hey man i went to school to be a solar engineer 29 years ago {but iv been making boards for 36 years yeah i live da dream }, nobody talks about heating water ,do you know how much energy it takes to heat water????
electricity is the motor of your $500,000+ house
so whats the problem ??? its to much ? it don't work ?
$20,000 these days doesn't even get you a killer truck.
hey man i went to school to be a solar engineer 29 years ago {but iv been making boards for 36 years yeah i live da dream }, nobody talks about heating water ,do you know how much energy it takes to heat water????
electricity is the motor of your $500,000+ house
so whats the problem ??? its to much ? it don't work ?
$20,000 these days doesn't even get you a killer truck.
how about a big solar farm in "DEATH VALLY " ?
We need more PASSIVE solar architecture in our homes. The current tract houses that everyone is building is based on the cheapest price.... you can find quality housing that includes Passive solar architecture, i.e. large low hanging eaves that allow the sun in the winter months when the sun is low in the sky and blocks it in the summer when the sun is high in the sky.
"how about a big solar farm in "Death Vally"?? Why don't you just give me a couple $100 million and I will give you about 75% of that back in return? We can just skip the solar farm.
You should all this stuff if you went to school for solar engineering...
@ Joe Shmoe,
It's not that you have hit a nerve, it's just that you continue to prove that you don't have a clue as to what you are talking about.
You are full of fabrications and false statements.
ol' geezer, your going to have to a little more specific than that.
I have said the military is the biggest employer in the US, if not TELL ME WHO IS!
I have said California has the #1 economy in the U.S, this will be true for as long as the U.S. exists
I have said the US will be the most productive country in the world for the next 20 years(is this a false statement?)
I said we will always be the biggest producer of manufactured goods. This is by value, of course
I said the government can employ the unemployed, ok you cannot be over 35 yrs to join the army, but I think the government can have a jobs program for anyone between the age of 35-65
You CAN get in the army with a GED, so how can that be a false statement?
are you telling me that the Air Force doesn't have the highest scores on the asvab test? they have the highest entry qualifications.
You don't have to be able to do 13 push-ups to get into the army? Oh tell me wise one, how many push ups is required? It's still a joke!
Texas always kicks everybody's ass, don't we all already know this? I'm sure Texas will probably write their way out of the end of the world too. May 21st is coming fast, not gonna matter anyway. Haha.
All you wind and solar guys know that this technology is not mature enough nor fiscally viable enough to support the energy needs of the United States, nation wide, "PERIOD".
If a couple hundred million dollars in research or grants to some self ordained solar powered genius would solve the problem this would have been accomplished years ago.
It's currently just a pipe dream for nation-wide application and implementation.
It can supplement, it has its niche in smaller scale applications but that is about the extent of it. Experts in the industry acknowledge these facts.
Here is the delivered cost per kilowatt hour of electrical energy in Great Britain in 2006, without CO2 controls (126). These estimates include all capital and operational expenses for a period of 50 years. Micro wind or solar are units installed for individual homes.
Construction of one Palo Verde installation with 10 reactors in each of the 50 states. Energy trade deficit is reversed by $500 billion per year, resulting in a $200 billion annual surplus. Currently, this solution is not possible owing to misguided government policies, regulations, and taxation and to legal maneuvers available to anti-nuclear activists. These impediments should be legislatively repealed.
The bottom line is that as of today the only and I repeat the only viable technology out there that has any chance of meeting our energy needs is nuclear power, nothing else even comes close.
It is a decision, which way do we go, the pipe dream way or reality?
Sure, continue research and development in these other areas but for the extended foreseeable future nuclear power is the only thing that can meet the need.
In the meantime California considers giving out IOU's because it can't pay its debts,... so much for a robust economy.
Predictions of $5 and up a gallon of gas on the news,..... hmmmmm aint gonna be much wake boarding if this crap keeps up.
Well geezer finally something I agree with regarding the nuclear power. Too much foot dragging and not enough effort. The adversion of the Obama adminstration to using the Yucca Mountain repository that been in development for many years is nonsensical.
