I know what they the Demos are doing about energy policy.... they just went and took a vacation. Nancy jumped on the jumbo jet and flew home from DC to California. Not like she has to pay for fuel on her dime. None of them do, Government HACKS have nice credit cards and cars that the American people pay for.


Well It's been fun, have to go and pick up my motorcycle now. You crazy kids play nice while I'm out.

They aren't doing much, which is barely preferable to drilling before we can deal with the resource. It's not admirable. The more I look, the less impressed I am.

What do you want them to do about it? They should get out of the way of refinery development, beyond that, what else can they do?

Honestly Sue, what the hell do you expect me to do here? Why put "ideas" in quotes like you have no idea what they are?

My solution is to be realistic about the infrastructure we've created. Do you really think that tapping our reserves is going to perpetually solve our problems? Gas will cost $10 a gallon soon enough. Then it will cost more. There is no escaping that inevitability. There is no choice but to change the way we do what we do. We have the most badass minds on earth here, let's unleash them. People are going to have to embrace mass transit, they are going to have to embrace decentralized power generation, they are going to have to embrace better density models, they are going to have to embrace better localized food production. All of these things are not only better economically, but better environmentally.

Really? I hardly know what to say. Let's look at a few simplified examples:

Pushing trash and raw sewage into groundwater that you depend on for drinking water. Harms the environment, also a bad a idea. Create a sewage treatment facility to protect the environment and the population. Common sense or eviromentalism?

Invent and improve the most efficient engine you can. Efficiency = less dependence on oil per unit, less burden on the environment. The efficient engine: Common sense or environmentalism?

Running a diesel engine on fryer grease. The waste of one process becomes the fuel of the next. Common sense or environmentalism?

Pushing your organic kitchen waste through a composter so you can grow your own food in nutrient-rich soil. Common sense or environmentalism?

Rainwater collection systems and gray-water management. Decrease the burden you place on local water supply by using gray-water to irrigate your yard and flush liquid-waste toilets. Common sense or environmentalism.

Carpool. Common sense or environmentalism?

Wind power. Global heat transfer guarantees wind. Decrease our dependence on oil by using truly renewable resources. Common sense or environmentalism?

These are just a few off the top of my head. We could go on if you'd like.

No one is forcing anyone to do anything. People have always adapted according to their own economic circumstances. This is no different. Freedom is found in independence. The less we rely on foreign oil, the better, because as I said in an earlier post, our foreign policy is tied to our domestic policy which is tied to our energy policy which is tied to our transportation policy, etc., ad nauseum. How do we curtail that? Better infrastructure and better efficiency.


Prohibitively oppressive taxation and windfall profits don't go together. The oil companies have the cash to do R&D. They can build refineries.

The OP asked for some ideas, I've provided.

You guys are up. Why drill now? What's the crisis?

__________________
THE RAPTURE IS NOT AN EXIT STRATEGY

Why not? . . .

__________________
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"It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

--Murray Rothbard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinny. A liberal is just a libertarian who hasn't studied economics.

Did you read my posts and my thread?

__________________
THE RAPTURE IS NOT AN EXIT STRATEGY

First off, I'm asking why congress isn't doing something, more out of frustration of our useless and ineffective government, than looking for someone to brawl with. Even if they did something that I didn't agree with, at least they'd be doing something.

Secondly, I still do not see a problem with going after the resources we already have. Alt-fuels are not something that congress can just throw money at, and the inventions will automatically start rolling in. it's going to be at least 10 years before alt-fuel vehicles are going to start becoming economically feasable. And even when they will become feasable:

• People aren't going to automatically trade in their gas-powered cars.
• Lots of folks won't trust the first generation of those vehicles, so they'll be holding off.
• Repair costs will be high, what with the new technologies. Again...another reason for people to hold off.
• Not all gas stations will be able to afford the retro-fitting for the new fuels.

Basically, we're stuck with gasoline powered vehicles, whether we like it or not, for at least the next 25-35 years. Because of this, it's retarded for congress to completely ignore the resources that we have under our very feet. Start drilling in ANWAR. Start drilling off the coast of Florida. Start building more refineries. Start oil shale extraction in the desert. Start building nuclear plants. Start building wind farms off the east coast.

But congress won't do that. They'll just sit on their hands, and dream their little dream of energy dependency, while the real world collapses around them.

__________________
"I should be calling collect from jail for the things I commit each night in my head" - D. Mustaine.

You mean the thread arguing that we should save our reserves for later? Yes, I did.

However, the problem with that is very simple. The current trend in price is driven at least in part by speculators in the market who are doing just that, buying up oil and saving it for later, when the price would be higher. To have the US government simply save up on its oil would have the same effect. However, we should save enough for emergency situations, but that amounts to relatively little on the national scale of oil.

__________________
.

"It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

--Murray Rothbard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinny. A liberal is just a libertarian who hasn't studied economics.

I think that the government should lift the ban. I also am wondering why some company hasn't begun turning coal into gasoline. The U.S. military already runs all of its vehicles on gasonline made from coal. The Germans ran all of their machines off of gasoline made from coal at the end of World War II so people have known how to do this for a long time.

It probably has something to do with government restrictions. I wish they would lift things like this. If the government had always controlled things the way they do now, electric lights would never have been invented.

It's the eco-hippies.

Dam those eco-hippies!!!

__________________
"I should be calling collect from jail for the things I commit each night in my head" - D. Mustaine.

It probably still costs more than turning oil into gasoline.

__________________
.

"It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.

--Murray Rothbard

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skinny. A liberal is just a libertarian who hasn't studied economics.

you cant rely on your beloved poiticians.
what happens when we ru nout of oil? do you think it is there for a reason, how about we use up all the water, and oxygen.
you dont realive your way of life may destroy the ecosystem, you say it is "thats hippi mumbo "
the government suppreses alternative energy
they supress sustainible agriculture
they make proffit off sicknes and disease,
their cure (some of them) are petrolium pills!
draining every last drop of oil is very stupid! every thing has a purpose, maby oil is a lube for tektonic plates,
greed is the motive of oil industry.
you make money off destruction, wake up