Is America too dependent on oil?

[Bodi]

They burn warm. Ask Michigan and Wisconsin. or anywhere it snows all winter.

Not a wood burning stove... a "wood stove"... that is what was said.

We had a wood burning stove for a decade..., loved it.

A wood stove will catch fire, unless it is something I am unfamiliar with.

 

[Peter]

I suppose this shows just how lucky the UK is to have a windy but shallow North Sea on our doorstep.
We're in an offshore wind farm boom here and can easily generate more electricity than the country needs with modern turbines.

The World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm - Dogger Bank Wind Farm

Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. It will be built in three 1.2GW phases called Dogger Bank A, B and C.

doggerbank.com

The only slight problem is they aren't built instantly and take a while so won't help the current situation.
The UK doesn't use much Russian gas as we still get oil from that same North Sea but petrol prices here are still at record levels with energy prices at never seen before highs.

 

[MaryP]

One thing that might help. America is far behind a good portion of the world when it comes to public transportation.
I understand that people can't completely give up their cars, but the sad truth is: They CAN'T give up their cars because (in most cities) the
public transportation is essentially non-existent. Even here in fairly wealthy Sarasota, the buses from the outskirts to downtown take 75-90 minutes.
..simply because there are few buses available. Most people here, who work, usually say something like "We don't have public Transportation..
We have a sloth that might show up" PS: Our county commissioners are all right-wing dolts.

TRAINS, both passenger and freight.

 

[Peter]

TRAINS, both passenger and freight.

The lack of trains in the US is really quite odd.
Compared to Europe you have almost no connections between major cities and no high-speed rail at all.

I honestly can't imagine London without the train network as it's how the majority get to work from outside the city.

 

[The Mark]

If we are, what can we do about it other than just drilling or importing more oil?

Reduce our demand for it by replacing it with alternatives where we can.

 

[AJG]

I would say we are given that our economy is completely dependent on oil, its availability is greatly affected by things beyond our control like foreign crises, and because extracting it causes great harm to the environment. Unfortunately there’s no solution immediately available that can replace it short term, and the best we can do is slowly wean ourselves off oil while we transition to alternative energy sources (or find ways to use it more efficiently by improving our infrastructure and public transportation as others have mentioned).

 

[Lucky 1]

If we are, what can we do about it other than just drilling or importing more oil?

The correct question would have been "Is America too dependent on foreign countries oil"

The answer of course is absolutely YES WE ARE!

The answer to the problem is to DRILL BABY DRILL!

 

[BirdinHand]

2022 and haven’t come up with viable, affordable, reliable, efficient, large scale alternatives to oil/fossil fuels yet.

 

[highroller]

At present we don't have a viable alternative.

Oil and electricity were not viable for most people until massive government investments.

 

[highroller]

The correct question would have been "Is America too dependent on foreign countries oil"

The answer of course is absolutely YES WE ARE!

The answer to the problem is to DRILL BABY DRILL!

This is like saying that the answer to having lung cancer is smoking your own cigarettes instead of getting them from your friends.

Your “drill baby drill” solution doesn’t isn’t a solution. Otherwise it would’ve worked the last 20 years. It’s a Band-Aid, not a solution.

 

[rickc]

The lack of trains in the US is really quite odd.
Compared to Europe you have almost no connections between major cities and no high-speed rail at all.

I honestly can't imagine London without the train network as it's how the majority get to work from outside the city.

America is a large mostly sparsely populated country. Some of our states are larger than European countries. Mass transit works great in small densely populated countries like Europe. It will never work here. Distances are too great and populations too scattered.

 

[highroller]

America is a large mostly sparsely populated country. Some of our states are larger than European countries. Mass transit works great in small densely populated countries like Europe. It will never work here. Distances are too great and populations too scattered.

High speed trains might, but yeah, people don’t understand the size of the us

 

[Lucky 1]

This is like saying that the answer to having lung cancer is smoking your own cigarettes instead of getting them from your friends.

Your “drill baby drill” solution doesn’t isn’t a solution. Otherwise it would’ve worked the last 20 years. It’s a Band-Aid, not a solution.

