    We're sitting atop complete energy independence and

    being told to change our light bulbs.

    As for the peak oil crisis, its a controlled and manipulated event, and

    will be pulled out of a magical hat at just the right time. The AGW meltdown has shown us the lengths to which

    those who wish to control will go to dominate the public and private spheres. The fix is in, and there's really

    nothing any of us can do about it.

    Agree that nuclear should be our primary focus. Just think though, how long

    it would take to just get the approvals to build a nuclear plant in this country, if you could ever achieve it.

    There's a rich double irony in imagining a group of protesters holding "No Nukes!" signs with "No Blood for Oil"

    fading on the back side. If you get it you get it...

    I gotta stop, its all too sad and depressing.


  5. #5
    Phero Guru Rbt's Avatar
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    Creating a politically motivated

    "crisis" is a way to control the masses. Need to divert attention from your expensive junkets? Yell about oil. Need

    to take away from an economic meltdown (that may very well have been as a result of some ill-thought out or nice

    "kickback" policy)? Start a war or or yell about unfounded WMD stockpiles. And bolster your chance of getting

    reelected and keeping that nice job, fat pension, and wonderful healthcare plan by puching the "don't change horses

    in the middle of this stream (that we created)" at election time.

    <phooey>

    And yes, it does seem to take at

    least 10 years to even get halfway started on a nuke plant (or most any other energy plant for that matter). The

    Chicago area has been going back and forth on a new airport for decades as another example. And even if it got

    approval tomorrow, it could take from 10 to 20 years to get built. So it's not just power plants.

    Real progress

    only seems to happen after everyone has been paid off or there is no longer any profit in delay.
    The opposite of love isn't hate.
    It's apathy
    .

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