Until we develop effective alternative energy sources we still have to drill for oil, have coal and

[dumpdabaggers]

I do not know about you all, but I do not want to pay 6 bucks a gallon for gasoline. I think we need to place further restrictions on off shore drilling but we can not stop it 100%. We need to do what Obama is doing, develope every alternative we can, but until then we still need oil, coal, and nuclear.

Do you really want to put all of those coal miners out of work? Do you have any idea how high our untility bills will get if we do not make this transition gradual?

Nuclear power is the cheapest way to power cities. Plants are far safer than they used to be. While I support the goal of those wanting to get away from all of this stuff, we can not do it overnight.

[ClassWarrior]

1. Straw man.

No one honest ever suggested "we can do it overnight."

NGU.

[csziggy]

7. In 1977, Jimmy Carter thought it would take ten years

But then we were less reliant on foreign oil and our infrastructure was not as run down.

If Ronald Reagan and the Republicans had not dismantled everything Carter had tried to do, we would not be in such a hole now as far as alternative energy is concerned.

To get to the point Carter was aiming for from where we are now will take much more effort and money and a shitload more time.

[Zenlitened]

14. Fact:

If Ronald Reagan and the Republicans had not dismantled everything Carter had tried to do, we would not be in such a hole now as far as alternative energy is concerned.

:thumbsup:

[IndianaGreen]

2. Drill, baby, drill and gamma rays are good for you!

Which party won the 2008 election? I forgot!

[Teaser]

25. gamma rays?

gamma rays in the gulf aren't going to hurt anyone.

[and-justice-for-all]

3. The point is no more new plateforms...

and to have them regulated like they should be.

[MadHound]

4. Good thing we've developed those alternative energy sources

Now all we have to is implement them. Of course that means going with a decentralized mode of energy production, and large corporations won't like that at all.

But we've got the ability, now we just need to exert our will.

[Zenlitened]

15. Exactly!

...we've got the ability, now we just need to exert our will.

:applause:

[cliffordu]

5. SOLAR NOW, GODDAMMIT!

[Cha]

17. GO SOLAR NOT BALLISTIC!!

I would think there will have to be a transition period.

[Forkboy]

20. LOL

:)

[ljm2002]

6. I'm sure we will continue to use coal and oil...

...for the foreseeable future.

The thing is, we need to develop alternatives. We won't wean ourselves 100%, but if we are able to wean ourselves 80% that is huge. And the best way to ensure that happens is with appropriate policies by our government.

Unfortunately government policies tend to support the status quo. The status quo is Big Oil and Big Coal, both of which pour lots of money into the coffers of candidates and politicians who support them.

Yes, using less coal means less coal mining and using less oil means less oil drilling. On the other hand, presumably there will be offsetting jobs in the green energy area.

When dealing with policy issues it is always a tradeoff. Yes we need to acknowledge that people will be displaced and do what we can to alleviate the ill effects, including training them for the green energy jobs.

There is a reason it is hard to change the status quo, namely, it always hurts someone to do so. But we have come to the point where we are all hurt more by not changing it.

[phleshdef]

8. Unfortunately, I think we are stuck with the current energy situation for at least a decade or more.

Reversing the current situation and changing over to all the good stuff isn't as simple as flipping a switch. Some of us on the left don't have a big enough attention span to accept that.

[OHdem10]

9. You are correct on this one. Reality is we must sometimes accept

the world as it is not as we would like it to be.

We cannot shut down the country while we wait for some
risk taking Businessmen to decide to develop alternative energy.
Our country is so large it will takes lots and lots of
companies to come forth. In the meantime we have to lights
heat ways to prepare our food for starters. A few wind farms
dotted here and there across the landscape will not cut it/

Changing to alternative energy sources will be a slow process
but we will get there. In the meantime, we need to focus
on making present energy sources (Coal and oil) as safe as
can be.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

10. It needs to be some of both....

Fossil Fuel exploration done under rigorous safety and environmental standards, both on land and at sea, combined with a massive federal outlay for renewable energy. I'm talking massive - like a trillion dollars over the next decade to fully develop solar, wind and biomass.

