Actually, it would serve to create more of a market that could provide the impetus for the private sector to compete in the development of better products at lower costs to the consumer.

Hi Norrin Radd,
We agree on alternative energy sources, it will be important we develop those, but it is a matter of timeframe and I dont think we will have a %50 marketshare for private automobiles on anything other than gasoline in the next 30 years, unless something that is not yet on the radar comes through in an amazingly simple and cheap way.

While it seems we disagree on ANWR, I will point out that the reserves in ANWR would indicate a similar level of oil production that we currently import from Iraq. Now imagine that energy resource being developed by Americans, keeping that money in America and having a much shorter and cheaper means to market delivery and consistent supply not based on political and security factors. Would have been nice to have done 10 years ago, because we would be seeing the real benefits from it today.

It bugs me to no end that there is still residual oil on the beaches of PWS, and it bugs me even more that Exxon has still 19 years later not paid a cent on the class action lawsuit they lost. I dont want that to happen again and I think the likeli-hood is remote enough that as someone who could be potentially effected I am willing as are the majority of Alaskans to take that gamble.

If you want to think that the reserves in ANWR are insignificant then that's your prerogative. At this point, that oil could replace the oil we import from Iraq.

And if you want to believe ANWR is like Yosemite Valley, that's your prerogative too. Here is a map of the ANWR with the proposed drilling area. Notice that it is the size of South Carolina and the drilling footprint is 3.13 square miles.

http://www.anwr.org/docs/CloseupofareaIII.pdf

Please notice the previously developed areas also.

So you don't want to drill in ANWR or anywhere else in the domestic US. You don't want to build dams because they harm the environment (supposedly). We can't build nuclear because it's unsafe. You want us to replace 25% of our energy production with solar like Germany. Why not 50% or 100%?

Like I said, I wish you and your kids the best of luck.

RJ

Have you read about the US oil companies and their dealings with NAZI Germany before and during WWII?

I would be more than happy to bend on drilling in the ANWR, if and only if, a "real" investment was made into alternative fuels.

Also, I would like to see hemp legalized, as it is one of the best choices for an energy crop, but the sheeple of America do not even wonder why the USA is the ONLY INDUSTRIALIZED NATION IN THE WORLD WITHOUT AN ESTABLISHED HEMP CROP.

Thanks for the courteous post.

First of all, I never said anything about drilling anywhere else in the US, I only discussed ANWR. I never said anything about dams, or nuclear power. How quick some people jump to conclusions.

I have no problem with nuclear power, actually, as long as we can bury all the spent fuel rods in your yard.

As to dams, how many places are left in the US where this is feasible? I do not know, as I have never looked into it.

As to the ANWR....

The total quantity of technically recoverable oil within the entire assessment area is estimated to be between 5.7 and 16.0 billion barrels (95-percent and 5-percent probability range), with a mean value of 10.4 billion barrels.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1002 Area, Petroleum Assessment, 1998, Including Economic Analysis

The United States used almost 5.59 billion barrels of oil in 2005.

Financial Sense "They've Had Us Over a Barrel Long Enough" by Richard R. Loomis & Susan Salter 01/26/2007

So, if you look at the numbers, the estimated reserves in ANWR would only produce 1-3 years of oil for the US. As our demand increases, this number decreases. In my opinion, this is little more than a band-aid.

So what else is new. We already have a historical record of a Benedict Arnold.

There in no need to drill within a nature preserve with modern technology.

A yes, or no answer would have been preferable.

Most people can't even imagine the power of the oil companies.

Hi there,
I am glad that some folks can realise just how large ANWR is and how small the impacted area is. Being an Alaskan, I have been to ANWR, it was late July, high temps in the lower 40s, and the highest concentration of mosquitos I have ever been in. Miserable.

But hey, lets go this time of year, there isnt any mosquitos now. Last weather report I saw had temps in the -40 range and clear. But dark, because this time of year the sun doesnt rise in that area of the world.

It isn't really as simple as that when you consider it from a globalization perspective. Globalization was an economic fact before the word became popular. Even wars will not get in the way of a private profit motive. This is another reason why I find our current global anarchy so disingenuous.

With a more perfect Union, terrorism would simply entail more Inter-policing instead of common Offenses at exorbitant cost to our State.

