Dems cracking on oil exploration?
posted at 8:36 am on July 29, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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The Hill reports that Harry Reid has stumbled yet again in the standoff over energy policy. Reid attempted a compromise with Senate Republicans by offering expanded leases in the Gulf of Mexico and a billion acres off the Alaskan coast for new studies. That prompted a fierce backlash from Democrats in the Senate and House, including Nancy Pelosi (via Instapundit):
A group of influential Senate and House Democrats has sided with environmental groups against Reid to call exploration in new areas unnecessary.
The legislation, drafted by Reid and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), would open nearly a billion new acres off the coast of Alaska to study for drilling. It would also dramatically accelerate oil leases in the western and central Gulf of Mexico.
“I am unalterably opposed to drilling,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, who cited a massive oil spill that closed nearly 100 miles of the Mississippi River last week.
The Republicans in the Senate have made good on their pledge to bring the upper chamber to a halt until a full debate and vote on drilling can take place. Reid cannot split off any Republicans, although he tried with an omnibus spending package consisting of $10 billion in pork. The Republicans refused to bite, however, and Reid needs some way to satisfy enough of them to take control of the chamber again.
Unfortunately, his own caucus won’t allow it. Despite polling that shows 70% of American voters favoring expanded domestic oil production, Democrats appear determined to obstruct it. Lautenberg grasped onto the oil spill in New Orleans as an excuse not to drill, even though the spill has nothing to do with drilling; an oil tanker ran into a barge, and oil tankers would exist with or without new drilling. Pelosi, meanwhile, has closed debate in the House, claiming to be on a mission:
With fewer than 20 legislative days before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, the entire appropriations process has largely ground to a halt because of the ham-handed fighting that followed Republican attempts to lift the moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration. And after promising fairness and open debate, Pelosi has resorted to hard-nosed parliamentary devices that effectively bar any chance for Republicans to offer policy alternatives.
“I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,” she says impatiently when questioned. “I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy.”
Actually, she will not have this debate at all. Over a year ago, a few months after taking control of the House, Pelosi bragged about stripping Big Oil of its tax incentives and the redirection of money towards corn ethanol and a variety of energy alternatives as the Democratic strategy specific to lowering gas prices. Instead of going down, prices have risen a full third in the intervening year. Whose policy has failed? Small wonder she has taken the path of the petty tyrant and stifled all debate in the House.
The Democratic policies of failure and shortage have finally been exposed to the American voter. Pelosi may kill debate in the House, but the Democrats are going to lose the debate with the American electorate. If they can’t even go as far as Reid went in reaching a compromise, the Republicans will have a field day in November. The ads write themselves, and perhaps for the first time in this electoral cycle, Republicans have real energy behind them.
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“I am unalterably opposed to drilling,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)
Ya hear that, Jersey Voters? YOUR Senator would rather see you pay 5 bucks a gallon than to drill holes in the ground in a frozen tundra that nobody will ever see. You make me ashamed to claim New Jersey as my born and raised home state.
Tony737 on July 29, 2008 at 8:39 AM
Who does she think she is, Wonder Woman or Supergirl?
jgapinoy on July 29, 2008 at 8:39 AM
Keep obstructing, democrats.
john1schn on July 29, 2008 at 8:41 AM
Attention all Voters in New Jersey!
You all sick and tired of high gas prices?
Maybe it’s time to retire your illustrious Senator here.
pilamaye on July 29, 2008 at 8:42 AM
It would take monumental incompetence and idiocy for the Democrats to lose Congress this fall, but with a complete jackass like Nancy Pelosi at the helm, they just might pull it off.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 8:42 AM
That’s getting an entry for Worst Pun of the Year.
free-thinker on July 29, 2008 at 8:43 AM
Yeah, but McCain has to be the one to grab the ball and run with it. McConnell and Boehner cannot do that for him in a presdiential election year. And as long as he bitterly clings to his position on ANWR, the Republican message on drilling is blurred.
Seriously, I’m sure the land on which McCain’s Sedona ranch is built was once “pristine” too, and that doesn’t seem to bother him.
BigD on July 29, 2008 at 8:43 AM
… Pelosi bragged about stripping Big Oil of its tax incentives and the redirection of money towards corn ethanol …
Hey, thaks for making the price of cereal go up too, Nancy. Your little scheme didn’t make the price of gas come down, it made the price of FOOD go UP. Ya know what might make the price of gas come down? DRILLING FOR OIL! Simple supply and demand, but these idiot libs don’t understand the Free Market. Bush lifted the Executive ban on drilling and gas fell 10 cents before a single hole was drilled in ANWR.