However, plenty of wakeboarding in my future. I ride the cable.
sam right solar sucks ,there go's 100,000+ jobs ,thanks sam
now sam's going to tell us what will work????
How about a good old nuclear reactor?
From Wiki:
China has 25 reactors under construction, with plans to build more, while in the US the licenses of almost half its reactors have been extended to 60 years, and plans to build another dozen are under serious consideration.] China may achieve its long-term plan of having 40,000 megawatts of nuclear power capacity four to five years ahead of schedule.
"A man that does not know his history has no past and no future".
My original post unfortunately shows the chilling reality of my heading:
“Is America divided and dying”?
Despite the indisputable fact of pending National bankruptcy, recent reports/speculation of oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel or higher (in view of the crisis in Egypt over the security of the Suez canal) and other points outlined in my original post; some continue with idiotic comments.
Some malign our military recruits and attempt to convince others that America, California and other states will continue economic business as usual or words to that effect.
Some have raised good arguments on numerous topics but in the end they are mostly just that, arguments.
Some of the discussion points out, what are only symptoms to America’s real problem overall.
America has a heart problem, heart disease if you like.
This sick heart pollutes most everything else we do and say (know one seems to be immune not even myself).
If our hearts are not right, much of everything we do isn’t either.
America’s greatness has always been its faith in Almighty God.
Our motto approved by congress says “In God We Trust”.
Unfortunately America as a whole continues to act as if that motto is untrue.
We have turned our back on the God of our founding fathers and the historical rational and moral fabric from which our laws originate.
"A man that does not know his history has no past and no future".
We have forgotten the lessons of the past in American history.
Will we continue to argue aimlessly,… right up to the end?
We may know the answer to that question for ourselves and our families sooner than we might like.
Aint going to be much wakeboarding if th!s crap keeps up!
Good ol' mr. Geezer! running around yelling, The sky is falling! The sky is falling! The economy just keeps getting better, companies are running leaner and surviving if not thriving. Unemployment is stabilizing and if you haven't noticed, people are spending money! America is not dying! The United States has programs like social security and medicare which people pay into and are entitled to receive money back. There are millions of people employed by the government including the military, that were able to keep there jobs through the tough times and the greatest recession, and America is still the best country to live in in the world and CAN compete with any country in the world, ok we cannot compete with Japan, but who taught Japan how to be a world class manufacturing Machine? It was U.S.! and We Can reach any goal we set out to conquer. The only person on this board who is throwing in the towel is the ol' geezer himself! He is already fed up with the system and is quitting, well, (go ahead and jump ship) because we don't need your negative attitude, we will continue to bail out the water until we are exhausted and our hands are numb and we cannot fight the battle for another second and then we will use good ol' American ingenuity and harness the energy from the H2O that is threatening our existence and use that power not only to right the ship, but to make the ship soar above all that will put U.S. into the depths of the sea. America will always be divided, but it is not dying! I will continue to wakeboard even when the price of gas is $5 a gallon.
@jo shmoe,
Nobody is throwing in the towel here friend.
Again you just don't know what you are talking about.
You ignore the truth about the huge debt and tax/spend mentality (of people like yourself) that helped cause the problem in the first place.
For some reason, you seem to ignore the facts and act like these problems do not exist.
As has been widely reported, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are going broke, the country borrows money from Communist China for day to day operations just to run the government.
Many city and state governments across America are facing bankruptcy,... its just the way it is.
Nothing you say can change those facts.
Ignoring the truth as you do does not make these problems go away, steps must be taken to resolve these and the other debt issues we face.
The warnings around the country and the world are just that,.. a warning,.. a call to do something about the problem before it is too late.
You are much like the people that believed the TITANIC was unsinkable,.. right up to the end.
Their arrogance and ignorance prevented the action required to stave off disaster. A mentality very similar to yours.
"A man that does not know his history has no past and no future"
Aint going to be much wakeboarding if th!s crap keeps up!
@Jeremy,
Gloom and Doom from your perspective,... factual from mine.
The facts speak for themselves Jeremy and we ignore them at our peril.
Some experts believe that there is still time to do something about our fiscal irresponsibility ( I hope this is true).
