I see it happening much sooner than the 10 year time line.

I agree on the endgame. But the basic functions of oil in terms of what it currently does for us are simply not going to be replaced that quickly. I'm a HUGE nuclear power proponent. Solar and wind? Love 'em. But how far away is it until those (or anything else) are providing for the primary usage of oil, being transportation? Much, much farther away than 10 years.

Even the most optimistic proponents of offshore drilling say 10 years. When was the last time you saw any industry in this country get something done faster than the best-case-estimates? Based on history, I'd say doubling that to 20 years is generous.

Probably about the same time I saw government accomplish anything faster and better than best case estimates, or within budget (applying that last one to both govt and business).

Yep. The next one is much less likely to be in their pocket. W has been a great friend to the oil companies.

That's where I stand. The debate over domestic oil versus foreign oil still assumes an addiction to oil. Let's find other ways to do this. Stop using oil entirely.

I don't approve of drilling in sensitive areas. ANWR has only a small area scheduled to be drilled, but the impact is much wider than just the drilling rigs. Pipelines, vehicle traffic, construction traffic, spills, the waste and pollution from the men working the rigs, and various other disruptions and other factors unforeseen.

The debate comes down to valuing the environment (a soft benefit) over anything that humans want (a hard cost when we have to give something up). Humans have run roughshod over any environment we have touched. At what point do we have a responsibility to say "enough"? I think we're there.

I'll tell you what....when Gore and all the enviromentalists calling for the elimination of using oil stop using oil, particularly to the extent Gore does, then I'll consider it.

Al Gore is Napolean from Animal Farm.

Really? Any environment we have touched? Sorry - I can go to innumerable beautiful and populated spots within a 10 hour drive of my home. Oh wait. I shouldn't drive 10 hours. Uses too much gas.

This argument is made again and again and I'm so done with it. So you will do the opposite just because you think Gore is a hypocrite? That's a childish argument.

I am of the mind that I don't mind conserving something I may never see in real life. Ecosystems are delicate things and you can't predict all the effects human activity will have.

I see the current situation with oil as the prime opportunity for innovation into alternative sources. If we invest money into getting more oil instead of innovation, where is the economic incentive to develop those alternatives?

Not so in the least. First of all, I never said I'd do anything opposite. I said when he stops, I'll stop. I didn't say I'm going to do my best to increase my energy usage to stick it to him and all his enviro-buddies.

Gore IS Napolean from Animal Farm. He is so important that he must consume more energy than he wishes any one else to. In Gore's world of purchasing carbon credits, then only the wealthy would have access to any energy at all.

Al Gore's house uses more energy than the average, no doubt about it. He's an important man, operating both business and political concerns from his home. There's staff, quite a few if I remember correctly, along with their attendant energy needs. Al Gore is a busy, and quite wealthy, fellow.

It's been my experience that people who will go out of their way to denigrate Gore will fail to tell you he purchases his household energy from wind, solar, and other renewable sources through the Green Power Switch program. There's ample information available on the program should one choose to have a look. And he does this at great additional expense to himself.

Al Gore doesn't have to stop using less oil, except possibly on transportation.

May be (I don't happen to agree), but please don't base your judgment on rhetoric with only a tangential relationship with the truth.

Well, where the fun in that?






:D