Tony737 on July 29, 2008 at 8:45 AM
Nancy Pelosi,petty tyrant!
And if you think Nancy is bad now,
wait until the Democrats are back
in power!
And if they do get their power back,
the libs will not work with Republicans!
canopfor on July 29, 2008 at 8:47 AM
Drill democrats here, Burn Pelosi now, Elect fewer democrats.
Right_of_Attila on July 29, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Save the planet from big Oil, burn a Democrat in your fireplace tonight….
Dale in Atlanta on July 29, 2008 at 8:52 AM
I just can’t get past that picture on the homepage.
Frightening.
bridgetown on July 29, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington said on Bloomberg TV recently that Democrats want high gas prices so as to wean Americans off of their appetite for oil.
Maybe it is time we Americans wean Democrats off of their appetite for power and control of our lives.
pilamaye on July 29, 2008 at 8:54 AM
What was that line Nancy used,oh ya
“It might just take Woman” to clean
the house!
Lets see,Republicans will drill day or
night,yet all liberals want to do,is
pullout,a hum,of drilling for oil that
is! haha.
canopfor on July 29, 2008 at 8:54 AM
So Nancy is magnanimously willing to bet your life that she’s right!
She’s willing to convert the USA to a land without heat or air conditioning, without light, without transportation, without refrigeration, with no auto or airplane industry, with no means of defending itself, and with constant food shortages and a much shorter life expectancy in order to….uh….
What was that you think you are doing, Nancy?
landlines on July 29, 2008 at 8:55 AM
The democrats havent seen a single issue that Americans wanted action on that they were not happy to fight the American people about. Immigration reform? Dems said yes, over 80 percent of American citizens said no. Now its domestic oil production, the dems cant seem to make a good decision to save their lives.
doriangrey on July 29, 2008 at 8:55 AM
Repeat after me: ‘Pelosi-Reid-Obama’
JammieWearingFool on July 29, 2008 at 8:57 AM
Pelosi doesn’t seem to realize how people think about this. If they were smart about this, they’d offer compromises they know the Republicans would reject (”we’ll allow drilling if you accept staggering environmental regulations” for example), and claim they refuse to play ball. Now, Republicans can claim that Pelosi is on a Quixotic quest to save the world, ignoring what our real problems today are.
smithinmich on July 29, 2008 at 8:57 AM
The photo looks like a Halloween-ish version of this.
jgapinoy on July 29, 2008 at 8:57 AM
She is a megalomaniac. Not only does shipping oil from half way around the world create more “impact”, but the idea that a Congresswoman or any other human can “save the planet” is absurd. “If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawn mower“
forest on July 29, 2008 at 8:57 AM
OK, hypocrite. Show me that you want to save the planet. Move out of your mansion. Give up traveling in your jet…..use a train…..or a broom.
GOP points to cost, helps kill bill to aid victims
God Bless John Cornyn.
Here’s some of the craptacular pork in the Omnibus. Harry “The Body” Reid was had rolled 3 dozen bills into the “Advancing America’s Priorities Act”.
–Emmitt Till Unsolved Crime Act, aimed at investigating unsolved civil rights era crimes (this was reasonable)
–Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act
–Runaway and homeless youth bill
–Bill to combat child exploitation by pornographers
–Create a database for Lou Gehrig’s disease victims
–Melanie Blocker Stokes Act (Aid for new mothers suffering from depression)
–Training for Realtime Writers Act
–Captive Primate Safety Act
–Smithsonian greenhouse bill
–Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act
–Broadband Data Improvement Act
–Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 29, 2008 at 9:00 AM
Drill – and let us use our corn for food. Then, let’s get some of that wonderful American know-how to work to develop some realistic and workable alternative energy sources. A Manhattan Project for energy if you will. I think private enterprise will have to do it, God knows San Fran Nan and Dingy Harry won’t back it.
Ellen on July 29, 2008 at 9:00 AM
I have so far found exactly one person, who has accepted my offer (Not offered here) to bet $1.00 that McCain wins the election. The person making that bet is praying that he looses his bet and obama looses the election.
Note, the bet is offered in an online Veterans group.
Linh_My on July 29, 2008 at 9:01 AM
There’s one place we could drill that would immediately take $50.00 off of a barrel of oil:
Nancy Pelosi’s skull.
