Offshore drilling? Yes.

[CoeburnCane]

We should have been doing more of this years ago, and it would have made a huge difference globally. Alternative fuels do need to be explored and improved, but its a long way from them being a viable option as well.

I think what R13's saying here is that if we had started looking into alternative fuels sooner, maybe they'd be a more viable option, or be a whole lot closer. I tend to think he's right.

[Counts]

I think what R13's saying here is that if we had started looking into alternative fuels sooner, maybe they'd be a more viable option, or be a whole lot closer. I tend to think he's right.

IDK I think we droped the ball on Nucular energy IMHO that is where we could have(and probably still would) get the most bang for our buck

Of couse I wonder if this new drilling is more of a temptation to try to get 60 votes in the sente for Cap and Trade

[Biggin]

i know its not very cost-conscious, but why aren't we exploring more with the windmill power generators or the solar panels?

if we spent as much money on wind or solar power as we did on oil, we may be able to become totally independent of foreign oil.

but my opinion is that some in Washington do NOT want us to explore the alternatives or faze out our oil dependency, because of all the money in big oil.

If we could get the big businesses and corporations out of Washington, we might be able to get some real progress towards leaving foreign oil behind.

[R13]

IDK I think we droped the ball on Nucular energy IMHO that is where we could have(and probably still would) get the most bang for our buck

Nuclear energy is only part of the equation to the answer of weening us off foreign oil. Nuclear is incredibly expensive, not with the fuel part which proponents seem to focus on, but building, maintaining and security is serious money. Nuclear, along with others like solar, wind etc. etc. are the answer. Carter made it a priority when he was in office, he seen first hand along with everyone else that lived then, of how dependent we were on foreign oil and what it could do to us. I think I read somewhere that up until Carter took office, we got about 20 percent of our electricity from oil generation, then it went all the way down to 3% after he left. Those tax-cuts for energy efficient houses started under Carter, then the fuel standards that were saving millions of barrels of oil were his product. Then Reagan comes in, guts programs like the Solar Energy Research Institute and cuts budgets for them dramatically(think it was 130 mil, cut down to 30 mil for example for one of them)...that set us back so far, it's insane.

[sup-rbeast]

Nuclear energy is only part of the equation to the answer of weening us off foreign oil. Nuclear is incredibly expensive, not with the fuel part which proponents seem to focus on, but building, maintaining and security is serious money. Nuclear, along with others like solar, wind etc. etc. are the answer. Carter made it a priority when he was in office, he seen first hand along with everyone else that lived then, of how dependent we were on foreign oil and what it could do to us. I think I read somewhere that up until Carter took office, we got about 20 percent of our electricity from oil generation, then it went all the way down to 3% after he left. Those tax-cuts for energy efficient houses started under Carter, then the fuel standards that were saving millions of barrels of oil were his product. Then Reagan comes in, guts programs like the Solar Energy Research Institute and cuts budgets for them dramatically(think it was 130 mil, cut down to 30 mil for example for one of them)...that set us back so far, it's insane.

Once you have the facilities in place, nuclear energy is cheaper and, if handled correctly, cleaner than most any other viable energy option. It's a much different animal than it was 20 years ago.

[simple man]

What the global warming aspect? The plants warm the water used to cool the things a great deal! Raise the temp of a bay 3 degrees. And see what ins would cost for a nuke plant- or what you can find about the storage fac at Maxie Flatts Ky.

[R13]

Once you have the facilities in place, nuclear energy is cheaper and, if handled correctly, cleaner than most any other viable energy option. It's a much different animal than it was 20 years ago.

Its cheaper because it doesn't take much to fuel it, won't argue that, but to build, maintain, secure and store waste is incredibly expensive.

[sup-rbeast]

Its cheaper because it doesn't take much to fuel it, won't argue that, but to build, maintain, secure and store waste is incredibly expensive.

It may be, but refineries power plants are more expensive...plus they require resources that are nonrenewable.

[Counts]

It may be, but refineries power plants are more expensive...plus they require resources that are nonrenewable.

I am with you 100% on this one IMHO if we REALLY want to cost effectvly get away from Oil and coal that is the way to go

[1inStripes]

I think what R13's saying here is that if we had started looking into alternative fuels sooner, maybe they'd be a more viable option, or be a whole lot closer. I tend to think he's right.

I know what he's saying, I'm just saying right now, because of all the feet dragging we are still a long ways off on alternatives. Remember crude oil isn't developed just for gasoline.