Re: 350,000 Strong for "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less."

[AMAZINGPROSTATE]

Common sense is neither. Emotions cloud logic. Renewable energy is the only viable long term solution.

[PCMCoach]

Even if I stipulate that renewable is the only viable long term solution -- and I might be willing to stipulate that -- you still have to bridge the gap from here to there. And that bridge is going to necessarily require oil, gas and nuclear. (Actually, nuclear IS renewable.) That isn't even common sense. It's pure irrefutable FACT.

[AMAZINGPROSTATE]

Renewables are ready to go now, and they have been for the past century. for example, there's no profit in corn oil compared to petrol, but engines run more efficiently on it.

[PCMCoach]

You're right about many renewables. But they can't get the whole job done for decades. Corn oil? The increased use of corn as fuel has lead to skyrocketing food prices all over the globe. Your solution is causing starvation. Look, I'm a FAN of renewables. I'm planning a new house with solar and wind. I wrote a book on energy conservation

[zaitaiwan]

@PCMCoach

I feel your frustration but you are not defining what 'common sense' is. 'Drill now' could be a short term band-aid to keep prices low while phasing in renewable energy. However, you MUST have a plan for renewable energy in the long term, and not consider nuclear as the only solution. Unfortunately, creating renewable energy incentives will be shouted down as 'govt over-regulation'. Meanwhile we are being outpaced badly by the Europeans and Chinese in renewable energy investment.

[bubs848]

(contd)

bill clinton said the same thing about not getting oil quickly 10 years ago, and we couldve had that oil by now!

other countries do it. why not us? its very simple.

or by all means, lets ignore the vast reserves we have now, continue to spend tons of money at the pump, and simultaneously send money to middle east oil-exporting dictators. sounds like a great plan.

[bubs848]

"drilling wont get us more oil"? HA. that's like saying "harvesting grains wont get us more grain products". it's total nonsense. what do we have to lose by drilling? the environment? idgaf about the so-called environment that is the alaskan wilderness that is little more than ice and snow for hundreds of miles. and if it takes so long to get on the market, then we should start now! (contd)

[bustermk2]

Nonsense ... Drilling Here Drilling Now won't make gas any cheaper. Don't waste your time signing this stupid petition.

Any oil found now will take 10 years to bring to market. There is simply no infrastructure or spare oil platforms to do the job ... assuming that there is any oil.

It will take years to even locate the oil let alone start drilling.

Deep sea oil and shale oil will also be prohibitively expensive ... so there will be no savings there even when it does come to market.

[andrewbacon]

Shortsighted and ignorant. There's no way to drill out of our situation. Renewables now!

[gayproundatheist]

this is way we need obama in office to put a band back on drilling. These fools will kill the Owl. Obama 08!

[bubs848]

dont forget to inflate your tires!

[mandy26lez]

what we need to do is get the drilling and refineries moving here and then we have something of our own established then work on the alternative stuff like water, electricity, garbage whatever i mean get the ball rolling on something but congress having their head up their ass doing nothing wont solve shit

[PurpleCantaloupe79]

I couldn't agree more. Currently we are getting our oil supply from people that do not necessarily have our best interest at heart. Drill here, NOW. It may not change the price in gasoline for awhile but we have to start somewhere. For those who complain about the environmental impact, please get your facts straight. There has not been an oil spill from a oil REFINERY in close to 30 years! Most oil spills come from ships.

[BradLSU]

I'm right there with you brother. Governement get out the way, use common sense. Our voices are getting louder. I signed up and got 10 others to sign, including 3 dems and moderate. It is truly an American Solution to energy.

[PCMCoach]

Thanks Brad. I suspect, before it is all over, we'll literally have to take to the streets. To me, the issue is more than just energy. It is regulation, it is craziness. It is that lack of common sense that seems to be permeating the "ruling" class. Time to get real people involved. I'll keep you posted, but I am thinking of putting something public together.

[donoesau]

Dont vote for incumbents unless you wnt more of the same

[marcprolife]

Why are people falling for this? Is it really that hard to see what's really going on here?

[PCMCoach]

Falling for what? YOu're right about one thing. It is not hard to see what's really going on here. For years so-called environmentalists have kept us from being responsible. Now they're saying it's too late to be responsible. What a joke. All forms of energy need to be developed. We don't have an environmental problem. We have a political problem. And for the enviros out there, the tide is turning. Common sense is likely to win out.