We might not find much oil in the center of her wooden head, but it’s worth a try.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 9:03 AM
Dude, the only thing you would strike it rich in her noggin would be BoTox. BTW, I think she needs to go in for a tune-up. The turkey neck is coming back.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 29, 2008 at 9:10 AM
The Dems wish to keep the oppressed third world without energy, while attempting to turn our nation into a third world country.
The party of “Let them eat cake”.
Hening on July 29, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Doc,
It’s surprising how no matter how much money you have, and how good your doctors are, they can only do so much.
Look at Donald Trump’s hair. The guy’s a billionaire and it looks like he has a road kill possum on his noggin.
This is a particularly sweaty photo of Pelosi, she must have been trying to read something. Mustn’t try that again.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in 3….2…
BacaDog on July 29, 2008 at 9:14 AM
That front-page photo looks like something Norman Rockwell painted
,
on acid.
hillbillyjim on July 29, 2008 at 9:14 AM
…I’m super serial!!
Alden Pyle on July 29, 2008 at 9:16 AM
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 9:03 AM
But then who will save the planet?
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 9:17 AM
I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,” she says impatiently when questioned. “I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy.”
I read this and a shiver went down my spine. Who does she think she is? Her job is not to save the planet. It is to protect and uphold the consititution of the US of America.
Our congresspeople and Senators are TOO FULL of themselves. They think they rule the world. They think they have unlimted power to do what they want and damn the avg citizen. when the UN adopts the US consititution and gives every human in the world the same rights and freedoms that America has they they can “save the world” until then they need to do the damn job we elected them for and that is to save the US and increase its citizens standard of living.
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 9:21 AM
I agree with the first part of what you said.
The “Manhattan Project for energy” bit, though – not only is that an analogy others have used, it is one that is long-since debunked. The Manhattan Project was set up to solve an engineering problem; the physics had already been worked out by Einstein.
The much-vaunted “cheap & clean alternative” to oil, nuclear, etc. does not exist yet because the science does not exist yet. So a “Manhattan Project” would be a waste of funds. Someone needs to have the brilliant idea first, THEN we can work on engineering our way toward making it practical and affordable.
“And then, a miracle occurs” just doesn’t work in most equations; I don’t care how talented an engineer you are.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Question:
If Nancy really wants to impress us with her megalomania, why stop with “Save the Planet”? Why not “Save the Solar System”, or “Save the Universe”?
She could claim that we had to hunker down in the cold eating gruel, pay huge taxes, vote Democrat, and do exactly what she tells us or the sun will go out!
landlines on July 29, 2008 at 9:21 AM
.
A ‘massive’ oil spill? Since when does a spill measured in gallons get described as massive? Beyond that point, how can he try to ignore the fact that bringing in oil via tanker (as was the case on the Mississippi) is inherently more environmentally risky (and fuel intensive) than piping it from the Gulf, or from Alaska, or from the Rockies?
Think_b4_speaking on July 29, 2008 at 9:21 AM
landlines on July 29, 2008 at 8:55 AM
Good comment… Take a good look at that picture of Pelosi & Reid. A couple of deer staring into the headlight as doom closes in. These two are the face of the Democrat Party, the best the DNC has to offer. Americans will wake up when the pain becomes unbearable. We’ve been down this road before (Carter), and we corrected the coarse. I guess Americans needed to see just how bad Liberalism is once again. Hopefully Americans have reached their limits on the pain that comes with the likes of Pelosi & Reid. Democrats have no solutions, refuse to listen to the people, and strive only to force Liberalism upon the masses.
Keemo on July 29, 2008 at 9:22 AM
Well, did you see that snippet of her on “The View”? Are you saying that you are opposed to Trump’s “Onion Peel”? I think it’s class-say.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 29, 2008 at 9:24 AM
“But then who will save the planet? – Unseen”
Can’t her husband buy her some other planet to save? Like he bought he Congressional Seat and Speakership? Why does it happen to be this one?
There are other planets. Perhaps Pelosi can save Mars. Or stray cats. Maybe birds with one wing.
The point is, Nancy Pelosi needs something to do. What the rest of us need, is for Nancy Pelosi to do something, ANYTHING other than her current job.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 9:24 AM
A Manhattan Project for energy if you will.
The last manhatten project gave us the energy choice. We need to use the results of the last manhatten project. We tamed the atom. Now let’s use the damn thing.
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 9:25 AM
“This is not the Onion Peel I knew.” – Barack Obama
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 9:25 AM
Pelosi and Reid: Public Enemies #1 and #2:
Dangerous to your pocketbook, dangerous to your security.
