Oct 08, 2008 12:51AM GMT
Question
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Politics - United States
Renewable Energy vs Drilling: Which will lower gas prices first?
Few disagree that we should pursue renewable energy. Some argue that we should also pursue drilling (on/off shore) to reduce the dependency on foreign oil (much of which comes from hostile countries) and reduce the price of gas at the pump until we have reliable, affordable clean energy.
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raves +4 posted Oct 08, 2008 11:43PM GMT
Answered None of the above
I'm all for renewable energy BUT unfortunately we are not anywhere near having one or many that will remove us from the need for oil. Think about your every day life. Most people just equate it to the gas in "their" car. The fact is that moving goods and people all over this world will still need fossil fuel for decades to come. Why? What are you going to power jet airliners with, solar? What are you going to power semi trucks with, hydro? What are we going to substitute for all the products that have petroleum in them with, wind? Wind is what we are getting from all those who think that we can just stop drilling and all will be well. We had better start drilling real soon or you won't want to see what our economy will be like. The United States has more than enough oil reserves to sustain 60 years or more of use, so, in the mean time I think we should definitely look for alternatives (ie hydrogen, natural gas, nuclear) to supply our needs for the generations to come. But stopping the drilling now will only result in higher prices and dependence on other nations that don't really like us. DRILL -
raves Oct 10, 2008 07:29PM GMTPlease read up on Rockefeller and the WCTU; you may discover for yourself that the answer has been here for a very long time. Henry Ford knew what was up he just didn't have the political pull that John Rockefeller had; sad story for the US and ultimately the world.
The substitute for everything you mentioned is available today in abundance and is forever renewable. If we stop drilling, all will be well; look for the answers and don't listen to the others. -
raves +3 posted Oct 08, 2008 11:34PM GMT
Answered Renewable Energy will reduce transportation costs first
We have the ability and the technology to make all the cars on the road solar powered and/or battery powered...so why don't we do that? We have the ability to get solar panels on the roofs of our homes, why don't we do that? We can use wind, heat, rain...the list can go on. Instead, we are sending ourselves into wars that can't be won all for the sake of oil. The world's oil resource will run out eventually, and then what? We might as well start working on the future now! -
raves Oct 10, 2008 07:34PM GMTAlcohol fuel (not from corn either) costs LESS than gasoline to produce, and you can burn it in ANY internal combustion engine.
5-7 year return on solar; so if I were to buy solar panels and finance them through a low-interest "green loan" then paid the money that I was paying the power company toward that loan, then I would have paid off those panels in 5-7 years? Then who would I give my money to? What would those poor power companies do?! -
raves +1 Oct 26, 2008 12:42PM GMTcheap solar panels that do not use expensive silica are on the way. these new pico panels are printed much like a ink jet printer. not as efficient as silaca based but are flexable,paper thin,cheap,lightweight & easy to install will soon be rolling off the presses.
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raves +1 Oct 08, 2008 11:53PM GMTAlthough I agree the technology is there. The only problem with it is that battery powered cars only have enough power to drive about 90 miles. What about the big semi-trucks that bring you the majority of all goods you purchase? What about aviation? Solar on homes is definitely a direction we could be heading but again, it has to be cost effective and at this point it's not. I've always asked the question "why is there so much fossil fuel under the earth?". Was it supposed to be used for something else. What about all the products in your very home that have a portion of their manufacture that has petroleum products in them (ie carpet, refrigerators, drapes, furniture, computers, clothing, etc, etc. etc). The world needs to take a big turn to other energy sources and soon, but not drilling now will only complicate an already dismal situation. Cheers
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raves Oct 10, 2008 07:39PM GMTThose big semi-trucks run very well on fuel produced from plant fibers; airplanes run very well on the same stuff. Cars already are set up to burn alcohol. Ford made some great plastics from soy; maybe we should just leave all those fossil fuels below ground so they don't continue to foul up the environment.
