The Shoutbox
Originally Posted by John McClane
That is the biggest pile of BS I have ever heard. No matter where you drill oil is going to be environmentally unfriendly. Not only that, but we still have to move it even if we drill domestically.
Uh, why is it BS? Tankers are far more likely to spill than possible alternatives like pipelines. And while we still have to transport it, drilling domestically means the transportation is over a much shorter distance.

Originally Posted by John McClane
As for the Venezuela part, I didn't know about the government. So throw that idea out the window.
Nah, c'mon. You'd never put forth such a forceful opinion without all the facts.
I like the idea for windmill powered cars... is there going to be a facility near me where I can get one of those bad boys installed?
Originally Posted by Yoda
By the by, one of our current Presidentical candidates supports nuclear power, and the other opposes it. No points for guessing which is which, but I'll give you a hint: you like the one who opposes it.
Yes, but do you know why he opposes it? I have a fairly good idea because it's the same reason why I wouldn't want a bunch of nuclear facilities being setup across America: we lack nuclear power experience.

Sure, we have quite a few plants across the USA, but we're not even close to meeting the same quality of, say, the Japanese. I think we need a few more years before nuclear energy becomes safe enough for widespread use. However, I will most definitely be the first person to push for nuclear energy when I feel it's safe enough.

Mind you, I think the current plants are extremely safe. I would just much rather be very careful, than very dead.
Nuclear... pronounced nu-ka-ler.

Now you're all done with the book learnin'!
Originally Posted by John McClane
Certainly, yet so many people are talking about Anwar as a method to lower costs which is simply not true.
Er, yes it is. There are some issues about when the oil might hit the market, or how long it might alleviate costs, but the former is largely a matter of regulation (which can be changed), and the latter is a matter of degree. It's simple supply-and-demand. Also, I don't know of many people who see ANWR as a standalone solution. Most (myself included) see it as one part of a series of new policies.

Originally Posted by John McClane
And no, I am putting an argument against drilling. Setup the equipment, but don't drill. We've got plenty of oil. People are turning this debate into some type of huge crisis, yet the actual crisis is not having enough research into alternative energies.
Really? Do you have the numbers on that research on you? How much is "enough"? What if various alternatives do not pan out in a commercially viable way?

Originally Posted by John McClane
I'm all for nuclear energy, the French and Japanese have been using it for years and look how efficient they are in terms of energy. America is one of the worst countries when it comes to energy progress. Sure, we have the most advance refineries in the world, but we have such an overwhelming dependence on oil. I see so many people wanting to extend that dependence, instead of remedying it.
I'm not sure where you "see" that. Not in The Shoutbox. I love nuclear energy, and think it's ridiculous that we haven't used it more. By the by, one of our current Presidential candidates supports nuclear power, and the other opposes it. No points for guessing which is which, but I'll give you a hint: you like the one who opposes it.
As for the Venezuela part, I didn't know about the government. So throw that idea out the window.
Originally Posted by Yoda
Not to mention that importing oil is far less environmentally sound than drilling domestically, or offshore.
That is the biggest pile of BS I have ever heard. No matter where you drill oil is going to be environmentally unfriendly. Not only that, but we still have to move it even if we drill domestically.
Originally Posted by Yoda
Okay, then you're for drilling and adding to our reserves, then, I take it?
Certainly, yet so many people are talking about Anwar as a method to lower costs which is simply not true.

And no, I am putting an argument against drilling. Setup the equipment, but don't drill. We've got plenty of oil. People are turning this debate into some type of huge crisis, yet the actual crisis is not having enough research into alternative energies.

I'm all for nuclear energy, the French and Japanese have been using it for years and look how efficient they are in terms of energy. America is one of the worst countries when it comes to energy progress. Sure, we have the most advance refineries in the world, but we have such an overwhelming dependence on oil. I see so many people wanting to extend that dependence, instead of remedying it.
Originally Posted by John McClane
Our biggest concern should be getting off Middle Eastern oil, and the easiest way to do that is to invest more in Venezuelan wells.
This is not a good idea. Venezuela is run by a virulently anti-American dictator. Getting our oil from a different hostile area does not solve the problem, which is not the Middle East itself, but the fact that we're dependent on foreign energy sources at all. It puts us at the mercy and whim of foreign administrations, which are inevitably going to ebb and flow, and not always in ways we would like.

Even investing in drilling in a perfectly friendly country (which Venezuela is not) would carry this risk with it. Not to mention that importing oil is far less environmentally sound than drilling domestically, or offshore.
"Enough of imperialist aggression; we must tell the world: down with the U.S. empire. We have to bury imperialism this century." - H Chavez

Hey man, great idea! Let's support this guy!
Originally Posted by John McClane
Tell me, would you rather have all that oil now, or during a serious world crisis?

I'm all for setting up the wells and pipelines, but I am adamantly against using that oil unless we have a shortage.
Okay, then you're for drilling and adding to our reserves, then, I take it? Because, as opponents to offshore drilling and the like often claim, newly drilled oil won't be hitting the market tomorrow. It could take several years, depending on whether or not we do anything to ease regulations. If your position is that we have to be prepared for shortages, then logic dictates we drill now, when we don't NEED to, but not use it.

In other words, you're not putting forward an argument against drilling. You're only talking about what we do once we've drilled.

Originally Posted by John McClane
Quit talking about getting more oil, and start talking about real alternatives to the energy crisis.
You keep making these broad, sweeping dismissals, but you offer no alternative. You also talk about drilling and alternative energy as if we only get to do one thing at any given time. That's simply not true, nor is it advisable.