Natural resources = energy, productivity, and economic growth and competitiveness
Corn = food
Recall the incompetent Dem “leadership”.
Drill, explore, refine NOW!
Nuke Pelosi and Reid back to their homies.
onlineanalyst on July 29, 2008 at 9:29 AM
This is the standard answer that Pelosi uses as an excuse for her miserable existance. No matter what the case, it’s always some one else’s “failed policy”.
The only FAILED POLICY was the San Francisco morons that put the women in a position to shape this nations progress and prosperity and in her case neither will become a reality. Reid and Pelosi will go down in history as the worst elected officials ever. What these two have done to obstruct this nations progress should be considered a criminal act.
Rovin on July 29, 2008 at 9:30 AM
This is working out very nicely Holmes.
Griz on July 29, 2008 at 9:34 AM
That pic is a cut scene from Night of the Living Dead.
whitetop on July 29, 2008 at 9:35 AM
And John McNumbnuts keeps talking about Obama’s trip overseas!!! Start talking about drilling for oil you idiot!!! The democRATs have handed you THE issue and you keep slamming your peepee in the door!!!!
sabbott on July 29, 2008 at 9:36 AM
I think the sub-plot, is that the Republicans may have relearned that when acting as a “group” they have power.
They can ride this all the way to election day. The Dems can’t just throw out a few bills, they have to fully reverse, and almost apologize, about their actions regarding energy.
This is a monumental disaster to the Dems., Reid will lose his seat in Nevada. You don’t think they care about energy? About 70% of Las Vegas money DRIVES from California, I would like to see some stats on how many are staying home. California, king of the automobiles, how many are hurting with $5 gallon and rising gas. Colorado, to ship from Calif. you have to cross the Rocky’s, always has been a shipping surcharge…what is it now?
This is a perfect storm, an unseasoned Pres. candidate, that has to stand with a failed energy platform. How do you retreat and hold on to their “environmental” block of voters. You can’t…the coast is ours, the plains are ours, Anwr is ours for the taking. And with that comes the votes.
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Jees! What a couple of sad sacks.
And you know what the sacks are full of.
TheSitRep on July 29, 2008 at 9:37 AM
Wonder Dog? Isn’t he the one that had the song that went: Here I am to save the day?
On second thought, Wonder Dog was incredibly humble compared to Nancy Pelosi.
AZCoyote on July 29, 2008 at 9:38 AM
How many Messianic Complexes can one party hold?
ronsfi on July 29, 2008 at 9:39 AM
Personally, living in the center of Corn country, I don’t mind the use of ethanol. People complain about the government backing, but there is so much land out here that the government is paying people NOT to farm, it doesn’t bother me if they get a little kick-back to actually farm it instead. Of course it would be better if the government wasn’t involved at all, but…
Some believe the drilling should be decided by the individual states. Sorry, but there isn’t a whole lot of oil in Nebraska, and I don’t want to rely on states like California to make wise decisions on energy policy.
Alternatives are great, but it doesn’t take long for anyone with a calculator to realize even electric cars would tax our infrastructure, and would still cost more than the $5/gallon equivalent of gasoline.
cntrlfrk on July 29, 2008 at 9:39 AM
A better analogy would be the man on the moon project, NASA. Putting huge resources together for a massive project.
Project…Energy for the U.S., drilling, alternative (whatever that means), nuclear. Fast tract them and get the started. In five years we would be independent of most oil, in another five years, alternate sources would be kicking in, and in another five years we would be totally independent of any other country….meanwhile, Venezuela, middle-east, would be clamoring for customers.
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 9:43 AM
Tyrant is a good word to describe Nancy Pelosi.
CP on July 29, 2008 at 9:44 AM
I suggest that she cultivate, harvest, stomp, and bottle the grapes in her vineyard. The grapes of wrath of the American people are catching up to Pelosi’s vanity.
Then again, she can always can some tuna in American Samoa.
P Perfect putz of the enviro-wackos
E Enlightenment-impaired
L Lame in reasoning
O Obama groupie
S Stagnant for America
I Idiocy personified
The woman is terrified of the Greens and Code Pinkos in San Francisco threatening her position of power.
onlineanalyst on July 29, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Again, there you are talking about an engineering problem. “Alternative energy” is NOT an engineering problem, because it’s not just a matter of getting from Point A to Point B, it’s a matter of someone making the intuitive leap to discover what Point B IS.
