Drilling for oil in the arctic is set to expand and it appears that there is little any of us can do about it. I am beginning to feel the effects of activist fatigue. This is just another outrage fomented by yet another short sighted bunch of political opportunists.
http://dougsaunders.net/2010/07/offshore-oil-drilling-explodes-canadas-arctic-coast-ban/
Layton: Offshore drilling review guided by industry interests
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-a...
Look at the bright side. They are going to the farthest reachest of the earth only to scrape the bottom of the barrel. The oil age is over. If the 20th century was born in wars over control of the vast reserves of oil, the 21st century is born in wars over the last deposits of oil. But not just oil, resources of every kind. The haves and the have-nots will soon meet in the middle of a dystopian future where the reserve currency shall be violence. Thank capitalism and consumer culture. They have delivered upon all their promises.
Oil isn't over. They're already talking about a new discovery on of saturn's moons. It is covered with readily available hydrocarbons, and NASA is trying to figure out a way to secure and mine it. The oil age i think will only end when we finally have killed the planet.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20080213.html
They will find more oil, forever and ever, amen. The Sauds say that they can supply whatever the demand is, for decades. Many major oilfields are not being developed just yet for various reasons such as unstable politics in the regions or just to keep the demand slightly ahead of supply. Some oilfields are hard to get to, but they are waiting for the drilling rigs if they are needed.
It is so frustrating to see the world go down in oily flames when the alternative is within reach. We could easily replace half the oil we use now with other sources of energy, plus efficiency and electric cars. Did you see the "Perpetual Airplane Flight story today? Have you driven a Tesla Roadster? Have you seen how the Netherlands and Sweden have almost eliminated fossil fuels?
But no, the oil has created a wealthy ruling class that refuses to see the reality unfolding in front of us, and because they have so much political power they will surely get their way and fossil fuels will continue to monopolise the energy industry.
They will find more oil, forever and ever, amen. The Sauds say that they can supply whatever the demand is, for decades. Many major oilfields are not being developed just yet for various reasons such as unstable politics in the regions or just to keep the demand slightly ahead of supply. Some oilfields are hard to get to, but they are waiting for the drilling rigs if they are needed.
It is so frustrating to see the world go down in oily flames when the alternative is within reach. We could easily replace half the oil we use now with other sources of energy, plus efficiency and electric cars. Did you see the "Perpetual Airplane Flight story today? Have you driven a Tesla Roadster? Have you seen how the Netherlands and Sweden have almost eliminated fossil fuels?
But no, the oil has created a wealthy ruling class that refuses to see the reality unfolding in front of us, and because they have so much political power they will surely get their way and fossil fuels will continue to monopolise the energy industry.
If there were still easily accessible oil available it would be exploited because it would be much cheaper to produce. The Saudis are already using extreme measures to keep the oil flowing at their largest oil fields, and bringing much smaller oil fields into production won't stem the eventual if perhaps not imminent decline in production.
Certainly if you got rid of gasoline production you'd reduce petroleum demand. But, there are other major dependencies we have on petroleum products. Most notably as lubricants, plastic resins and asphalt to name three. Kicking our dependencies on other petroleum products will be quite another fight if the goal were to stop oil drilling all together. As long as we have this dependency there will still be this need for oil exploration. Exploration, extraction and refinement are incredibly dirty and environmentally hazardous. I think a next step after tackling fuel alternatives would be to eliminate these other petroleum dependencies.
Well on the upside their are some who would be happy to see the end of the seal hunt if there was a sufficient spill.
Seriously though I read in the Free Press yesterday that the white pelican, the common loon, the western grebe and the great blue heron may never more return to Manitoba, they will be leaving soon and most will go to certain death and those who make it will most likely die upon their return journey. Is drilling in the oceon worth that price? Will anyone compensate us for our loss and how can you compensate for the mournful loon or the majestic heron?
We must cease drilling in the oceon immediately.
We've reached peak cheap oil (and probably passed it 5 years ago). Oil companies would much rather drill cheap, onshore wells in areas of the world where environmental regulations don't restrict their activities (think Niger Delta). Unfortunately, there is simply no cheap oil (or natural gas) left, especially not on the North American continent.
I cannot help but think that it is incredibly short sighted of us to think that our reliance on oil is sustainable, and yet here we are, building endless tracts of housing on farmland. The sprawl surrounding our major cities necessitate cars and highways to commute ever farther to our employment. The development of these housing tracts make the utilization of mass transit nearly impossible, and the land is zoned such that people are encouraged to own more than one car in order to access the mall to shop. Incredibly, although many suburbs are in close proximity to farmland, most of the agricultural products at the supermarkets are imported. I shudder to think of the type of calamity it will take to bring our society to its senses.
[url=http://money.ca.msn.com/investing/news/business-news/article.aspx?cp-doc... reason to ban offshore drilling: Our useless senators[/url]
No reason? Wake up and read a newspaper you old codgers! More evidence that sleeping on the job can actually be a rewarding career opportunity in Ottawa.
yes they used the tactic that Cue illuminated over in this thread, at post #64, to justify their reasoning on why it should continue.
...afterall, there is no such thing as an absolute safe way to drill for oil, so anyway at all might as well occur. Just watch this type of evil reasoning explode.
bumping - because there's a lot of chatter about the new Shell venture in the Arctic.
From Greenpeace UK:
Shell loses control of Arctic drilling rig in Alaska
excerpt:
In addition to the extreme and unpredictable weather, there is an alarming dearth of infrastructure necessary to mount a large-scale response effort off the North Slope. As detailed in the Center for American Progress report, Putting a Freeze on Arctic Ocean Drilling: America's Inability to Respond to an Oil Spill in the Arctic, the area lacks roads, railroads, a permanent Coast Guard facility, a major port, or sufficient infrastructure to house and feed a large influx of people. As a result, Shell has said that its oil spill response efforts will be largely self-contained. The fact that the company is experiencing problems with this equipment before even reaching the drill sites raises serious concerns about their contingency plan.
