Oil Drilling off The NC Coast

[JD5652]

Nuke energy. I don't have a problem with it but I do have a fear some towel head is gonna crash a plane into one. Everytime we think we have those barbarians figured out they get more crazy and do the unthinkable. Their fanatical religion teaches them we are the devil and we don't deserve to live and polute their idolical world with our beliefs
ahi

Ahi-

Don'y worry about the nuke plants dude......they are safe and sound.... many many, many levels of diversified security and after 911 each plant had to upgrade their security requirements to the tune of about $20 mil per plant. Been in the nuke business for over 25 years........

As for the oil rigs, I say bring 'em on as long as we do what is "reasonably" necessary to protect the fishery and environment......

[74Formula233]

We definitely have to up our own production of oil......

If we can ever get the liberal tree-huggers to remove their heads from their asses and let us drill in places such as Alaska, and add more oil rigs, etc.....

Instead they all ***** about the prices of fuel and that it's all a conspiracy, etc.....How bout we finally DO something about the problem?

You're not going to see things like hydrogen powered cars and widespread natural gas cars, etc. anytime soon. The systems are expensive, fuel capacities are limited, etc....just isn't going to happen yet.

And the high cost of hybrids is preventing the widespread use of them still. Go price a Toyota Prius hybrid, and then price the Toyota Corolla.

The Corolla (gas) gets:

41 MPG (highway)
32.61 MPG (average)
$12,954 (base invoice)

The Prius (hybrid) gets:

51 MPG (highway)
29.03 MPG (average)
$20,006 (base invoice)

SO....the Prius only gets 10 MPG better highway, but the average MPG is actually 3.6 MPG LOWER!!! But it costs $7,000 MORE! Do the math LOL

Doesn't make it very worthwhile now, does it?

We have a long way to go for alternative vehicles to become popular.....meanwhile we need to start upping our oil production because the reality is the internal combustion engine is here for a long time.

[capt. jakeg]

Formula, I agree with you. The only thing that never is going to change is that there will never be an alternative fuel as long as oil is still available. Oil companies do not only control the USA's economy, they control the world's economy. Controlling economies means controlling govt's (who fund larger research projects that would find different solutions). Having that much control means that they are going to keep oil at a premium at the same time that they preserve the resource. Believe me, if oil companies absolutely needed the oil in Alaska or off our coast, they would be getting it- tree huggers or not. The same companies run the production of oil in the mideast as do in the united states. They are making their money regardless of whether the oil comes out of saudi arabia, out of the russian icefields, or from offshore rigs.
Here's a similar comparison:
In the 1980's goodyear developed a tire that would have the same performance as a regular tire, but would have a lifespan of somewhere around 700,000 miles, and would never go flat. The tire would cost around the same as a normal tire to produce, but it never hit the market. Why? Because goodyear knew that they could produce the tires for and make a ton of money for a short time, but after a while they aren't going to be selling tires anymore.
Oil companies are doing the same thing. Its preserving the market. They will get it when and where they need to, and it doesn't matter what we think. Pumping too much oil would set the world's economies into an uproar, and if the united states tried to sustain its own oil demand, world poverty and war would follow.