NASA engineers already knew that it would take a certain amount of thrust to reach a speed (”escape velocity”) that would move a payload (human or otherwise) out of Earth’s gravity well and onto an intercept trajectory with the moon. WE DON’T KNOW what other possible energy source is out there that we can exploit that will be cleaner than, and comparably as cheap and efficient as, our current options. Therefore, a massive program (government OR private) to harness that hypothetical energy source would be a waste of funds.
I wish people could understand this, but it at least begins to make sense why the morons we elect to Congress can’t.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 9:47 AM
I think we need some good comic relief. A reminder that we do have some good ones in the House.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EcQ03qRE1s
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 29, 2008 at 9:48 AM
Let’s cut off Nancy Pelosi from all oil, oil related products and energy all together. Her not being able to use all that make-up alone would save us a few barrels a day.
carbon_footprint on July 29, 2008 at 9:50 AM
Pelosi really is a tyrant. “Save the planet?” What about the millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet with food and energy prices ratcheting upward and onward?
Maybe she should resign as speaker and head up Obama’s
Civilian Security ForceBrownshirtsStasi? That’s a job she’s well-suited for.BTW, when was Reid embalmed? He looks like a zombie in that photo next to a rather greasy Pelosi.
Cody1991 on July 29, 2008 at 9:50 AM
Somebody with Photoshoop skills needs to do “An American Gothic” with the screencap photo.
carbon_footprint on July 29, 2008 at 9:51 AM
I love the picture with the headline. March of the living dead…..The Socialist Democrats keep on about McCain being too old, I guess they don’t have a problem with Reid being dead…A dead Senator for the dead on the voter rolls…..
adamsmith on July 29, 2008 at 9:54 AM
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 9:47 AM
point a = old infrastructure, no new energy production
point b = new transmission lines, new nuclear plants, new clean coal power plants, new solar farms, new wind farms, new geothermal plants, new drills, new pipelines, new tankers etc.
The problem with energy production is that it is very capital expensive. yes all of these things would be better being down by the private sector but then again with all the stupid laws, rules and regulation the government has made it near impossible for the private sector to do it.
So the “manhatten project” I would think would be more about building the plants, farms etc that need building. We already have the how to enough extant to start building.
Nuclear/wind/solar would free up NG for transportation even without an electric car the electric needs of a population that will double in 20 years will not be met by changing lightbulbs
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 9:54 AM
Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.
John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776
sabbott on July 29, 2008 at 9:54 AM
OPEC will open the spigot just a little and prices will fall back to about $3.40 just before the November vote. The Dhimmis will landslide in following the Obamahdi on a white camel and then the fun will begin. Seven dollar gas in two years but Pelosi will continue ’saving the planet’ for the bears and owls who will also get free medical care.
Annar on July 29, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Annar on July 29, 2008 at 9:55 AM
If you believe OPEC they don’t have any more to send. Now Saudia Arabia is opening a new oil feild which should increase production but will it be open before NOV? Or will the iraqi fields continue to improve and come online? And even if they did would the demand from china soak it all up?
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 9:58 AM
You are using the “Manhattan Project” idea here in a sense that is different from how it is usually used. You are talking about an enhancement of existing technologies, a beefing-up of infrastructure, etc. Most people, when they talk about a “Manhattan Project for energy” are talking about trying to throw money at the problem of developing an entirely new “alternative” energy source. The requirements for that new “alternative” energy source usually include near-zero emissions (carbon or otherwise), zero radioactivity, the ability to produce electricity on a massive scale to meet our current and future needs, and an efficiency level that will make it as cheap (or nearly so) as our current options. Portability (for use in vehicles) is a second-level requirement, which could be obviated by the development of efficient fuel cells, such as the hydrogen cells in development now.
I don’t disbelieve that such a power source may be out there, awaiting discovery. I merely posit that it is foolish in extremis to act as if discovery of such a source is just around the corner, subject merely to a massive program of spending and research. It could be five years away, or it could be five centuries away. We really just don’t know.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Expanding areas in Alaska for studying means diddly. The Dem’s will never allow drilling. It’s just a delaying tactic.
We need everything opened so we can look for the cheapest and easiest and most efficient places to drill and that should include areas where the environmental issues are the least because environmental court challenges are the second line of delaying tactic.
And Republicans should push to increase the royalties and institute oil trusts, one on the Federal level and an opt-in one for the State level for states to send checks to us for the royalties we receive on our mineral rights.
Dusty on July 29, 2008 at 10:06 AM
W should declare an emergency session and hold Congress in DC in August until they vote to Drill Here, and Drill Now.