[plainjane6476]

Matt Simmons had an interesting take on things over the weekend. You can listen to it- it's called Peak Oil Wake Up Call. I completely agree with what he says. He adamantly pushed for this 10 years ago when we had rigs available. But now- it's too little, too late to do any good. We need to face reality- and start taking measures to work with the mess we got ourselves into.

[PCMCoach]

Ever hear the phrase better late than never? We need to develop all forms of energy, including nuclear and oil. We need to go back to being petroleum self-sufficient. No amount of oil production will be enough in the long run. All nations need it for more than fuel. And the earth produces enough for all of our needs. Our problem is not one of supply, technology or safety. It is one of WILL. We can produce enough and do it in an environmentally sound way, using all resources.

[pbilger]

Jim your falling for the same crap Rep's do every time. It will be 15 years before we see only four cents off a gallon of gas. And we the People have to pay the oil companies to drill for oil. It's crap. Why did you fall for it is beyond me.

[zupf]

I'm curious, what did President Clinton do to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil? I remember the old Clinton "BTU tax" in 1993 that went NOWHERE.

[BradLSU]

You have it wrong pbilger, we can have oil on the market in 5 years. But its not the when, its the action that is important in the market. Oil is a commodity traded in the futures market, which is "future" based. A huge looming supply of oil on the horizon affects the trading inversely to supply. As more people bet that it will go down, and less people bet that it will go up, the price of a crude oil barrel will go down.

[imbubba56]

AMEN!!!

[plainjane6476]

As for the oil usage, don't take my word for it: "The U.S. Department of Transportation found that 67 per cent of car travel and 50 per cent of air travel is discretionary."

[plainjane6476]

Are all you people this selfish that all you want to do is drill more? Are you that unwilling to give up your SUV's? What about future generations? Shouldn't we leave something for them. The number one thing we can and need to focus on is consumption. If every person pledged to reduce their overall energy consumption by 1/2- we would lower the price and buy more time to invest in renewables. I still see far too many SUV's and big RV's on the road. We can do better.

[Minionuup]

Its not just about SUV's retard. You have been sold a bunch of shit because you are a sucker for it. What about the children??? What about the Calories??? The spotted termite!?!?! We need to get people like you to move elsewhere so we can actually get shit done.

[plainjane6476]

Hmm.... seems like an enlightening, well thought out post to me. Watch who you call retard- unless you can post something intelligent.

[Minionuup]

Its the fact that you are thinking like a house-mom. And not realistcly. Of course we don't want to poison our environment OR stay on oil forever but we have to drill to get there. If we ruduced our consumption evryone else would just INCREASE thiers (china, india, russia) so at this point in time that is useless. Drill. Gain strength. Transistion to cleaner fuels without destroying the economy.

[janebusby]

This idea,... W-I-L-L N-O-T W-O-R-K!

[Minionuup]

According to the idiots you parrot it won't. Oh but it will. And it will happen, so hang yourself now!

[lctrout]

You voted for an OIL MAN as President and Vice President and now you claim ignorance?!?!?!?!? Stupid stupid little people!!!!!!!

[MyFing2cents]

Ictrout, You're a serious Dumbass!

[Minionuup]

You watch too many movies.

[ihdieselman]

Gasoline is not the most important thing we get from a barrel of oil. Gasoline doesent plant, harvest, or ship the food that you eat. It doesent bring everything to the store that you need. Gasoline doesn't move millions of containers accross the ocean or accross the country. Gasoline is only a small part of the big picture. There are millions of things that are made from oil. Everything you use in your life probably was produced and brought to you using oil. The world needs more oil.

[ihdieselman]

Dill here, Drill now, Pay less. Don't wait if we had started drilling in anwar and the outer continental shelf 20 years ago then we would not have this problem today but no the liberals had to ban exploration and now we have to live with the consequences. Drill now so that or kids don't have to grow up in a country that is bankrupt! If we don't Drill now we may all end up speaking a language other than english.

[Joelomite]

PCMCoach, I am in 100% AGREEMENT!! I signed the petition and wish I could sign 1.5 million times more just to fulfill the 3 million mark. I used to be a pro-environmentalist and I finally saw the light. I am as ready to drill for oil as ever.

[jscottupton]

Big government is, and always has been, the problem.

[garwoodv6]

And we all put them in power to do the right thing. Obvioudly they are not, regardless of the reasons why. We the people may not always know what is right, but we all can see how wrong things are now.

