Are People That Are Against Drilling And Against Building Refineries Hypocrites?
I have studied peak oil for about 5 years now and yes I understand the low hanging fruit is gone. I understand the price of oil will continue to rise. I understand and fully agree with finding and using viable alternative energy. The reality is that the entire infrastructure of our country is based on petroleum & petroleum products. Until we can support viable alternative energy, the reality is that we still need oil and for more than just the gas that goes into our cars – it is a matter of survival. Look at the food supply alone from the ground to your table is fully dependant on petroleum products – pesticides, herbicides, packaging, the asphalt that the trucks and our cars drive on to transport it to our stores and homes and the diesel fuel and gasoline -AND- on things powered by our current infrastructure – irrigation, conveyor belts, tractor trailers, plowing/sowing/harvesting equipment, lighting and electricity for preparation plants … can we rule drilling out just yet?
Tags: Against, Building, Drilling, Hypocrites, People, Refineries, That
November 26th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Well stated.
As you point out, even if everyone in this nation committed to be green tomorrow (which won’t happen), you will still need a period of transition before the alternatives can go online. You will need a larger period of time to develop new alternatives and then put those online as well.
In the meantime, the only logical solution is to make our current fuel as available as possible, whether that means by lowering our demand through conservation or increasing our supply.
EDIT: While I agree with Tha Dude’s statement that basically says, “If there is a limited resource, we should use someone else’s first before we use our own”, I think the time has come to tap into our own. Our current dependence has made us too vulnerable already.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:46 am
The caps in Alaska were capped off by Truman. He said we should hold on to it because if another World War breaks out America will need to fuel herself. I say keep it that way, instead invest more in alternative and possible more feasible primary fuel sources. In the meantime what would I have you do? Endure. Bare through the rough times because America will see the dawn again.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:33 am
The Oil Companies have leases on lands aplenty where they could have been drilling-but they did not. This “oil shortage” is a fraud to manipulate us to allow even more land to be under their control to NOT drill for oil. They are loving this profitable game and will not end it no matter how much land they control.
Bush is out to help his Oil Buddies!
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
Sat Jul 12, 6:49 PM ET
President Bush on Saturday tried to pin the blame on Congress for soaring energy prices and said lawmakers need to lift long-standing restrictions on drilling for oil in pristine lands and offshore tracts believed to hold huge reserves of fuel.
“It’s time for members of Congress to address the pain that high gas prices are causing our citizens,” the president said. “Every extra dollar that American families spend because of high gas prices is one less dollar they can use to put food on the table or send a child to college. The American people deserve better.”
With gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, Bush and his Republican allies think Americans are less reluctant to ban drilling offshore and in an Alaska wildlife refuge that environmentalists have fought successfully for decades to protect. Nearly half the people surveyed by the Pew Research Center in late June said they now consider energy exploration and drilling more important than conservation, compared with a little over a third who felt that way only five months ago. The sharpest shift in attitude came among political liberals.
Democrats say they are for drilling, but argue that oil companies aren’t going after the oil where they already have leases. So why open new, protected areas? they ask. Democrats say there are 68 million acres of federal land and waters where oil and gas companies hold leases, but aren’t producing oil.
“Americans are fed up every time they go to fill up and they’re right to demand action. But instead of a serious response, President Bush and his allies simply repeat the same old line more drilling,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in the Democrats’ radio address.
“Democrats support more drilling,” he said. “In fact, what the president hasn’t told you is that the oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of federal lands with the potential to nearly double U.S. oil production. That is why in the coming days congressional Democrats will vote on ‘Use It or Lose It’ legislation requiring the big oil companies to develop these resources or lose their leases to someone else who will.”
“But we know that drilling by itself will not solve the problem of high gas prices,” Van Hollen said. “We cannot drill our way to energy independence.”
He cited Democrats’ calls to tap the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, because it is full and “America’s rainy day is now.” And he said the country must focus on new energy policies that focus on alternatives to oil.
Bush said that Democrats are at fault and that “Americans are increasingly frustrated with Congress’ failure to take action.
“One of the factors driving up high gas prices is that many of our oil deposits here in the United States have been put off-limits for exploration and production. Past efforts to meet the demand for oil by expanding domestic resources have been repeatedly rejected by Democrats in Congress.”
Bush repeated his call for Congress to lift the restrictions, including a ban on offshore drilling. A succession of presidents from George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton to the current president have sided against drilling in these waters as has Congress each year for 27 years, seeking to protect beaches and coastal states’ tourism economies.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:17 am
If we are going to invest in new refineries lets make them…
The los Alamos labs “Green freedom” synthetic fuel process type.http://www.lanl.gov/news/index.php/fusea…
Lets get our domestic oil supply up as well and quit shipping our money out of the country!
November 27th, 2009 at 6:49 am
How would disagreeing with drilling and building refineries make anyone a hypocrite?
I’m not sure you know what the word hypocrite means…
November 27th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Against drilling and demanding cheap gas are hypocrites.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Ever heard of one extra drop in the bucket doesn’t mean anything? That’s exactly what going for the extra 18 billion barrels Bush claims there is.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
They are afraid it will kill the whales or turtles or something like that.
November 28th, 2009 at 12:27 am
They want to destroy America to save the caribou.
November 28th, 2009 at 3:49 am
worse,they are just plain stupid ! http://americansolutions.com/drillnow
November 28th, 2009 at 8:31 am
People are NOT against drilling, and I think you know that. What many of us are against is the indiscriminate drilling that these fanatics would like. Transferring the blame from the PNAC agenda that the republicans have embraced all these years while no alternatives have been explored or industrial restraints have been imposed. The big three Ford GM & Chrysler promoting high gas consumption vehicles. No one has made energy conservation an issue. The republicans with their energy company friends (oil business) have just been going along for the profit ride. The solutions are out there, what is missing is the desire or the need to explore those solutions, or options that will reduce our need.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:07 am
I don’t think anyone is saying we should live without oil. I think the debate is whether or not we should participate in additional offshore drilling. We already have tons of sources of oil, and instead of feeding into our addiction I think we should reform our energy policies.
We should start converting to cleaner and more renewable sources of energy like wind and solar.
We should completely revamp the public transportation system so you can take a bus to the super market or the movie theater.
To omit oil from our lives is absurd, but to ween off of it is a novel idea imho = )
November 28th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
It’s clear to anyone with the sense that God gave a dung beatle that we can’t just up and walk away from oil today. That being said, I don’t think drilling in Alaska is the best idea that I’ve heard and I don’t think we’re working overly hard to find alternative fuel sources in this country. I think a lot of people are of the opinion that we can always get it somewhere and the oil that is in Alaska isn’t going to last very long if we continue with our current consumption rates. As someone else said, I think that we should deal with it and put as much effort and attention into finding alternative fuel sources as we are putting into clinging to our bad habits. One thing that we can all agree on is that oil is a finite resource and we’re going to have to look elsewhere eventually; why not put in serious efforts now before we’re living in the “World Made by Hand” scenario?