RushBaby on July 29, 2008 at 10:12 AM
I thought Dorothy had thrown water on her fiery broom and some of it got on her. Why do we still see her face?
I also want to know who is Reid’s undertaker. The preservation job is ok but starting to fade. Didn’t he star in the Adams Family series once?
wepeople on July 29, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Nuclear/wind/solar would free up NG for transportation even without an electric car the electric needs of a population that will double in 20 years will not be met by changing lightbulbs
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 9:54 AM
Since wind and solar are gigantic energy black holes (but wonderful money gushers for the scamsters who build them at taxpayer’s expense) that take far more diesel equivalent (ie OIL) to manufacture and implement than they will ever return, your suggestion is crap. So we’ll import far more oil than we are already importing … to build energy sinkholes.
Great.
It’s that kind of ignorant Utopian bullshit that has gotten us into this mess. We don’t have an electric generation problem (being the Saudi Arabia of coal and all), we have a transportation fuel crisis.
Try again, Einstein.
TexasJew on July 29, 2008 at 10:15 AM
What he said.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 10:18 AM
I hope they stick with their “save the planet’ nonsense. If they wanted to really save the planet they would be pushing nuclear power. I think their saving has much more to do with Marxism than it does with the planet.
tarpon on July 29, 2008 at 10:23 AM
I don’t disbelieve that such a power source may be out there, awaiting discovery. I merely posit that it is foolish in extremis to act as if discovery of such a source is just around the corner, subject merely to a massive program of spending and research. It could be five years away, or it could be five centuries away. We really just don’t know.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 10:02 AM
that is why we need to use the present technology and build it out so that our energy requirements for the next 20 years are met. This waiting for the next thing is a canard used by anti-americians to destroy our power base. We had our manhatten project and it produced an energy source that while it has its own problems is capable of meeting our needs. It has a plus of being able to produce hydrogen during offpeak times for use in fuel cells.
If we build the transmission lines, pipelines and power plants now when the next big thing comes we are ready to transmit/pipe it to where it needs to be.
One of the major problems with ethonel was that the pipelines, transportation needs where not there causing the ethonel to not be able to be in every locality. Creating bottlenecks and shortages and gluts.
We need not Another manhatten project but another “interstate” program.
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 10:23 AM
personally I think we should pull all energy imports to the states that elect bozos like Reid, Pelosi and Waxman.
Simply put if California, Nevada and New Jersey want to have electricity they better start doing something because the only way they will have any is if they generate it within their ownstates. Perhaps they can get those nude bicyclists in San Francisco to ride their bikes to generate electricity. Same with gasoline and heating oil-if they want to have gasoline and heating oil they better start producing enough oil and the refineries to take care of their needs.
We will see how long the citizens of those states want to keep those “planet saving superheroes” Botoxwoman, Stoneface and The Weasel around.
Nahanni on July 29, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Practice what you preach, Pelosi! If you want to save the planet from oil, don’t use any. Next time you want to travel, hire a horse-drawn carriage from Amish country. If your horse gets stuck in the snow in the Sierra Nevada, too bad–the snowplows run on oil, and you’ve got to save the planet, remember?
Steve Z on July 29, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Nancy needs to go back and have her chin bolted on straight and oh those Hollywood cheeks.
Thats one thing about liberals they
knowlove a loser when they see one.The libs should get a clue, San Fran Nan will be re elected regardless, you other Dems, not so much.
Its no skin off butt er nose if she loses the House, she just goes back to her leftways seat, its the other empty seats the rest of you guys need to think about.
No Matter, keep obstructing, remember its good for America, at least in the long run.
Speakup on July 29, 2008 at 10:32 AM
The Studies have been done for … oh about 50 yrs or so. How much more effing studying does it need? Hell, Alaska has quite a FEW Geologists up here… they have been studying it for YEARS as well… not just USGS and BLM. Can we say PORK incentives!
And for those who didn’t know, this is another “reason” why we are all paying quite a bit more for our gasoline, fuel oil, electricity, etc. When Pelosi stripped the Oil Compnaies of tax incentives for exploration drilling and mandated a specialized tax, gas went up a week afterwards… and has climbed ever since. Bush put the tax incentive in, and Pelosi took it away.
Ried is doing this because he KNOWS he won’t win Nevada again if he doesn’t. Pelosi is comfy because she isn’t going anywhere for 5 yrs and other are also against it because they are in middle term and people have short memories as we all know.