And those who cry "it's the peoples fault for not voluntarily cutting energy use in 1/2, WAKE UP! As a whole Americans aren't so wasteful- nobody can live on 1/2 what we use now! Cut food intake by 50%, then gasoline by 50% and we'll talk. If you can live on 1/2 of it, you're part of the problem!

[plainjane6476]

Actually, it would do Americans good to cut calories by about half- We have the highest percent of OBESITY in the world.

[2112beware]

ALL 4 it!! I'm spreading the word. Hope everyone else is! Over 1,000,000 Strong and Growing!

[razorx71]

The government collects almost DOUBLE what the Oil companies make per gallon in tax plus income tax. Why would they fix anything. The fake money has caused this situation, printing TRILLIONS to help support the war, and privatizing government projects.

There is an underlying problem here, fake money, and the ability to spend all they want and send us the bill.

[patriotsundergod]

Lindsey Williams - The Energy Non-Crisis

[razorx71]

THE PRICE OF GAS HAS NOT GONE UP. The value of the dollar has just gone down! in 1947 a gallon of gasoline cost about 25 cents. A 1947 quarter contained 1/4 ounce of silver which is worth.. guess what! over $4.50. Which means, THE VALUE OF GAS HAS GONE DOWN. Wakeup people these are shell games.

[PCMCoach]

You're right, of course about the shell game, but we're not going back to the gold standard anytime soon. The cost of energy has skyrocketed in comparison to where it was just a couple of years ago. The question is what to do about it. We must increase domestic production no matter how you value the gas. We must also exploit nuclear and other alternatives. All of which can be done safely and environmentally soundly. Any argument to the contrary is a shell game.

[janebusby]

Drilling in the US would have relatively little impact for a limited time. The simple truth is.. they charge high, because we NEED it! The ONLY way they won't charge high, is if we stop buying! Also oil companies are NOT patriotic. They are loyal to the dollar & will sell to the highest bidder, whether it be US, Canadian or Chinese! We choose capitalism & have to live with the pros & cons of it.

Brace yourself friend, it's only going to get worse. Oil is finite, and demand is still growing.

[PCMCoach]

Jane, you're mostly right. If we start drilling again tomorrow, it will be years before we can meaningfully impact supply. But what is the alternative. Demand will continue to go up. Exponentially, in fact. That will happen whether we drill or not. We do have enough reserves to ultimately wean ourselves from OPEC, if we also develop all alternatives, including NUCLEAR. Failing to drill & develop nuke is naive and irresponsible. We can do it & protect the environment & wildlife.

[frellthat]

It won't just be years, PCMCoach, it'll be more than a generation from now - 22 years - before we see full production, even if we lift the ban today. And even then, the oil obtained from offshore drilling cannot be used to make gasoline in the first place, so the impact it would have upon the prices you're paying would be almost nonexistent.

The oil companies are pulling your strings, just like they're pulling McCain's. What's naive and irresponsible is to let them do it.

[PCMCoach]

frellthat, it's the environmentalists that are pulling you're strings and you're letting them do it. Let's say you're right and it does take 22 years. The time is going to pass anyway. Those of you who have kept us from drilling all this time for FAKE environmental reasons, has screwed us all for decades. And if you get your way, you'll screw us for decades to come. The environmental concerns are a LIE and so it the idea that it will take decades to see any benefit.

[frellthat]

It's not even mostly for environmental reasons, it's for practical reasons. Saving 50 cents per barrel of oil 22 years from now is not a solution. A better solution is to spend that money building nuclear, wind and solar power plants to get us OFF of oil as Obama plans to do.

[ihdieselman]

Keep on drinkin that Obama kool-aid he definetly has you brainwashed.

The man who is friends with radical unrepentent terrorists this is the man you want leading your country and impacting the world? if you want socialism why dont you move to russia?

[ihdieselman]

Why don't you tell us When and where Obama said that he plans to build nuclear power plants? how much land do you waste with wind generators? Do you realize that nuclear is the safest way for us to produce power? And how is it that you will increase oil production with solar? most of or power is produced with coal, nuclear, wind, and water.

[frellthat]

I'm not going to spend my time showing you where Obama has supported nuclear power and continues to do so because if you were an objectively minded person you would have just looked it up instead of asking me.

[Minionuup]

Obama supports whatever makes us weak. What he says now is rhetoric for guilt ridden whites.

[garwoodv6]

Obama has little or nothing to do with the shift to nuclear, solar, and wind as energy sources. WE DO! The American public, and all of the business and Industry forces. Stop acting like/claiming that Politicians "Do" these things! At best, politicians can encourage us and assist with appropriate tax break incentives and funding IF WE TELL THEM THAT WE WANT IT!