Considering that we were energy independent and a net exporter of oil less then 2 years ago and would be now except for some very stupid decisions by the Senile Dumbass we now have for a president.......reversing course to our own oil production is absolutely the answer and the solution.

 

[BirdinHand]

America is a large mostly sparsely populated country. Some of our states are larger than European countries. Mass transit works great in small densely populated countries like Europe. It will never work here. Distances are too great and populations too scattered.

Yeah - and even those high speed lines are INCREDIBLY expensive and time consuming to build.

Even a “trolley” type project is insanely expensive and will require a LOT of government funding/taxes to sustain.

Ridership levels/fees don’t sustain mass transit, even in some cities. So you wind up increasing taxes to cover the costs - and by the time a train is planned, the technology becomes outdated before the project even gets completed.

I’ve been watching a “potential” train in South Jersey for years (and the project was originally talked about in the late 90’s).

Great idea…not very practical. Especially once you get outside of major metro areas.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

At present we don't have a viable alternative.

We have viable alternatives to use much less of it.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

Re elect the Trumpster. Gas was 2.00 Gal. And no supply worries.
now we’re at 4.00+ heading to $5.00+ and have to beg the Saudis, Iran, and venesua to please please send us some oil.
Heres the big kicker, who does $5.00 gas hurt the most? Inner city Blacks. They a working their asses off to pay for the already inflated mat gas to heat their cribs and put some food on the table. Now you doubled their fuel costs.
WTG China Joe you F ing idiot! Screwing over the Dems loyal voter block. Amazing, truly amazing that they will vote for more enslavement by Dems.

View attachment 67378975

What an utterly shameful post. What is it like walking around so self absorbed and entitled that you honestly think that indoor mask mandates during a deadly pandemic is the same as the Klan?

 

[Bullseye]

If we are, what can we do about it other than just drilling or importing more oil?

In the near term - not much. Petroleum plays a big part in many other things beside fuel - plastics, cosmetics, medicine, etc.
Contrary to the rantings of the AGW cult, passing a gaggle of laws and regulations isn't going to make it happen. Creating a power network capable of charging gazillions of EVs is a decade or more down the road. The rare earths and other raw materials in the volume necessary to build enough cars to make a significant dent in vehicle counts as a massive problem.

 

[Bullseye]

We have viable alternatives to use much less of it.

We have AGW-cult wet dreams about magic occurring and a wondrous power network and affordable (sans-rebate) appearing in abundance. Don't hold your breath.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

We have AGW-cult wet dreams about magic occurring and a wondrous power network and affordable (sans-rebate) appearing in abundance. Don't hold your breath.

I am not talking about that. With hybrid and plugin hybrid tech alone, we could significantly reduce our oil usage without even making lifestyle changes.

 

[Gimmesometruth]

Creating a power network capable of charging gazillions of EVs

Um, we have 276 million cars, slow down buddy...

 

[The Mark]

We have AGW-cult wet dreams about magic occurring and a wondrous power network and affordable (sans-rebate) appearing in abundance. Don't hold your breath.

Well, depending how accurate the predictions are, we might need to actually hold our breath at some point. Well maybe not us, but our decedents.

 

[Lovebug]

Make alternative energy much cheaper than fossil fuel. Money talks.

 

[Bullseye]

Well, depending how accurate the predictions are, we might need to actually hold our breath at some point. Well maybe not us, but our decedents.

That's right at the bottom of the last page of my "Things to worry about" list. :lol:

 

[Bullseye]

I am not talking about that. With hybrid and plugin hybrid tech alone, we could significantly reduce our oil usage without even making lifestyle changes.

Same problem exists. Hybrids have two problems - scarcity of fuel and scarcity of electricity.

 

[Ishm]

America is a large mostly sparsely populated country. Some of our states are larger than European countries. Mass transit works great in small densely populated countries like Europe. It will never work here. Distances are too great and populations too scattered.

According to Mr Google, 83% of Americans live in urban areas. So, while true that mass transport isn't practical for some, the sparsely populated rural areas are not an excuse to do nothing in the urban areas.