This is what we have seen with the modern day Democratic Party that is so frustrating. Obstructionism with no viable alternative action plan offered! They say if we drill now it will take a several yaers to reap benefits, so? If we don't drill now and we don't address our energy problem any other way, we will be in far worse shape for the forseeable future.

So lets have it Democrats, what is your solution? Play kissy kissy with arab nations in the middle east? What is your solution if you don't like the drilling idea?

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I'll give you some hints.

Does it involve a form of transportation? Yes.
Does it involve a handbasket? Yes.
Does it involve an inferno and Satan? Yes.

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Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. – H.L. Mencken

I refuse to trade humanity for patriotism.

Hmmmm Crickets!

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http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Viable+Ener...81_wind26.html

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Viable+Ener...icle32255.html

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=Viable+Ener...%2F890970.html

http://www.allbusiness.com/operation...3911387-1.html

Just to name a few. But, with a one track mind, you'll never get out of the oil cutter. Wake up!

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THE RAPTURE IS NOT AN EXIT STRATEGY

We get tired of answering the same dumb red-herring questions in multiple threads.

Try answering it just once in any thread then!

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None of this indicate which the Democrats think should be implemented, how the Democrats plan to implement any of these, how they will replace the oil we currently use, how long the Democrats think it will take before these are viable alternatives for mainstream use, or specifically how the White house under a Democrat can make any of these alternatives happen.


So the question remains unanswered. Anyone else want to take a crack at it?

Pie in the sky with no practical application is worthless!

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I get that you don't want to drill now, the question is what then?

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1•Develop the infrastructures that will enable us to deal with our own reserves.

2•Develop the infrastructure that will allow our reserves to go farther.

3•Be realistic about the global price of oil.

On point 1: It makes no sense to tap our reserves until we are ready to refine them here. We should be ramping up our ability to take oil through its refinement so that we don't have to transport the crude oil elsewhere to get that done. If the purpose is to provide relief at the pump (a totally short-sighted, useless, and fundamentally unachievable goal), we should make the drilling and refining as cheap as possible. Having to first export our oil to then import it seems like a ridiculous waste of money and resources that does nothing but drain our oil reserves while simultaneously undercutting the benefit of tapping them.

Build the infrastructure, then drill.

On point 2: There are huge benefits to having to pay more at the pump. Market force pressure to develop better and more efficient technology becomes more profitable and therefore more likely. Mass transit systems become more feasible and therefore more likely, which leads to our oil lasting longer. (We'll call these ideas "Implemented Infrastructure Efficiency" Land management and strategic planning to curb urban sprawl becomes a higher priority leading to better density planning and better long-term infrastructure planning, which will also make our oil last longer. The intrinsic problem we face is that our entire country has been built on the scale and premise that every person in America should expect to drive their own car to and from work, school, and the store every day. Have you ever considered how utterly ridiculous this is? As that fact starts to collide with the price of oil, people are going to choose to live closer to their jobs, make choices that are inherently more efficient through simple economics. Once true environmentalism crosses the threshold into common sense, everyone will wonder what the hell they were doing commuting an hour back and forth to work. Waste of time, waste of resources, waste of diplomacy, waste of war. Transportation policy begets energy policy begets foreign policy.

On point 3: What makes you think that private oil companies are going to cut the US any slack on the price when they can get a premium per-barrel price from other consumer countries? The oil companies exist to make a profit; they will sell the oil for as much as they can get for it. Unless you are recommending that we either wholly or partially nationalize the oil companies or the mineral rights so that the government controls the price...

Sounds like socialism to me, and maybe that's what you're after.


Let market forces do their work, don't meddle with stuff until we are ready to deal with it. Choose a time when we can maximize the benefits of our resources rather than squandering our resources on something as errant as paying more money to uselessly commute.

This is not a crisis; save it for one.

This Democrat is done.

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THE RAPTURE IS NOT AN EXIT STRATEGY