Obama to open 1.8 million Alaskan acres to oil drilling

Well this isn't all of it either. There is a pipeline coming into Wisconsin from Alberta that will be piping in toxic bitumen tarsands crude, that may eventually be extended to the Gulf of Mexico. They are not listening to us or caring about what we think regardless of our politics. They don't give a damn about scientists' warnings regarding CO2 emissions and the coming climate tipping point should things remain the same. All they care about is their false choice. And as much as I criticize Obama on this I never expected he and this State Dept would allow TARSANDS to be piped into this country, but that is what is happening besides all of the offshore abandoned wells still leaking and the drilling you can be sure will take place in the Arctic because they don't care about culture or the indigenous peoples of this world either. They are simply heartless soulles bastards. So essentially, we are screwed as a species because THEY have to kept HAPPY.

There are so many people in the states who would get an e-car , IF they had access to 'em . By denying us this , they can keep ROBBING US . And that is what this is really about . Financial robbery of the masses by big oil . WHO is on a better position to invest in new energy ? The most profitable companies in the WORLD , otherwise known as Big Oil . And why not ? Because it Would cut down on short term profit . Long term profit is not their concern . The health and well being of their employees and customers , is not their concern either . It is clear what regard they have for all life on this planet . Short term profits make for STUPID business practices .

One of the few on this website who is realistic and not short sighted. Well said.

"we'll have electric cars by the millions"

Cool. Where are you getting the energy to charge up those batteries?

You are, in effect, saying that the demand for oil and oil products like gasoline is inelastic. It is such a necessity that people will find a way to pay for it, almost regardless of price. While that is true to a large extent, it is a cold economic calculation that does not take into account the misery suffered by the poor in having to decide between purchasing gasoline so they can get to work, to the doctor, to vocational training, etc or paying for other necessities of life like food, medicine, rent, etc. It also fails to take into account the inflationary pressures that significantly higher oil prices put on goods and services across the country.

But I also don't quite understand what gave you the impression that I advocated capitulation. I was simply pointing out that the problem the Administration faces on energy policy is more complex than the environmental issues in isolation. Yes, the environmental concerns should be among the top issues considered in this kind of decision but that would be a one-dimensional look at the problem. I suppose it would be great if Obama and his advisors could look at every problem only through the lens of environmentalism...but they can't. They have to think about pensions and stock prices and employment and inflation and international relations and public safety and even the effect of higher energy prices on the federal budget.

That kind of thinking is no better than the simplistic analysis done by single-issue legislators. I have grown to really dislike members of Congress or state legislators who think only of tax reduction, for example. There are thousands of other issues of enormous importance to their constituents, but they managed to be elected and now cannot be bothered if the issue under discussion does not relate to tax reduction or abortion rights or the death penalty or whatever their particular "thing" is...drives me crazy.

Nice level comment. And I would add that five more years of full tilt boogie polluting may be the straw that breaks the camels back.

I really hear you, but without a healthy environment the only thing left to invest in is sickness. There is not another world to move to yet. No one said change would be economically pleasant and the earth is the commons for all life as we no it. Understanding his reasoning just means your buying the rhetoric. That asshole ran on a lie called change.

+^'d

It will probably be shipped overseas to be refined... ARe you brain dead? We dont live in Iran, we have the largest capability to refine oil in the world.

No need to be insulting....
We may have the refining capabilities, but much of the oil is refined in Asian countries because of shipping costs. Asia is closer than Texas.
However, currently, only about 1 million barrels are "traded" each day with Canada and Mexico.

So true and that is where we have to start... our communities. And I hate to sound like a broken record, but the way we grow food in this country is a big contributor to the fossil fuel addiction we have as well as pollution and climate change. We need to return to sustainable agricultural methods in how we grow food that cut usage of fossil fuels which will in turn not only decrease carbon emissions, but cut pollution and give us healthier food. That along with investing in solar farms in our communities could go a long way to cutting that addiction.

fine

Palin was the best thing that happened to McCain's campaign. The amount of rational supporters he lost was far outweighed by the number of ignorant supporters he gained.

SHOCKING, BP creates spill in mans ass... Hayward says toilet paper unnecessary tries plugging mans ass with 1/4" guitar cable...