Putting our heads in the sand because we don't want to hear the truth or don't like the bad news or disagreeing with the facts simply for disagreements sake is not the answer.
People must be made aware of the problem before we can fix it,.. ignorance is not bless.
"A man that does not know his history has no past and no future"
Aint going to be much wakeboarding if th!s crap keeps up!
Geezer, I'd like to know how you think that you aren't part of the problem as well. The fiscal irresponsibility we are engaged in itsn't just the spending deficit. It's the trade deficit as well. And I don't any of the Tea Partiers or Republicans talking about that. Fixing the spending deficit without fixing the trade deficit is no fix at all.
John,
I don't disagree with you on our trade deficit issue, as it is also a major problem and you are right, I don't hear alot about the trade deficit from the Tea Party or Republicans in general, although a few have spoken about it on a few occasions but obviously not enough.
John, I also think we can all share, "in being part of the problem" and that "does" include myself but the points I have raised on this forum, especially in my initial post are valid and well founded on the facts. I understand that many people do not want to hear some of these things because it makes them uncomfortable in some ways and much of the news for America unfortunately is not that good.
Our fiscal and moral problems in America loom so large that they sometimes seem insurmountable.
Those with an "MTV" mentality will not understand this.
America has a great history, founded on principles that have made us great.
We have forgotten in many respects how we got to be the greatest nation in world history.
It wasn't by borrowing and spending into oblivion like we have and continue to do.
I appreciate, as always, your thoughtful and accurate commentary John.
"Holy Crap! What an irresponsible statement. I can't describe my thoughts about you Jeremy..."
What is about it is so irresponsible? I mean waking up everyday, wondering if the country is going to collapse, what a miserable existence. You could die tomorrow, and the fiscal outlook of the US or whether or not one can continue to wakeboard won't mean much.
@Jeremy
I'm not "wondering" if America is going to collapse,..
America without a doubt will collapse if we continue to ignore these problems.
All the experts (except for you apparently) agree on this,...
We can't continue borrowing and spending money that we do not have at these enormous amounts..
Being aware of the problem is only a start.
If I were foolish and selfish enough to only care about myself and no one else,.. not family, not my children or grandchildren, my friends and neighbors or you,... etc it would be very easy to: "do my own thing" and have a "to hell with everything and anyone else attitude,.." just as long as "I have a good time" acting and thinking like that's all that matters because tomorrow we may die,.. just make sure I have plenty of fun along the way.
There is far more to life than that my friend.
We see the weather and know the signs of warning,.. when to take cover from tornadoes, heavy seas, high winds etc to avoid property damage injury and death. It is only prudent and wise to pay attention to the warning signs and act accordingly,... it's just that simple.
You have every right to ignore everything and everybody you wish, irregardless if what they say is true or not. You are welcome to ignore all the signs around you,..that is your choice.
I choose to see the signs,... I will prepare and act accordingly on behalf of my family and friends and yes,... anyone else that I can get to stop for a moment and think about what is in our very near future if we don't take our heads out of our anal orifice and do something about it.
Good Luck Jeremy,..
A man that does not know history has no past and no future.
Aint gonna be much Wakeboarding if th!s crap keeps up
good ol' mr. geezer, "Again you just don't know what you are talking about", again mr. geezer, you have to be more specific.
so, are you saying the people that payed into SS and Medicare, do not deserve to be paid back? People are not spending money? what are you smoking? We have gone through the biggest recession ever and we are still standing, if people were financially stable before the recession, they probably are better off now because of the way the banks are now working. My credit union never had any problems throughout the whole recession. You think the government should have panicked and laid off two million people because we "couldn't afford" their services. Geezer, you're not only old you are ignorant, you actually think it was bad the government didn't lay off million of people? You don't like when I say America is the best country to live in? I really believe this to be true! but as you say, I don't know what I'm talking about. We didn't teach Japan how to be a world class manufacturer? You don't even know that the U.S. is the leading manufacturer in the world! even through a recession! We are an awesome Country, the best in the world. Let's go wakeboarding!
