[quote=Powdered Water]Nuclear... pronounced nu-ka-ler. 

Now you're all done with the book learnin'![/quote]

[quote=Yoda][quote=John McClane]Certainly, yet so many people are talking about Anwar as a method to lower costs which is simply not true.[/quote]
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.

[quote=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.[/quote]
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?

[quote=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.[/quote]
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.[/quote]

[quote=John McClane]As for the Venezuela part, I didn't know about the government. So throw that idea out the window. ;)[/quote]

[quote=John McClane][quote=Yoda]Not to mention that importing oil is far less environmentally sound than drilling domestically, or offshore.[/quote]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.[/quote]

[quote=John McClane][quote=Yoda]Okay, then you're for drilling and adding to our reserves, then, I take it?[/quote]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.[/quote]

[quote=Yoda][quote=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.[/quote]
This is not a good idea. Venezuela is run by a virulently anti-American dictator. Getting our oil from a [i]different[/i] 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.[/quote]

[quote=Sedai]"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![/quote]

[quote=Yoda][quote=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.[/quote]
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.

[quote=John McClane]Quit talking about getting more oil, and start talking about real alternatives to the energy crisis. :rolleyes:[/quote]
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.[/quote]

[quote=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.[/quote]

[quote=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.

We have plenty of oil right now. There are no shortages, and probably won't be for awhile. The majority of it comes from Canada and Mexico, which are both under NAFTA. Another sizable chuck comes from Venezuela where there are boatloads more to be drilled. No, we do *not* need to tap Anwar.

Quit talking about getting more oil, and start talking about real alternatives to the energy crisis. :rolleyes:[/quote]

[quote=Yoda]If "to their own ends" means "so we have more energy," then yeah. Not everyone who feels strongly about this is a politician. Some of us just think we need more energy.

[quote=John McClane]Don't drill in Anwar! Find a real solutin! ;)[/quote]
Yes, a wonderful, magical solution that we can implement instantly without any sort of transition period. ;) This is definitely one of those issues where you can highlight imperfections in all the solutions. Yet something needs to be done.

The issue is staggeringly simple at its core: if you think we need more energy, there are a limited number of ways we can go about it. Nuclear power, increased drilling, and future technologies to name a few. Every sane person is for finding cleaner, renewable energy sources, but it's not going to happen overnight, and we can't do nothing while we wait for various energy forms to become viable.

Thus, I humbly submit that, if there's oil under our feet, we get at it. Not as an alternative to new energy sources, but to supplement and transition. If anyone's got a better idea rather than "tough it out until we can mount a windmill on your Camry," I'd love to hear it.[/quote]