Is THREE greater than TWENTY-FIVE?

[AnArmyVeteran]

It's a simple math question. Is 3 greater than 25?

Conservatives believe it is. They believe the 3% of the world's oil reserves in the United States is greater than the 25% of the energy we use.

Conservatives mindlessly chant "Drill baby, Drill" believing we can drill our way to energy independence. They openly laugh at any solution to our energy dependence if it involves greener energy. They laugh at windmills. They laugh at solar. They laugh at conservation. They laughed when candidate-Obama accurately said if motorists properly inflated their tires they could reduce their fuel expenses by up to 5 percent.

Senator Bernie Saunders said we could eliminate all US drilling and the price at the pump would only increase 3 cents a gallon. But if we increased the fuel efficiency of automobiles to 35.5 mpg it would lower the cost of to an equivalent rate of a whopping $1.00 a gallon. http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/oil-spill-and-energy-policy-bernie-sanders

Why are we losing this PR war with conservatives is beyond belief. And how the most illiterate and ignorant in their flock, like the tea baggers, can seize control of the national dialogue is disgraceful. Where are the leaders in the democratic party to counter their lunacy? And why is the media being allowed to turn the dialogue into a circus instead of informing the citizenry?

I like President Obama. He is a good man. But he needs to take charge of our country by being more forceful. And he needs to tell the American people what Bernie Saunders is saying. And he needs to keep repeating it over and over again until it drowns out the lunacy from the right, so the truth can finally sink in to the minds of the American people. Even the dumbest among us will finally realize the truth if they are told often enough.

We need to have a war on inefficiency and ineptness with the way we handle energy. We need to put our resources into new energy at the same time we call for all Americans to work to reduce our dependence on oil. There are thousands of ways to reduce the amount of energy we consume, but I'll cite just one example: All of you have had to wait long periods of time at traffic signals when no other cars are even on the road. Why? I'm sure if we just had smart or synchronized traffic lights installed all across our country we could easily save enough energy to eliminate the need for any domestic oil drilling. So why aren't we doing it?

We need leadership and I hope President Obama soon finds the will and the courage to be the leader we need. He holds so much promise, but to date he has chosen to follow illusionary trails trying to achieve bipartisanship, rather than to be the leader this country needs...

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended for aggressively using the bully pulpit to move the nation.

Thanks for the thread, AnArmyVeteran.:thumbsup:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

2. Nicely presented. k&r

[yodoobo]

3. need some more context.

sounds like 3 represents apples and 25 represents oranges.

"3% of the world's oil reserves in the United States is greater than the 25% of the energy we use."

Without knowing the absolute numbers that the relative numbers are drawing from, its tough to answer that question. I don't know the absolute numbers, but I do know that we are running out of oil.

We use alot of oil in this country, far more than many do.

I'm sure we are in agreement that we need to cut down on oil use, explore alternate energies and develop an energy conservation policy, but I don't think we can boil it all down to "3>25"

[AnArmyVeteran]

5. Both 3 & 25 represent oil. It's not apples and oranges...

I could write a 500 page book on the subject, but very few would read it. I included a link that also takes any reader to other sources for information. But the fact remains. The US uses 25% of the world's energy and produces only 3%. The case I presented is quite clear. Conservatives somehow believe the paltry 3% of the world's oil we produce can somehow equal the 25% of the world's oil we use. There are no apples or oranges here and the answer is obvious, 25 is greater than 3, it always has been and always will be. It's grade school math.

We need to accent the development of new forms of green energy with substantial reductions in our use of energy. That should be the goal of all Americans, but we need leadership and we need a national mission presented to us to achieve our goals.

During WWII, all American people shared in the sacrifice to support our country during a time of war. Nothing was wasted. Everything was recycled. We need President Obama to be the leader as FDR was to demonstrate to the American people that without a shared sacrifice and a unified mission we will never overcome the obstacles before us. But it takes strong, unwavering leadership and an uncompromising will to achieve such goals.

[Jim__]

7. No; 3 and 25 don't both represent oil.

25 represents 25% of the oil used per year. 3 represents 3% of total known oil reserves. Two very different things.

For instance, say that oil used per year were 30 billion barrels. Then 25% of that is 7.5 billion barrels of oil (used per year). Then, say, the total known oil reserves were 100 trillion barrels. 3% of that would be 3 trillion barrels. (All numbers made up to illustrate a point.)

Should we get off fossil fuels? Absolutely! But comparing apples to oranges is always a bad argument.

[yodoobo]

12. thanks. I was getting worried

that I was the only was saw this.

[izquierdista]

4. Conservative math

"Decimal points mean what I intend them to mean" said the Red Queen. "Of course 3>2.5, so it also holds wherever I put the decimal point."

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Yes, because three is the magic number.

[AnArmyVeteran]

8. Sorry, but 3 is not magic, unless it's a 3some :)

[The Straight Story]

13. 6 *IS* a Magic number though (at least in number theory) (nt)

[AnArmyVeteran]

14. But 6 is still not greater than 25...

[Motown_Johnny]

9. is 41 greater than 59?

[Dr Morbius]

18. The same people think so.

Actually, inside the beltway, 41 is functionally almost equal to 59. Pathetic, ain't it?

[HughMoran]

10. Right wingers should be forced to take a shower in crude oil

bastards.

[AnArmyVeteran]

11. We need to bring back public dunking. 1st dunk that BP CEO sociopath, then all conservatives in oil.

Conservatives cheer on corporations and are even defending BP. Why are they such whores to corporations? It's obvious they have no clue they are being used by the very thugs who are harming them.

[MrScorpio]

15. Another damn good post, Brother n/t

[AnArmyVeteran]

16. Thanks MrScorpio, that means a lot from a fellow soldier...

I hope you have a great Memorial Day...

[11 Bravo]

17. Very nicely said, ArmyVet.

Succinct and right on point.