Yep....need more drilling equipment, more tundra buggies, more diesel engines.
My word man! We can't have the silence of Mother Earth to intrude upon our senses! We might actually learn something new and wonderful! And we wouldn't want THAT to happen, now would we?
(hope the sarcasm shows)

Egg Zactly!

Are you kidding? Take a trip to Alaska in the winter time and then tell me how easy it is to clean up. Oh wait, go in the summer when the ice has melted and the drills are only accessible by small boat and float plane. Real reason is out of sight out of mind. There are very few reporters on the North Slope.

It's still easier than miles under sea level.
Besides since the recess of the ice in the northern border waters of Alaska the Russian and Chinese governments have claimed oil rights in places that we should be benefiting from. Not having those countries drill off our shores and sell the oil back to us...makes no sense, does it?

Ending our oil addiction makes sense. We have the biggest military on earth. I think we can keep Russia and China out of our northern ocean. Besides the whole world will benefit from clean energy.

You don't understand they are already there. We had first bid on the sites but were unable to because of government restraints. So those two countries got the rights to drill there. They had the right ships for the area and no restrictions on them to bid or drill by their governments. So C'est la vie!

Oh so we are not the most powerful country on earth after all. I can not believe we are having this conversation while the gulf oil is still spewing. It may not be popular but I would like my great grand children to be able to breath the air and see the absolute beauty that is being destroyed by energy production.

If this would have happened else where, never mind there are not restrictions of how far away from shore drilling can be done else where.
Plus anywhere else a leak could have been addressed stat without multiple government agencies getting their politics into it.

Really? Had the well platform not blown up and brought attention to the gushing pipe do you think Bp would have disclosed the severity of the leak? And By the way there have been many leaks in Alaska that have gone unreported.

That giant Military runs on fossil fuels...

That reminds me We need to demand the military install sails on the ships to increase fuel efficiency.

Thats what I am scared of. A nasty leak in the gulf of Alaska could really screw the west coast.

Most of the oil reserves are in the middle east. What America produces is not worth the destruction and the tax incentives to oil companies are total bullshit. Oil production in America is making a few ultra wealthy and leaving the world worse off. Clean energy now. Why wait? Why not go all out and lead the world to a sustainable lifestyle?

"Clean energy now. Why wait?"

Really? What clean energy do you propose? I have yet to hear of anything as good as oil. The world is not about to take a step back for the sake of the environment; that much should be obvious. The only way this problem is getting solved is if we find an energy source as convenient as oil, and that we have not found.

Perhaps if more energy and money were invested in solar instead of oil. I like the idea that was floated back in the 60's of solar satellites beaming to power stations 24/7.

we don't yet have a great way to capture all the potential solar energy there is to be used. solar panels are bs, they cost more than they make up for. the day the breakthrough is discovered how to truly use all that is coming at us, will be the day the earth is reborn.

"Did you know that one hour is all it would take to power the entire earth's energy needs for one year if we could capture all the solar energy hitting the earth?"

That is my whole point. Wave and tidal energy can also help reduce fossil fuel consumption but only if we actively invest in this technology. Greed will always seek the path of least resistance.

Yes, 'perhaps' being the key word. There are many people actively researching photovoltaics, but you've answered your own question. Our photovoltaic technology is not yet able to compete with oil and in some ways never will, unless we develop high capacity batteries. While we develop that technology, we obviously need a source of energy we can rely on, and that would be oil. Don't talk about this issue like it's the result of greedy corporations; this is the result of a greedy public. This is supply and demand buddy. After the days of peak oil you will start to see immense amounts of money going into alternative sources of energy. Necessity is the mother of invention. At the moment the necessity is present, but it isn't very large. The days of clean energy will come, but simply cutting off our use of oil before we are ready, for the sake of the environment, will cause more harm to us than it will do away with. This is a point that a lot of environmentalists miss. Sure the environment would be OK, but us? I'd hate to see what would happen to the world if we cut off a prominent source of energy in favor of alternatives that don't amount to much in comparison. And hence the reason it's not going to happen that way. Our society will evolve, but as we all know evolution takes time. Rushing this will only lead to disaster.

"Don't talk about this issue like it's the result of greedy corporations; this is the result of a greedy public. This is supply and demand bro."