This is seriously starting to piss me off!
upinak on July 29, 2008 at 10:33 AM
TexasJew on July 29, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Wind and solar produce energy. The problem is storage and 24/7 production. These are problems that can be overcome IMO. Since oil and coal is nothing but solar energy captured and refined over millions of years your argument is baseless. We simply need to speed up the process. americians have shown they can and will overcome such things. I have seen your posts and understand what you are saying however we are also the Saudi Arabi of wind. Your failure to think outside the box is a problem. Geothermal is another power source we have in abundence. the entire western USA is sitting on one of the biggest caldrea in the world. That energy can be tapped. We have massive landmass that is hit daily by solar energy. That energy can be tapped and stored. energy can be stored in countless ways. Oil just happens to be natures way of storing the solar energy in chemical bonds. It is a very good way of doing it but it is not the only way. As we study it more humans will figure out other ways of solar and wind stoarge. Building the plants before the storage is found is being proactive.
The oil and coal will run out at some point. Maybe in 200 years or so. Before that we will have massive worldwide wars for energy, if we followed your line of thinking.
We will continue to need oil, coal and natural gas for a very long time. Solar and wind energy is an additive to those fuels they will not suplant them.
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Some advice my dad gave me many years ago: vote with your wallet. That’s a message I’m hoping the McCain camp will hammer home relentlessly.
Gottafang on July 29, 2008 at 10:34 AM
There must be some people on this blog who live in san fran and dirty Harry district that could get a recall going.. I’m sure people here would be more than happy to help…
twiggman on July 29, 2008 at 10:34 AM
While Nancy Pelosi is trying to save the world does anyone know if she’s given up flying in her own Air Force plane between Washington and California? Remember, the big one she fought so hard for when she was elected to head the House of Representatives.
TooTall on July 29, 2008 at 10:36 AM
Are you freaking kidding me?
Tell me exactly how coal, shale, oil, hell even diamonds since they are part of this “solar energy” capturization process are made, if it wasn’t for high pressure and lots of heat that don’t really come up for that beautiful thing I call B.O.B. or what you call the sun?
I would love for you to explain this one to me!
upinak on July 29, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Why not promote existing energy sources that are an improvement over gasoline? I’ve been looking into the possibility of buying a natural gas vehicle. Costs 91 cents per the equivalent of one gallon here in Oklahoma. Problem is, I’d never be able to take a trip out of Oklahoma because cng filling stations are few and far between. Why can’t we change that?
And why can’t we build more nukes?
Bobbertsan on July 29, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Did we get sucked into the Lea Brea Tar Pit of environmentalism today?
BTW Morning.
upinak on July 29, 2008 at 10:40 AM
I find it Ironic that our Senator (who broke somewhere around 2 dozen rules to get elected) is on the Enviormental board, Lautenberg is the 3rd biggest producer of hotair in the garden state.
Yet again though, none of this will get news, they’ll just say that the republicans want to drill in the middle of NYC with TNT.
Rbastid on July 29, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Why can’t we have more liquified natural gas for electricity, making plastic in America, making it less costly?
Think Taxes, and then think environmentalists… then think trickle down effect. I think you may get the picture.
upinak on July 29, 2008 at 10:42 AM
Wouldn’t you just love to smack Pelosi? Man, we need to mobilize every person we can to get these Lefties thrown out.
marklmail on July 29, 2008 at 10:50 AM
This ain’t the mid terms baby!
- The Cat
MirCat on July 29, 2008 at 10:50 AM
My link for the Pelosi & Reid gas bash flyer disappeared! Anyone got it still?
VikingGoneWild on July 29, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Interesting… why can’t someone call into the ethic board on him?
upinak on July 29, 2008 at 10:53 AM
“Wouldn’t you just love to smack Pelosi?”
I’d be afraid to touch the woman, just look at her. Might not get the smacking hand back. She belongs in a wax museum.
On the other hand, Reid would probably crumble into dust, so that might be fun.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Listen to me carefully, I said analogy, not a duplication. First of all going to the moon, like alternative energy, is an engineering problem. Right now “alternative” energy doesn’t work so well, it need to be “engineered” for it to be useful.
The way you learn what step to take to get to your “Point B” is by executing a plan…like NASA did, when they started they did not have all of the components (nor did they know hat components were needed) to complete the mission. But they did develop them. We flew the X-15 for decades, before we had a re-entry vehicle…it had to wait for technology to catch up with the idea.
To say don’t tackle a problem because we don’t have the solution is rather strange. We don’t know how to cure cancer, so we shouldn’t put any money into it?