John, I also think we can all share, "in being part of the problem" and that "does" include myself but the points I have raised on this forum, especially in my initial post are valid and well founded on the facts. I understand that many people do not want to hear some of these things because it makes them uncomfortable in some ways and much of the news for America unfortunately is not that good.
What makes me uncomfortable is the belief that our problems will be fixed when the govt stops taking my tax money. I don't hear anyting about sacrifice. It will take sacrifice to save our country because *we are all traitors*. We use our freedom to send significant portions of the US economy to other countries. We are selling America, and I don't mean funding the deficit with treasury bonds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wakeboardgeezer
Our fiscal and moral problems in America loom so large that they sometimes seem insurmountable.
Those with an "MTV" mentality will not understand this.
It's not just the MTV generation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wakeboardgeezer
America has a great history, founded on principles that have made us great.
We have forgotten in many respects how we got to be the greatest nation in world history.
Yes we have forgotten what it means to create jobs and build an economy that provides opportunity for people of all levels of education and ability.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wakeboardgeezer
It wasn't by borrowing and spending into oblivion like we have and continue to do.
And it wasn't by selling America out and losing focus on the basic fundamentals of a healthy economy.
You are right that our culture is hurting this country in many ways. But the blame isn't limited to any specific group.
The main problem we have here is when the government expands itself, it cannot be contracted. In order to get the deficits right, we have to be able to steer the ship swiftly. We have to be able to drop the BS spending instantly. We have to be able to fix flawed policies instantly, the minute we discover their failure. Our government cannot do any of that.
How long have we known that SS is would become insolvent? 30 years or so? How long have we known of welfare abuse? Forever. How long have we known that tort reform is needed to help the medical community? 20 years? We cannot change or fix anything, even with warning well in advance.
Why should we? We all go home to a warm meal in a warm house regardless. It will not change until living conditions change drastically. We will not wake up until our very way of life is shaken. It will be a long slow decline, with borrowed money propping things up for a time making the uninformed think "things are turning around!" Eventually we will run out of bandaids.
The only things that can stop it quickly is a technology discovery to over fund our economy, or an invasion to force us out of apathy.
Who is right and who is wrong will be academic as America may soon fall into chaos as our institutions and civil authorities no longer have the funds to operate and our own huge union worker populations join the activities of those in Europe.
A number of European countries for example like Greece and France are seeing massive demonstrations and burning in the streets.
Their airports and gas stations are shut down by union members apposed to the cut backs and emergency measures being taken to avoid their country’s total economic collapse.
Many reports indicate that these scenes will soon be repeated in Spain and Portugal.
Great Britain, one of the most socialized of European governments has recently enacted proactive legislation to curtail its own government health-care expenditures and other social programs in an attempt to head off disaster.
The hand writing has been on the wall for America for quite some time now.
Almost every state is in deep financial trouble/debt.
100% of all the money spent to fund the U.S. Government is borrowed money.
Social Security in the near future will go bankrupt because the ratio of workers versus those drawing funds back in the 1930s was 40 to 1,... it is now 3 to 1 and soon to be 2 to 1.
Yet nobody wants to step up and fix social security so that the young people paying into it today will be able to draw on it when they reach retirement age,... Right now they will not.
America is on and has been on an unsustainable path for quite some time.
We aren't drilling for the oil that is easily obtainable close to home or using nuclear power to the extent we could and should,.. so we can't respond easily to outages world wide and the price of gas continues to climb with limited ability of our country to do anything about it.
People want to use the strategic oil reserves set aside for military defense emergencies to temporarily lower the price while not taking into account the reason the strategic reserves of oil were setup in the first place.
We all just need to wake the hell up,.... before we wake up in hell.
"Aint gonna be much wakeboarding if th!s crap keeps up"
Do you understand that oil is sold on a world market? It doesn't matter where it is drilled, the market drives the price. Higher oil prices are being blamed on unrest in the Middle East, but only 15% of our oil is imported from the Middle East. We import the most oil from Canada. We can drill all of the wells we want in the U.S., but as long as only a couple of companies control it, they can charge whatever they want.