Norrin, I dont think anyone is looking to ANWR to solve the entire supply issue. No single country could do that.
There are 15billion barrels up there, that is 1/6th of our entire usage for the next 15 years after it were to come online. That is not an inconsequential amount at all. There is enough oil there to cover the entire consumption at current levels for a billion people in India. Who consume 2.45mbpd.

Or at the very least, lift the ban on exporting that oil so Alaskans can benefit from it, even if the American consumer doesnt want it.

I already stated I am willing to bend on ANWR, if and only if our government stops licking the boots of the oil companies and makes a "real" investment in alternative energy. Legalizing hemp would also be an important move, as it is one of the best crops for energy.

A GREAT PAPER ON HEMP FOR ENERGY...

Hemp Biomass for Energy

July 5, 2005
Cornell ecologist's study finds that producing ethanol and biodiesel from corn and other crops is not worth the energy

Biomass for biofuel isn't worth it

Guess what plant was never considered for this study.

No, really, go ahead and guess.

Besides being good for energy, thousands of products can be made from it.

The US is currently making hundreds of products with hemp, but because of the brainwashed American people, who allowed the FEDGOV to ban a fucking plant, we have to import all our hemp, taking away the many benefits this plant has to offer US farmers. There are over 25,000 PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE MADE FORM HEMP.

Of course this plant will one day be legal. All that is needed is to drive more family farms out of business so that corporate farms can control yet another resource.

Over 30,000 American farmers have gone under since NAFTA was signed. In Mexico it is estimated that a million farmers have stopped growing crops.

While American farmers can no longer compete, the AGRI-Corporations are maing record profits, thanks to the unfair policies of the US FEDGOV.

\The global food supply is increasingly falling into the hands of a few large corporations. More and more, traditional farming methods are being replaced by large agribusinesses that rely on mechan-ized production, harmful chemicals, and patented seeds, to the detriment of family farmer income, biodiversity, environ-mental sustainability, and food security. The proliferation of "free trade" agreements and policies of privatization have had disastrous effects on farmers, food security, and the environment.

In 2002, the U.S. Congress passed a farm bill which sets prices lower than the cost of production for many agricultural commodities, drastically reducing the income of farmers without significantly hurting agribusiness. To somewhat offset this, the bill also allocates an additional $190 billion in subsidies over the next ten years, two-thirds of which will go to farmers growing export crops such as wheat, soybeans, corn, cotton, and rice. Developing countries usually do not have enough money to subsidize their farmers to this extent. Even a New York Times Editorial recently acknowledged that "no matter how small a wage Filipino workers are willing to accept, they cannot compete with agribusinesses afloat on billions of dollars in government welfare."

Consumer prices were supposed to decline under NAFTA—yet hunger and malnutrition have increased during the last 10 years. Meanwhile, agribusiness has seen record profits during this period. ConAgra, one of the largest food processors in the U.S., saw profits jump from $143 million to $413 million from 1993 to 2000. At the same time, without domestic support for family farmers, poor countries have become increasingly dependent on food imports. When exchange rates fluctuate, this can lead to a dramatic rise—sometimes a doubling or tripling—in food prices for poor consumers in developing countries.

Food Security, Farming, and the FTAA and WTO

As soon as those pesky American family farmers no longer exist, then our government will likely allow the cultivation of hemp, since the corporations will then be able to control such an important resource.

After all, the worst thing that could happen to corporations in America is if the people were actually able to be independent.

So go ahead and drill the ANWR.

We can drink the oil to wash down our chemical laden, genetically modified foods all grown by corporations.

NR,
I am with you on the hemp. I see no good reason we dont have commercial fields of the stuff. I wonder how many textile factories are left after the jobs got sent overseas.

No good reason?

If hemp was never outlawed we would be using it to make not just rope and canvas, but paper, certain types of plastics, food, beuty products, paints, varnishes, possibly 25,000 or more products, all which would have competed against DUPONT and the other corproations which have enjoyed the lack of competition from a plant which can be grown in every state in the US with VERY LITTLE PESTICIDES OR FERTILIZER.

There is a very good reason we don't grow hemp, to protect corporate power.

btw, it is nice to have you at this forum.

I was wondering, does your name have anything to do with the story of Horatio Bunz and Davey Crocket?