I agree with you. We can't expect corporations and politicians to actually have our best interests at heart. Corporations are greedy soulless entities just trying to make as much money as possible and politicians are greedy manipulative liars who will say anything. They will not do right by us and they will not tell us the right things to do. We have to do for ourselves. Our lifestyles are as much to blame than any business man out there; if we truly want to lessen and eventually rid our dependence on oil we have to get serious about our energy consumption, our luxuries, our food habits, practically everything (when I say "we" I mean the American public in general; I'm sure there are many people here who already take measures like this.) There is enough blame to go around but we can't always point the finger at the big bad guys, we have to take an active role in making this country what we want it to be.

Tell that to the government taking our tax dollars and bailing out the banks that then give it to oil and coal companies to keep the circle jerk going. People are advocating for renewable energy sources and we CAN bring solar energy to a large part of this country within the next ten years, only the lobbyists, politicians, and wall street aren't allowing truly innovative people to even have their ideas see the light of day. Solar cell capacity is increasing, MIT has developed solar that works at night, solar cell efficiency has increased tremendously, and cost is reaching parity so much so that other countries are turning to it in greater numbers, and we are even seeing the beginning of "solar farms" right here in the US, one story just posted concerning Colorado. The market is here, the capacity is here, but what we need are people calling for it louder at community and state levels and also calling for market fariness in pricing. It is also a case of the market screwing us by giving false value to oil in order to make it appear cheaper than solar, when if you add in indirect costs (such as pollution, healthcare costs, etc) it would actually be more expensive. Hemp is also what should be advocated for as a fuel, and as something that could turn this economy around. We have all we need already, we just need the will, so I refuse to listen to the same people who constantly say we can't get off oil yet. We need to be investing MORE in solar, geothermal, wind, etc. and less in oil and coal in order to up demand in the first place. How can people advocate and change their ways when there is NOTHING being made available to change to?

I hope you are wrong

You wish .

Do you think everything he says is true?

He's simply an appeaser.

Hes a Christian, a Muslim, an athiest, a socialist, a capitalist, a liberal, a progressive, a centrist, a populist and most of all a globalist.

Do the math.

Oh, so you are against oil companies raping this planet and appeasing them? Did you then call Bush an appeaser, because I didn't post this to separate Obama from Bush on this or to play political tit for tat. You sound very hypocritical and disingenuous in trying to do so. It matters not whether it is a Republican corporate shill or a Democratic "appeaser", the point of this is that the American people are being had either way and we better wake up before it is all gone. But of course, it is way too much to expect the usual partisan political hacks to understand that. This is about THE PLANET and our future ability to live on it, not everyone's petty political grudges.

They'll throw some money out there just to make us think it is part of the agenda, but on the whole it won't be nearly what oil and coal will see. They like Bush believe in "clean coal" as well.

imagine that janforgore attacking people as usual.

lol? That was a joke post right?

MIss "drill baby drill" takes much of the credit for it. It's about the only thing her "mama grizzly" mind can understand. But of course, her hypocritical ass won't be out here thanking Obama for doing her bidding either. Phony.

He definitely needs some cajones, and he's not even the only one.

Yes, and they always use the excuse that we have to get off foreign oil ( though also piping in CO2 intensive toxic tarsands from Canada I suppose doesn't count as "foreign") for our national security... yet we have Prudhoe Bay already, so where is all of that oil going? To the American people? Last I read it was exported to Japan, and so will this oil more than likely be exported to China or some other country for profit. The American people are naive to the extreme if they think this will bring them a continuous flow of their oil drug and as it may take years to get to it. Of course, in the meantime we will reach a climate balance tipping point as we will continue to use the Arctic as our new epicenter of our rape of the planet. Russia already planted their flag in the Arctic, and Canada is even sending military on maneuvers with the US, China and Norway among other countries set to claim its share of the pie. When is enough enough? Yet, for all of their talk about getting off foreign oil hemp is still illegal. So, we all know that the flimsy excuse about getting off foreign oil for security is total bs. Sorry for going on, but this hurts deeply, because the last pristine areas of this planet do not belong to these bastards they belong to all of us and the species that inhabit them. Politics has completely turned this country against itself at the expense of our pride in the beauty of our land and moral judgement. I am so disgusted.

It is disheartening at times .

Why do we always have to make it a party thing... obviously its wrong, but shit sometimes the politics just gets annoying.

Well gee, that was my point

Oh my bad, I read that completely wrong. I see what you're saying.