I don't really see how there is any serious prospect for solving either our energy security problem or our climate problem if the traditional media doesn't do any policing whatsoever of statements by major politicians. Here is McCain yesterday:
"... it will be vital that we continue oil production at a high level including offshore drilling. Now, the briefings that I have had with the oil producers, there are some instances that within a matter of months, they could be getting additional oil."
But there's abundant resources in the view of the people who are in the business that could be exploited within a period of months. So offshore drilling is something we have to do.
... the constraints on offshore drilling have little to do with the price of oil, but a lot to do with timing. Once the leases are available, it is a 5 to 10 years before you get to exploratory drilling. There is a tremendous shortage of drilling rigs and manpower. Plus, offshore drilling is so expensive, you don't want to make any mistakes. So you spend do a lot of seismic analysis to minimize your chances of a dry well.
And it is probably another five or more years from drilling your exploratory well to getting significant production from the area -- and that assumes you didn't dig a dry well. If you did, then you are probably going to be even more cautious. And all that assumes you have developed a pipeline infrastructure for delivering the oil. But the Atlantic Coast lacks such an infrastructure, so who knows how long it would take to get its oil?
On top of that, California won't allow drilling off its coast anytime soon. And Sen. Martinez won't allow drilling off Florida's coast anytime soon. And Big Oil has tens of billions of barrels of oil yet to find and retrieve from the Gulf of Mexico leases that were opened up two years ago.
So McCain's claim is spin wrapped in a lie wrapped in a hoax.
If there is no penalty in the public arena for lying, then we're just going to get more and more of it.
Despite the fact that there are many democracies today, these governments have allowed one industry to hold the world hostage to it. In the eighteenth century social/economic justice demanded the head of Louis XVI. The Americans had a successful revolt against England. The nineteenth century produced many revolutions in Europe.The ninteen hundreds brought the downfall of the Russian Czar.In the twentieth century Castro shook off exploitive capitalism as did Chavez in Venezuela not long ago.. The only answer I find is that those in charge of "democratic"government have stock in the oil companies and think they are benefitting along with the CEO's of Exxon and other energy producers.
There is money that goes with this we need to drill for more oil kick.
lowers the price.
Funny how Obama said he was surprised at how fast the prices went up, but not that they are high, he wants high energy costs.
You global/climate change or what ever you are calling it this week need to stop your scare tactics. Carbon is less then 1 % of global warming. Its like looking at a broken car and ignoring the engine, the transmit ion, and going straight to the wheels and ignoring 3 out of the 4 wheels and focusing on one thread on one screw.
Personal rant: ffs, people, don't make us bear the shame and devastation that another four years of Bush policy would bring.
Republicans have done absolutely nothing to make us independant of foreign oil and it is only an issue now because of the election. Republicans have done nothing proactive in making our cars more fuel efficient and have stopped legislation that would mandate that car companies do so. It benefits the wealthy - not middle America.
Global/climate change or whatever you are calling it this week??? That's a good one.
I did not see any misstatements here.
Choose your gallon:
a) One buck gallon domestic oil - go 20 miles.
b) Million dollar gallon Al Gore's super plus guessnall snake oil - crawl a half an inch.
According to The Guardian (September 16, 2005), "The oil pollution in the wake of Hurricane could be among the worst recorded in North America.... The US Coast Guard...said yesterday that more than 6.5 million gallons of crude oil had been spilt in at least seven major incidents." The Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 was 11 million gallons. MSNBC also had a similar report filed on the internet September 19, 2005.
So, your Republican friends might say, 'Well, that wasn't from the actual drilling site; the was from tankers, pipelines, and storage facilities; but not a drop from the actual drilling platforms.'
Well, as if that matters, a release on May 1, 2006 by the Minerals Management Services reported that "...of the hurricane (Katrina) related oil/condensate/chemical spills in Federal offshore OCS waters...six spills of 1000 barrels or greater...and a total of 146 spills of 1 barrel or greater...37 of these were 50 barrels or greater..." I think to put this report in perspective with the previous article, you have to convert barrels to gallons. (mms.gov/ooc/press/2006/press0501htm.)
I am quite familiar with So. Louisiana. I defy you, or anyone else, to come down here and find any lasting environmental damage caused by oil spills related to Kartina or Rita.
It may or may not actually get us any oil, but it will at least keep them from turning the coastline into a tarball just so they can sell more oil to China.
No worries. You can be cured of stupeflication, by going on www.GoodNeighborLaw.com.
There you'll find a ton of educational, verfied facts gathered and posted by a non-partisan/all volunteer bunch.
Only stupid people believe that by drilling everywhere in the world, we are going to hit a gigantic gusher tomorrow and all our worries will be over !! The MSM gadflies go along with his insane mutterings, when every expert says it is false.
Not to mention.....that we are killing our planet with this toxic stuff.
Last year I flew to LA to help my son move to Maryland by driving one of his vehicles. I have just come home from a driving trip through PA....MASS...upstate NY and every one of those freeways are choked with large trucks so thick that you have to watch them carefully. Yesterday I pulled into a rest stop in KY early in the morning. There must have been 100 rigs on both sides of the freeway rest stop.
They are burning thousands of gallons of gas and Deisel a day.
Someone better figure out how to put shipping on railways before we all die from global warming.
By the way, this last trip was the first vacation I had been on in one year, and I felt guilty for burning gas in my little car !!!
A perfect example of the left wing loser mentality. Go ahead and self flagellate. Does someone have to hold your hand when you go potty?
I do like the fact that you actually understand that big rigs run on diesel. Any viable suggestions on what else they could run on?