Excellent post. The pressure is building now in a way that politics and ideology will not be able to suppress – there is a nascent groundswell of public support (ask Charlie Crist) for the U.S. to do what it should have done a long time ago, which is to think strategically about our energy policy. This means offshore drilling, ANWR drilling, exploiting shale oil, building new refineries and building nuclear power plants.

Honestly, Lovisa, don’t you think we should just be drilling the bejesus out of every possible location anyway? Shouldn’t we err on the side of finding new energy? It seems like that is what every other country is doing. Why should U.S. citizens be uniquely obligated to cut ourselves off at the knees at the slightest whisper that developing a new energy source might detract from someone’s personal comfort, such as a snail darter.

Sure, let’s just cut up the studs in our house to throw on the fire. Of course, the fire isn’t to actually HEAT the house, it’s so we can cook our filet mignon just right.

The problem is, once the house is gone, we have no heat either.

We need to:
1. Understand and realize that our current way of life cannot continue. 150,000,000 automobiles, most with pretty pathetic gas mileage, is just not sustainable. Mass transit and telecommuting are in the future. Sell the house in the suburb.
2. Really focus on alternative energy sources, whether it’s nuclear, wind, concentrated solar, or other. It just needs to get done.

It takes several barrels of water to process enough shale to produce 1 barrel of kerogen, a (low quality) oil-like substance. Where is this water going to come from, the Colorado River, which is the sole water supply for a multi-state region?

Many on the right are fond of bumper sticker slogans, because they are just too lazy understand all aspects of an issue.

It was Don Quixote, not Pancho Villa.

“…the claim that this will be a more ecologically friendly approach REMAINS TO BE PROVEN.”

What’s your point? Has it been proven?

Sanity,

“We need to:
1. Understand and realize that our current way of life cannot continue. 150,000,000 automobiles, most with pretty pathetic gas mileage, is just not sustainable. Mass transit and telecommuting are in the future. Sell the house in the suburb.”

What we need is serious innovation. We can’t all move into the city. It simply isn’t big enough, even if we all quit having kids and lived in efficiency appartments. How’s this for your new car – available in the next year or so:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html

ACJ,

Case in point: read comment #22, espescially 2nd item. Why that alone would be worth an additional 6 miles, don’t you think? BTW, it doesn’t matter if it is cool air or hot air, does it?

I don’t know. It sounds to me like that car kinda blows.

“If we all got 60 miles to the gallon”

yawn….

As I said in another thread, this does not solve any problems, it just pushes it out to the next generation.

Typical liberal idea though, the solution to any problem is to make it someone else’s rather than your own..

Meanwhile our environmentalist friends are oh so angry at the Washington Nationals for daring to have Exxon Mobil advertising at the new ball park. Exxon Mobil’s crime? Why global warming and high gas prices of course and we can’t have an eviiiillllll oil company advertising at the first “green” ballpark in American, can we?

But high gas prices result in people driving less which means less emissions and less global warmimg so you’d think the environmentalists would be happy but they’re not because higher gas prices means Exxon Mobil has higher profits and that’s bad because that means shareholders make more money so we really need to have cheaper gas so people will have more money to donate to Obama and Exxon Mobil execs will get smaller bonuses but then that means people will be driving more which will cause more global warming which is bad and then gas prices will go back up and those evil Exxon Mobil execs make more money and people won’t be able to drive as much….

The logic of the environmentalists and the Left can make one’s head explode a la the fembots from Austin Powers.

Pre-emptive comment here. I have heard the Democrats mantra the past 2 days claiming the oil co’s have “68 MILLION ACRES” they have leased from the federal gov’t but not tapped. I further heard Rahm Emmanuel claim the lease on these acres is a ‘use it or lose it” scenario. Hooray, I hope they do lose the 68 millions acres. I hope the Oil Co’s follow through with their unofficial offer to swap the 68 mill, that is proving to be dry as a bone and sucking monetary resources from real drilling, for leases on the outer continental shelf and ANWAR. There is actual oil in these 2 locations, and it is has been explored, studied and passed the “oil rich” test, unlike the 68 barren acres.

Despite the ignorant statements concerning the time it will take to actually deliver the oil, if it is ever allowed to be drilled, the speculation on drilling alone will drive down the current price of oil. As we know, the speculators have had their finger in this situation and currently consumption in the United States is down. I think there would be some pretty pissed OPEC members if the US did, in fact, start to drill.

If the Republicans stay on the offense on this issue, they have a fighting chance in November. Public opinion on drilling is on their side right now and the Republicans need to play their cards right.

Jacob…let’s imagine that you have 3 times the energy that Saudi Arabia has under your own turf…now broaden the scenario to bridge to a time when everyone else has either burned, exported or nationalized their own supplies. We would be “the last man standing” because we’d still have plentiful and untapped supplies that belonged to us. The economic ramifications are simply staggering. Think about that, and then you’d also have an answer about why even some republicans are not singing the verse about tapping it right now.

ACT,

In the not too distant future, the oil companies are going to be out of business anyway, so we would be doing them a favor.

Otherwise, their stockholder’s focus on short-term profits will force them off the cliff like lemmings.

Just trying to help!

“…and we can’t have an eviiiillllll oil company advertising at the first “green” ballpark in American, can we?”

You must remember about WHAT greenhouse gases are. If they serve hot dogs and/or beer at the ballpark, there will be farting. Yes, even from the women!

” there will be farting. ”

As Steve Martin said in a skit, we must protect the Ozone Layer at all costs, as that is the only thing between us, and The Fart Zone. The layer of the atmosphere where all farts since the dawn of man have gone, and remain to this day..

The news of the passing of George Carlin today stirred up some fond memories of 80s comedy.. Can I say “fart” on this blog, or is that one of the NTH seven words ?

Dan,

You will know that you can’t if you get a blog-police reprimand letter. George was cool and will be missed but not as much as nitro Scott Kalitta.
http://www.mlive.com/autoracing/index.ssf/2008/06/nhra_funny_car_driver_scott_ka.html