The mineral extraction companies will bitch about it, but the fact is that they could implement extensive safety improvements to every currently-operating oil rig in the world for less than it's going to cost BP to clean up this disaster. Suck it up, boys.

[HughMoran]

11. We can start by stopping all new deep water drilling

...until they pass a law requiring acoustic blow out valves and put together a realistic plan on how to stop a goddamned leak when it inevitably occurs. Until then, no new drilling, or at least no new deep water drilling.

[DCBob]

12. I have my doubts we will ever wean ourselves off oil..

until we have no choice due to skyrocketing costs... but by then it may be too late since we will not have developed practical affordable alternatives. The world economy will collapse, society will deteriorate and chaos will ensue.. maybe a bit like a Mad Max movie.

[Raineyb]

13. I see the current clusterfuck in the Gulf of Mexico has taught you nothing.

How droll.

[niceypoo]

16. Meanwhile, the US pumps little if any into alternative energy sources

Yes, put the coal miners and oilmen out of work. It isnt worth destroying the future of the planet to save a few shitty jobs.

[Cleobulus]

18. You are going to be paying 6 bucks a gallon for gas whether you want to or not...

Probably within the next 3-5 years, give or take, regardless of how much drilling is done off the coasts, there isn't enough oil there to make a significant difference in prices.

[greencharlie]

19. it's a no-win dilemna for Obama Inc...

they ban drilling, ban coal, etc... and the cost of power goes up 10x and there are riots in the streets and the Dem party is out of power for 50 years...

He governs like a Pub and the left and middle hates him...

What's he SUPPOSED to do on this topic?

Like I've said... there are easy things Obama CAN DO, like repealing DADT. And lowering the burden on low income families by restricting predatory, usurious credit card co's... etc. But solving the energy problems in the middle of a recession? Nah.

[depakid]

21. "I do not know about you all, but I do not want to pay 6 bucks a gallon for gasoline. "

:rofl:

You'll be paying more than that- and still hollering like a child!

Don't get me wrong, your mindset is an all too common one, so you have a lot of company.

When it comes right down to it- it's not all that much different than the fundies on the Republican side of the aisle.

[TheKentuckian]

22. We have 2% of the oil, use 25%, and what little is produced goes on a global market

The argument that we HAVE to wreck our waters and poison the life that depends on them is a farce, at the best.

In fact, the whole argument is between weak, false, and fatalistic but the drill here, drill now segment of the argument is very, very lame.

You're complaining about $6 gas? Well, the REAL costs that you and your friends in the government and in big carbon REFUSE to even think about, put it significantly above that and those cost are being subsidized by the future as well as at the expense of life on this planet over which we are supposed to be stewards rather than wanton rapists of.

Yes, I want to put those coal miners out of work as soon as possible and get those folks above ground working in jobs that won't put them into an early grave after spitting out their lungs, destroying their lovely land, and pouring toxins into the earth, air, and water.

How oxygen depleted do you think the waters can be safely? How much shit can be pulled from deep in the earth and pumped into the air and water before we create irreversible problems?

How do you look your children in the eyes and tell them that cheap gas today is more important than their life and chance to prosper? How do you tell them you don't care if they die on an acid washed, scraped out, filthy ball devoid of the life she knows because only the moment matters?

How gradual can we afford to be at the rate we are going and what it will take to try to reverse it?

How can you punt your costs to the future and to innocent life forms?

[polichick]

23. I'm amazed at how few people know the facts in your subject line...

This is what the president should explain in no uncertain terms - his offshore plan really muddied up the message.

[TheKentuckian]

24. No doubt and that's why I'm furious about this whole debate

its because its all a bunch of bull. The only reason we HAVE to drill up our shores is because big carbon wants the profits and the control of the market.

[tekisui]

26. You have it backwards. Until we are forced to develop effective

alternatives, we never will. The best thing would be a moratorium on ALL new drilling in the US, on land or at sea. A governmental-enforced decrease on oil would lead to quicker innovations.

The point is: one day we will have to get off oil. It would be better if we chose when and how.