Stace said:
Not to mention, there ARE alternatives available:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/t/f/tfm121/oil_alternatives.htm
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/briefings/oil_alternatives0203.htm
It may take awhile to develop them all, but heck, we're going to run out of oil eventually anyway, therefore, something has to be developed as an alternative no matter which way you look at it.
Even making more hybrid vehicles available at affordable prices would be a better idea than this. Or if they'd actually raise gas mileage standards.....there are so many different things our government, and the auto industry especially, can do.
Why not save the ANWR oil until we really need it?
I've looked at those sources and can tell you that they won't cut it. We use nearly 21 million barrels of oil each and every day. Maybe 7 million are domestically produced. We have some wind power but that is but a tiny fraction of the necessary amount we need. Solar will help somewhat and should be looked at carefully but is far from a mature industry. Energy conservation should be done and I'm doing my part with both a hybrid and more insulation in my house, plus I keep the thermostat as cold as I can tolerate. We just pile the blankets up higher and higher.
The poor people are really going to be in a bind. They live in homes that are less energy efficient; drive old jalopies that get lousy gas mileage if they drive at all. The government can provide energy assistance but that isn't going to solve the problem.
We're in a mell of a hess. We depend entirely too much on private transportation. Our large cities don't have mass transportation. Cross country mass transportation such as trains is virtually non-existant.
What could make a big dent? You won't like the answer but it has always been there but the environmentalists kick up their heels and put everyone through the wringer to keep it from happening. It is nuclear. But we can't even decide where to store the waste.
I'd like to see the day when we can somehow break down the ocean's water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen. We would have an unlimited amount of energy and keep the oceans from rising further and flooding our beaches and homes. We could perhaps ship water into the hinterlands to water our crops since our underground reservoirs are rapidly being depleted.
All of this phony bulloney about ethanol and the like is sheer poppycock. How do we get to that energy source except by expending energy in the process?
Our most abundant energy source is coal. There is about 600 years supplies in the west. But it is not the ultimate answer unless we are willing to pay through the nose to convert it to usable energy sources.
Nuclear is the obvious answer. Did you know that the new U.S.S. Ronald Reagan is a nuclear aircraft carrier that only needs refueling every 20 years? Compare that to the ocean liner QE2 that is a
"hybrid" diesel electric ship that consumes a gallon of diesel fuel every 50 feet of travel.
The left/conservations/tree huggers had better come in out of the rain and stop smoking that pot that fogs their minds. They are living in a dream world. Not drilling in ANWR is stupid, stupid, stupid.
And BTW, we are NOT going to run out of oil; at least not for hundreds of years.