OT....Is Alaska the answer to our oil problem - Page 2

Even with the dollar devaluation, the actual cost of gas here could and should be no more than $1.12-1.20 per gallon, if the changes I suggest were instituted and maybe even as low as in Venezuala whhere it is supposedly 0.67 per gallon.

Insanity = keeping doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!

I know we discuss declining manufacturing here in the U.S.A., but when one considers all things, we are manufacturing more goods here than ever before due to the burgeoning population. I know that it does not seem that way, but one must just do the simple math. Of course when one has lost a job and there seems to not be one in sight, that is a difficult scenario to envision. I have been there twice in the past two (2) years.

The heavy industries (machine tools and metallic commodities) and their supporting industries are of course gone; driven away when the U.S.A. machine tool end users had everything they needed and the market became saturated. Add the greed and sloth of organized labour and one can explain that. So, one has to manufacture things that are currently needed, and do so for a competitive price. And the lack of an effective tarriff system allows goods to flow into the country from places where people toil for pennies an hour.

Ah, the Chinese. A huge nation of people who have discovered manufacturing to be a welcome diversion from decades of poverty and ignorance caused by their failed communist regime(s). The Chinese need the machine tools, but we can no longer build them here. They are being supplied by the Japanese and the European manufacturers whose governments subsidize the heavy industries to maintain a world presence.

But, we are finally rebuilding our steel industry to start making steel again. Now that is welcome news. If we can just keep the greasy potbellies from organized labour out of the equation, we may be able to have a long-term market and pay good wages (= good tax revenues) to the workers in those industries. Will we be competitive in steel? Absolutely, as we will have new facilities with the best technology.

I am reminded of a conversation with a fellow German who is about the same age as my father. He lived in a different part of Germany and remembered the days following the great war until he left in the mid 1950's, and recalled how the British demolished the German mills and pilfered everything they deemed usuable for use in the empire's mills. Within three (3) years after the treaties were ratified, the German steel industry was nearly rebuildt and starting to outproduce the old British mills (who were equipped with a few pieces of old German equipment pilfered as a spoil of war) by a 3:1 margin. New facilities, technology, and vision.

Oops, now back to the GSD's,

Bob-O

More nuclear plants is a huge part of the answer IMO. Using fuel oil for everything from home heating to electricity generation is ridiculous these days. Closing down Rancho Seco, a nuclear plant with a perfect safety record outside Sacramento, never replacing it with anything, was one of the dumbest things ever done. Like nobody figured on brown-outs in future? who are they kidding?

SS

But California has made alot of decisions that have caused their citizens grief from higher then average gas prices to the blackouts.   Same type decisions same issues..

I agree that the supply of fission nuclear power is definitely the clean way to go, but people can be made to fear it from ignorance alone. It is dangerous only in the sense that it must be properly contained-just like any other energy source. Yes, there is waste fuel, and fuel control items, but these things can be stored safely if we are willing to keep them in a very remote area.

That is, at least, until the time we arrive at the perfection of fusion reaction and use this spent fuel as a new, self-eradicating energy source. And I do believe that will happen within my lifetime.

Oops, back to the GSD's...

Bob-O

you see our problem is not enough oil, its that we're still using oil period.  We know it isn't going to last forever.  Other countries have viable alternatives and yet the US, with all its power and might, is still a slave to oil.

Finding new  places to drill now, will not help NOW, it will help years from now.  It will help to continue our dependency on oil.  This is a perfect time for invention.  We NEED to find an alternative NOW.  drilling in Alaska, using our reserves, offshore drilling will not do much now excpet appease the masses rather than necessitate change. 

The general public is terrified of nuclear energy. I live within 25 miles of TMI and worked for a vet when the meltdown almost happened. People got into their cars and took off leaving behind their farm animals and pets to starve to death. The property values of the homes built along the Susquehanna within 100 miles of TMI dropped dramatically and they are still below fair market value today.

Nuclear energy will need to prove itself as a safe alternative to fossil fuel before the citizens of south central PA will ever accept another nuclear power plant. Having lived through one crisis, I myself would never vote to allow another plant to be built anywhere in this country. We also have Peach Bottom here in PA, no major accidents, a few minor ones and not many years pass without a media story of outsourced employees sleeping on the job, literally. It seems to be a matter of time before something serious goes wrong there too.

No thanks, keep  your nuclear power until we learn how to make it a lot safer source of energy and learn how to properly train and manage the people who work at these plants.  Outsourcing that responsibility is wrong. A human error in the nuclear power industry can spell disaster for millions of people and animal life; not worth the risk IMO.

zdog..Your argument would be viable except for one thing. We do not have an alternative to oil that is currently developed and useable. The flex fuels are creating food shortages and all the others are helpful but not near able to replace oil. We need to do all these things but we do need to drill and drill now. But what most people don't realize is that the infrastructure for oil drilling is already peaked out and it will take years to gear up to produce enough oil to stop importing or even lower prices, we dont control the market at all. That's why the oil companies want to drill in proven fields such as Anwar and off the coasts as they will get higher producing wells and reduce the number of dry holes they hit.

Uglydog, chevron did not buy the technology from Toyota, they told Toyota to shut it down (the RAV4) that they already OWNED the technology ( I do not think it was solar, but batterty). Also there is a college profess here in CA that converted a Hybird Ford from part gas and part battery to all solar charged battery. From what I understood he offered to Ford, told him no, Toyota bought it and has shipped the vehicle over to them.

If you look at hisotry, everytime our country faced financial troubles, deep recessions, it is always after Texas president, and gas issues in the country. There is a problem with what they have done this time, The internet, the world has become to small. France is now making an electric car, Norway has one working on with Google. the oil companies can no longer keep a lid on this. Exon now has it gas stations, company owned up for sale. Rothchilds, are witching to Chevron to change stations to hydro (to late cat out of the bag, hydro is not the way to go), so they can continue the game. Our goverment does not want us to plug in our cars at home to solar, How will they tax the fuel?

This time we not only have an oil problem we also have a banking problem, greed and not paying attention, . Has anyone noticed, they are putting in legislation to prevent bullets from being purchased.  They have given Canada permission to come in to our boarders to assit in civil unrest. What are they setting us up for? You hear alot of talk about the Amero dollar. However, can you imagine this one and the civil unrest, if you think this thru...  We already use debit cards, pay bills on line. Cashless society. to many are not paying taxes (who's fault is that when you get tax creidt to go oveseas) service economies. Is there a reason Bank of America promoted checking accounts for illegals and credit cards? Is there a reason the social secuirty benifits are going to debit cards? the only problem I see with this theroy, is the drug money, our goverment does not want that shut down. so maybe a currancy for out of country, and in country debit cards. Mexico operates on 2 currancies.