Now, I am assuming you did not mean to completely misstate what I said…Drill first, get the oil, meantime develop more effective energy strategy. Using the best that we have, like NASA did (BTW, NASA formed in 1958, lunar landing 1969, eleven years to do the impossible).
And just to needle you…”star wars” was a waste of money also on a hypothetical idea…
Polio…waste of money
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Unless you know of a specific way in which these problems can be overcome, you are succumbing to the same sort of wishful thinking I railed against in my previous posts. Whether it’s wishing for some magical “alternative energy source”, or wishing for the storage and availability problems to be solved for solar and wind power, the fact remains that there exists a viable solution to NEITHER, not even in theory.
Your heart’s in the right place, bubba, but you haven’t even come close to thinking this one through.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Unseen (10:33)
The problem is cost, you moron.
Yea, right burn money fasterThat’s the secret. We’re digging a hole, we don’t want to be in, so the solution is dig faster
rockhauler on July 29, 2008 at 10:59 AM
upinak on July 29, 2008 at 10:38 AM
coal, shale and diamonds all started as organic material which is then deposited by weathering (caused again by solar activity as the Sun heats the oceans, produces the winds etc) Over millions of years that organic material is swept into basins by rivers, winds, etc those basins are slowly covered by addtional materials like sand, limestone etc. The pressure from that addtional accumulation of material makes the coal/ shale etc. The longer it has too work the more the pure carbon the coal has. diamonds need more pressure and heat than coal. This addtional inputs are derived from tectonic plates movements bringing that organic material deep underground by way of plate subduction, plate colusions etc. Plate tectonics is powered by internal forces mostly but has some solar activity. The oceans weight, the weathering of mountian ranges, ice sheets etc. will speed up or slow down plate movements etc. today the area around the hudson lake is rising due to the ice sheets that melted. As these areas rise the weathering is quicked causing more runoff which will cause more formations of sedimentary stones in the next million years or so
these layers of sedimentary rock give rise to aquifers and sedimentary traps which allows ng and oil to pool within these aquifers. some places like off the coast of CA allows the oil to flow to the surface much like a water spring. The geology of sedimentary rocks is entirely based on the climate and the movement of plates and the climate is entirly based on the SUN.
unseen on July 29, 2008 at 11:01 AM
No, no, NO. Alternative energy is NOT an engineering problem; THAT is my point! We have no idea what that magical alternative source of energy is going to be, therefore we can’t engineer our way into finding it!
You just don’t get it. NASA may not have known what components were needed to achieve the mission, but they knew what the mission WAS: to achieve an identified entity: escape velocity. The physics had already been done, the ENGINEERING was simply finding the ways to make the task achievable within the resources available.
The whole “alternative energy” mess is a separate issue. The appropriate analogy would be trying to launch a Manhattan Project to find a way to create a bomb big enough to intimidate Imperial Japan… BEFORE Einstein discovered that mass and energy are essentially the same thing.
And just to needle you…”star wars” was a waste of money also on a hypothetical idea…
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 10:54 AM
You didn’t needle me, you just proved that you don’t understand the concept. Star Wars was working with physical concepts that had already been developed to achieve an engineering feat.
And the polio vaccine was not the result of government expenditures, but rather one man’s brilliant flash of insight (Salk). Just as nuclear energy was the result of one man’s brilliant flash of insight (Einstein). Just as relational databases were the result of one man’s brilliant flash of insight (Cobb).
Do you get the picture yet? You can’t engineer your way out of a problem when you don’t know where the exit lies.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Apparently, HA only allows you so many blockquotes per entry. Alas.
kiltedscotsman5 on July 29, 2008 at 11:08 AM
Hey, what’s the big deal? Money is just stored up solar energy.
forest on July 29, 2008 at 11:08 AM
I wish more people would take notice of the likes of TexasJew and kiltedscotsman5, they talk sense.
Wind and solar are pointless in terms of efficiency and cost. Geothermal is location critical, and only serves for electricity generation – which is NOT the problem facing us, Nuclear and clean coal would take that problem off the table.
Transportation is the problem. Electric, in terms of power to weight ratio, cargo space, portability, mileage, and cost to buy and maintain is, for individuals, not an option outside of very small locales.
Consider, if you will, how many uses do people put their cars/vans to? They may be designed to carry a set maximum of people, but they also serve in many variations of transportation. As for commercial vehicles, that’s a whole new world of pain, without the energy output of oil.
OldEnglish on July 29, 2008 at 11:12 AM
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