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raves Oct 09, 2008 12:12AM GMTSolar power is not an option at this time for many of our transportation needs! It simply doesn't have enough power to drive a semi-- nor is it cost effective. Soy diesel is a better alternative fuel for that, but still has less bang for it's buck! Gas and diesel are still a more cost effective answer.. We must find cost effective answers for our transportation needs!
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raves Oct 25, 2008 11:45PM GMT (edited)plug in electrics & solar will help but it is not the silver bullitt to our fixes.
the chevy volt may be an option as it charges while you drive & also plugs in at night.
the chevy volt is expected to sell for around $40k,still too expensive most people. -
raves +3 posted Oct 08, 2008 11:29PM GMT (edited)
Answered Drilling will reduce transportation costs first
We have to use all of our resources to overcome being held hostage by idiot dictators, liberals have been yaking about renewable energy since the 1970's when the first oil crisis hit us...the funny thing is none of them have invented anything that can replace fossil fuels. Imagine that all talk and no action, they know what they don't want they just cannot come up with what they do want except mantras...not oil, no nuclear, no windmill in "my" backyard it spoils the view, etc. Now ethonal is causing food prices to go up, has anyone though about kudzu, it plentiful...grows fast and the south is covered in it? Oh, maybe not kudzu might work and we cannot have that...since it's a conservatives idea (yes I'm a Regan Conservative and proud of it because Regan was proud of his country, and not for the first time when he ran for the presidency)... We need to use all resources and all ideas no matter who's they are it seems like we have forgotten we are ALL Americans, we stand together or we fall together into socialism (which if you check has never worked, why would anyone work hard just to give it to someone who will not, so nobody works and everybody loses). -
raves +1 Oct 10, 2008 07:43PM GMTKudzu would work, but it produces less alcohol per acre than say sugar beet which also grows very quickly; but heck, throw some of the kudzu in with it, it all burns well in an IC engine!
The liberals don't need to invent anything to replace fossil fuel, we've had it here all along; maybe now more people will become aware of it and demand that we stop using petroleum. Look at Brazil, they import ZERO foreign oil and they have lots of cars on the road. -
raves Oct 26, 2008 03:29PM GMT (edited)Regan was a great guy no doubt, but it was his administration that killed the energy plan that would have already gotten us off of foreign oil 10 years ago. They celebrated the "victory" for oil by symbolically removing the solar water heater from the White House roof.
Ethanol causing food shortages is a myth; simply a lie propagated by oil interests to protect their interests. Properly executed, ethanol production can actually produce MORE food, as much as 1.4 times more when the resultant mash of production is used as feedstock. Livestock aren't able to digest the raw materials as readily as the matter in the wort, which is still full of the nutrients but further broken down. This year more than 20% of our corn crops went unused; in spite of food shortages around the world, many countries will not accept our corn because it is GMO and they do not consider it fit for human consumption.
Cattails actually produce more ethanol per acre than corn; cattails also produce more ethanol when grown in human waste, as would be produced if you were using it as an alternative to big expensive sewage treatment plants. Imagine that... a twofer! -
raves +2 posted Oct 08, 2008 11:26PM GMT (edited)
Answered None of the above
I believe it will be a combination of Renewable energy and pumping more oil out of the ground and refining it. I personally think that we should just drill on the land as there is so much oil that we will never run out of it.
vote for Chuck Baldwin or we will all be too broke to afford energy. http://www.baldwin08.com/ -
raves +3 Oct 09, 2008 12:00AM GMT"Necessity is the mother of invention"
If we stopped using oil tomorrow, we would sure find a replacement fast!
I do think that private investment capitalists have poured over $100,000,000,000 into research to find solutions because they want to benefit financially from finding alternatives. -
raves +3 posted Oct 08, 2008 09:51PM GMT
Answered None of the above
We need a combination of Drilling and renewable energy! The facts remain that oil gives us more bang for our energy buck! but renewable energy has it's place and helps offset the need for oil!
To accomplish this we need to stop the infighting!
It's like stating that all our country needs is black people! or white people or ...you get the picture! We NEED all of us to ban together and make a difference in our energy usage! Each of us makes a difference.. ALL of us make an impact!
Answered None of the above
I think we should explore all options at this point.