We have all learned to be more careful. Food for thought: how many barrels of oil from asphalt or oiled dirt roads wash down the drain?

[rayrayholland]

22 YEARS !! ? w o w ..MAN.

WOW, WE'VE BEEN OUT OF THE DRILLING BUSINESS SO LONG IT'LL TAKE 22 YEARS ? I KNOW- ..GET THE ALL THE U.S. COLLEGE STUDENTS ( or super smart liberals , like you) TO DO IT 'CAUSE THEY CAN FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING IN JUST A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER LISTENING TO BARACK OBAMA---YEAH !!! HELL YEAH !!!! help us !

[garwoodv6]

Why do you claim it takes so long? Hogwash, unless you can back it up.

And what is "wrong" with oil from offshore drilling that makes it (as you wrongfully claim) cannot be used to make gasoline? Hogwash again.

Regarding your generation or "22 years" that you claim it will take- just remember the government restriction on all new oil exploration, drilling and production has been in force for 32 years. Why?

[jarvis1211]

The U.S. has more oil than Saudi, its just against the law to get it...

[rmw5991]

in shale oil alone in the midwest we have more oil in saudi arabia.

thats not including anwr and all the other reserves in america

it is called shale oil correct? dont want to sound ignorant

[garwoodv6]

I agree. The question is: Why is it illegal, and is the reasoning behind the law sound?

IMHO, it is not. It's a case of the politician trying to remain popular by acting loyally to his constiuents, and their lobbyists.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Write your politicians, call your talk shows, and let your opinions and wishes be known and heard.

[johnkerry7]

um...you took econ in High school right?

simple fact, we open up more supply, it will meet demand and guess what!? LOWER PRICES!

of course its not THE answer, but we cant keep sitting around HOPING for some magic alternative to oil and gas. Of course that should be the goal, but untill then certain things need to be done.

[samt179]

We better start Drilling now. Ask the tree huggers where the State of Texas would be if everyone was worred about the mating habbit of the Jack rabbit. THE JACK RABBIT DON'T EVEN KNOW THERE IS AN OIL WELL IN TEXAS

[Dedhedted71]

Drilling will only help the oil companies. This is all just propaganda designed to get the people behind the oil companies agenda of profit. Where do you think the oil goes after they drill it. Not to America for a discount! I can tell you that! It goes onto the global market & sold for the best price the oil companies can get. Most likely China will get it. They just want the oil for their own profit, not to help our country. Alternative fuels is the only way to go. PS. I'm a consevative.

[PCMCoach]

Adding to supply is the only way to effect price. We should develop all energy alts especially NUCLEAR. The nuclear waste prob is only political. As a conservative, what is your problem with profits. Oil cos are making money, but not as much as government on the gas taxes they get. China is stealing our oil by slant drilling in the Gulf. Would you rather they steal it, or pay for it.

[Dedhedted71]

Who said I had a problem with profits? I'm all about making money & I don't fault the oil boys for making record $. But they need to get out of the way of new fuel technology & stop suppressing inovation like they have been doing for years. I'm against China drilling off our coast as well. But if they have a right to, then we cant really say much, can we? I am mostly against drilling in ANWR. Its not worth it to the American people to do so. Adding to the supply will only increase China's supply

[VvastedPure]

rock on \m/!

[cjm5229]

Dedhedted71,

Instead of jumping on the socialist bandwagon and blaming "Big Oil" you need to realize that it's government regulation that stifles competition and creates "Monopolies". Who is going to spend Billions of dollars trying to meet government regulations and licensing requirements to start a new company , knowing that they may still be turned down? We need to put the blame right where it belongs, on Congress.

[astrea79]

Damn straight. Please consider running for office. :)

[june201955]

I agree. Something here that you will be very interested in seeing. Y.T.: Lindsey Williams, Energy Non-Crisis. They know where the oil is, and it's been capped!

[sandtann]

I totally agree!!! but how, how do we as American's take back our country, I feel that we are living in a foreign country ....THIS IS AMERICA! WE ARE AMERICANS .... let's rally

and never give up!

[dougnucci]

We need to start spending as much of our money on US made goods and do with allot less. I wish it were possible for everyone to just stay home and go on strike against our Government. We need to hurt them in their wallets. We went to work and paid our taxes and let them watch out for our welfare and jobs. We have all been sold out by both parties

[tehkao]

"make Congress do what they should do on the basis of common sense"

I agree 10000%!!!!