Receding green

Waterbury Republican-American ^ | June 23, 2008 | Editorial

[Graybeard58]

Environmentalists have contended for decades that if gasoline, heating oil and natural-gas prices rose high enough, Americans would clamor for energy alternatives. Well, each fuel sets a record almost daily, and Americans are clamoring — for more gasoline, heating oil and natural gas.

A new Rasmussen poll finds two-thirds of Americans favor more offshore drilling, as opposed to just 18 percent who oppose it. Drilling is backed by 57 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of unaffiliated voters. Even liberals think environmental concerns must take a backseat to more plentiful, less expensive fossil fuels, 46 percent to 37 percent. Last month, a Gallup poll found 57 percent of Americans wanted more drilling, meaning pollsters unearthed a 10 percent shift in public sentiment in just one month. Contrast the recent data with polls from 1995-2005 that found a third of Americans supported more domestic energy exploration.

In the 18 months the Democrats have controlled Congress, gasoline prices have spiked 75 percent, and heating oil and natural gas likewise have gone through the roof. Still, they promise to keep energy reserves under lock and key, no matter how much economic pain that might cause, and threaten to pass global-warming legislation next year that would push prices higher still and ultimately ration energy.

But consider how quickly Americans' green streak melted under the flame of $4-a-gallon gasoline and $5-a-gallon heating oil; imagine what might happen if voters held the Democrats' feet to the fire on drilling.

[Graybeard58]

Ping to a Republican-American Editorial.

If you want on or off this list, let me know.

[Southerngl]

Maybe because for years the only option we have been given is using food. And since we all see the fallacy in that, we are going for the only alternative we see, more oil.

[Free Vulcan]

It will be hilarious if the greenies and their decades of scheming and manipulating the system for their agenda are the cause of their own demise.

[econjack]

Coastal states, from NJ to CA, already find their governors saying they will block offshore drilling. Their reason: It will take too long to make a difference in the pump price. In other words, I may be out of office by then and someone else may get the credit. You should be ashamed!

Also, if all of you politicians would simply announce that you support drilling in ANWR, OCS, and all federal lands, the spot price of oil would fall overnight. But you won't do it becuase it doesn't fit your personal agenda. And you wonder why your approval rating is now 12%. My guess is that those 12% are the people you've promised benefits to and who don't pay any income taxes.

12%? Hell, I'm looking for some fresh tar and feathers.

[SampleMan]

Environmentalists have contended for decades that if gasoline, heating oil and natural-gas prices rose high enough, Americans would clamor for energy alternatives.

As of date, the only alternative energy that environmentalists have not fought against is solar power. And I'm betting that is only because solar is so inefficient and expensive that they just haven't thought about it yet. If it becomes cheap and efficient they will raise the same issue as they did with the idea of cold fusion.

For the record:
Hydro-kills fish and fills canyons
Nukes- Lord don't even mention nukes
Oil- Evil
Coal- More Evil
Wind- Kills birds, makes too much noise, & unsightly
Organic fuel- hard on the poor
Wood- Polluting tree killer

Even COLD FUSION has been condemned by the enviro's because cheap safe energy will lead to overpopulation and world wide sprawl.

[webheart]

It will be hilarious if the greenies and their decades of scheming and manipulating the system for their agenda are the cause of their own demise.

Maybe not outright hilarious, but certainly a relief. It will be luicky for them that everyone else hadn't gotten p****d of and killed them.

[misterrob]

Your average person doesn’t care about anything but affordable energy. If it’s oil and gas then so be it. If it is something else that does the job then that will work just fine. In the end it’s the problem the solution solves that matters to most people, not the solution itself.

[Red Boots]

To add to your list:

Solar- covers, and renders useless for vegetation, many acres of land. 26 acres of solar panels would be required to equal the energy output of 1 natural gas well (which has an average well head footprint of 500 sq ft). ANother question is how do you make sure that no vegetaion grows up and over the panels? I’m guessing large amounts of herbicide.

[gleeaikin]

It is unfortunate that more people are not aware of the alternatives.

For example, in Germany people are paid extra to provide energy to the grid from home based solar panels. Here most electrical companies only give a credit for energy the homeowner uses.

Both cellulosic and algae energy have tremendous potential, and probably a lot more quickly than hydrogen.

[Red Badger]

My 1995 Ford does not run on “alternative energy”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “electricity”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “hydrogen”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “fuel cells”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “batteries”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “ethanol”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “biodiesel”.
My 1995 Ford does not run on “hope and change”.
And if Obama gets elected,
My 1995 Ford does not run on gasoline....................

[Wiseghy]

I think most people have the sense that inflation is the killer of wealth. Wages go down, stay at roughly the same, or if you're lucky you get paltry 2 to 3% annual increases.

Seeing prices go up and watching inflation go to 7.7% annual means that 401k and SS retirement benefits are being eroded, while their food, fuel, health and other expenses go up and real purchasing power goes rapidly down.

Stagflation is where we are headed, unless we get a grip on the real cost of energy vs. environmental concerns vs. inertia.

[EdReform]

BTTT

Greens Thwart Gasoline Production

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Environmentalists are already fighting against solar power. They (i.e. self-anoited "environmental" organizations) oppose applications for leases on federal lands in deserts -- i.e. the most financially, and technically viable; and most environmentally benign location for large-scale solar installations. Instead, they want solar panels on rooftops.

[Southerngl]

Both cellulosic and algae energy have tremendous potential, and probably a lot more quickly than hydrogen.

*****************************

I would really love to see the market get algae energy going. I have read how fast the bacteria can produce. Unless I don’t know what you are talking about, which is entirely possible, but I do recall reading something about it.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Further to my post # 14 to you; here's a quote by an "environmentalist" on the subject of solar power plants in the deserts:

“We have worked for decades to protect the desert. . . . Let's not trash what we've saved,” said Elden Hughes, who has worked with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups for decades.

It's from this FR thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2025396/posts

[Zevonismymuse]

Americans' green streak melted under the flame of $4-a-gallon gasoline

Here on the Green Coast of California, in Santa Barbara, we are paying over $5 a gallon and even my pinko friends are relaxing their rhetoric.

[Kozak]

“We must first earn money and then we can care of the ecology.” Or: “The ecology is an icing on a cake which we must first bake.” Or: “The natural resources don’t exist as themselves, because they are invented and then used by people.”

Vaclav Klaus

[steelyourfaith]

ping

[PsyOp]

Its darn near pitchfork and torch time for the greenies.