http://disqus.com/people/bdddf908860f3e025096cf165b7cc7a6/enWed, 13 Aug 2008 06:57:12 -0000http://washingtonindependent.disqus.com/energy_debate_excludes_conservation/#comment-1790652We cannot get out of our energy mess just by conservation. We are driving a lot less, and what has that meant at the pump? Maybe a dime. China and India are using more oil and we have to consider growth in America, unless we want to stop where we are growth wise and suffer economically. So, we have to find other sources. Alternative energy is a long way off so there is no help there. We could import Brazilian ethanol now, but that would upset the corn farmers and their allies in congress of which Obama is one. We could expand shale oil production onto federal lands, but congress put a stop to that in December of 2007. So, those of you on the left, what solutions do you have? The answer is nothing that will work in the short or long term. All we are doing is waiting for your messiah, Obama, to solve all of our problems. Obamians are expecting more from Obama than he or anyone else can realistically deliver. He may be the messiah to you, but I won't believe in him until he can turn water into crude oil.phuyayMon, 28 Jul 2008 08:22:07 -0000http://washingtonindependent.disqus.com/big_oil_ties_could_hurt_gop/#comment-1791207What does Pelosi expect us to use for energy if we don't drill? There are no suitable alternatives large enough to take oil's place plus they have their own negatives. We also use oil in consumer products like plastics and other items. We can't escape using our coal and oil resources as part of an overall energy policy. If she is too stubborn to realize this, then she must be replaced with a more rational leader. The Democrat solution is to give citizens money we don't have to buy energy and to tax the very companies that produce it. We would be better if we allowed the market system and "greedy capitalists" to find the energy we need. After all, that is the system we have been using and it works. There are no gas lines a la the 1970s that resulted from an Arab embargo. Let Pelosi have her way and all you yong liberals and tree huggers will experience the joy of no oil, long lines and runaway inflation. That is what happens when there is no oil to run the economy.phuyayWed, 13 Aug 2008 05:27:45 -0000http://washingtonindependent.disqus.com/big_oil_ties_could_hurt_gop/#comment-1791204AJM8127 I'm ready for the transition to other sources, but I haven't heard of any. Ethanol cannot be sent through existing pipe lines. solar is too expnsive, the automobile makers cannot make enough hybrids, there is no viable electric car. Please tell me what we should use to power the economy until alternatives are ready? We can only conserve so much. After that, there can be no room for growth. I'm not against alternatives for energy, but I don't see any on the horizon. One other point, look at Brazilian ethanol and its advantages and compare it to our highly subsidized and inefficient ethanol industry. Congress placed a .54 cent pe gallon tariff on the product along with a .51 cent per gallon subsidy to keep the industry alive. The subsidy alone costs Americans billions. If the Democrats were serious about helping average Americans, they would allow for this product to enter the country. The subsidy going to domestic ethanol producers comes close to what we are giving to the oil companies. With domestic ethanol, it is all political.phuyayWed, 13 Aug 2008 06:57:12 -0000