Do you understand that oil is sold on a world market? It doesn't matter where it is drilled, the market drives the price. Higher oil prices are being blamed on unrest in the Middle East, but only 15% of our oil is imported from the Middle East. We import the most oil from Canada. We can drill all of the wells we want in the U.S., but as long as only a couple of companies control it, they can charge whatever they want.
There's some nice voodoo economics... generally as supply goes up prices go down and vice-versa. If we drill for our own oil we increase supply and therefore prices go down. A little thing called OPEC also exists, if we have our own oil supply they have less leverage. There are tons and tons of small oil producers in the US, same goes for natural gas.
I haven't even touched on delivery costs, do you think it floats across the ocean for free? Ever heard of import taxes, refinery costs, etc...
Now start to include nuclear in the mix and we might have something...
Sam, it doesn't work that way with oil. It's not "voodoo" economics, it's just the way things work. Drilling for our own oil doesn't really change things as long as it is BP, Exxon, or Shell doing the drilling. Is a necklace made from 14K gold originating from the U.S. cheaper than a necklace made from 14K gold originating in India?
Let's touch on delivery costs. By your logic, shouldn't oil that we import from Canada be cheaper than the oil we import from Saudi Arabia? Are Canucks paying 1.00 a gallon? When I see oil on the commodities exchange, is there a separate price from oil from various regions? No, it is selling for 104.00 a barrel no matter what country it comes from, including the U.S.
Sam, it doesn't work that way with oil. It's not "voodoo" economics, it's just the way things work. Drilling for our own oil doesn't really change things as long as it is BP, Exxon, or Shell doing the drilling. Is a necklace made from 14K gold originating from the U.S. cheaper than a necklace made from 14K gold originating in India?
Let's touch on delivery costs. By your logic, shouldn't oil that we import from Canada be cheaper than the oil we import from Saudi Arabia? Are Canucks paying 1.00 a gallon? When I see oil on the commodities exchange, is there a separate price from oil from various regions? No, it is selling for 104.00 a barrel no matter what country it comes from, including the U.S.
Sam, you are smarter than this.
You are flat out wrong on this! I have owned private stock in Atlas Natural Gas and Oil since 1993. I have four private natural gas wells and one crude oil well. You are wrong, do your research.
It has no bearing on who pumps the oil either (shell, BP or any of them). That is more of that voodoo big oil boogey man crap. Oil is free and in the ground. It just just there period. It does cost some money to pump it out as some of it is easier to get and some is of better quality. Some companies have the means to drill for it. This more addressing the issue that the left seems to always cry big oil is making large profits crying you always hear. Of course they are making profits. The oil is pretty much laying there. If you wanted to not give them profits, get your own rig and go find your oil and sell it. There are no laws against it. My dad did that in the 70's.
At the end of the day, it all ends up in the collective pot and is on the commodities exchange. The OPEC countries came together and decided what oil should cost to keep there countries running (through internal and external political pressure) the way they want so they pump just enough oil to keep the market at that level. It is kind of like the Diamond industry. I can't think of the name of the diamond out fit right now, but, if anyone else wants to try and play in the diamond market, they tell them they need to fix the price to this level or they will just flood the market and make them worthless and shut them out through quantity. That is how the oil works too. What you have to decide is, do we have enough drilling capacity and do it cheap enough that we can offset the drop in production those folks will do or cause a oil glut for a little while like they did in the 80's and run us out of the market.
Sam, what am I wrong about? What do I need to research? The oil that comes from your private well, I mean do you sell it for for 50.00 a barrel? Do you sell your natural gas cheaper than everyone else.
Delta , I don't know if you discussing me about oil companies making a profit. That's their prerogative.
What is really sad is our dependence on crude oil. The US used to be about innovation and discoveries. We put men in space. But we can't make anything better than a gasoline engine. We still think the answer to our problems in by drilling more wells. China is about to begin to convert to methanol.
I can sell my natural gas and oil at the same exchanges that I sell corn at. I can sell it on the Chicago exchange (CME) or the St.Louis exchange (MCE) or the West Texas exchange (WTI) all for different prices. If I sign a delivery contract I can only choose one exchange and the price changes depending on refinery capacity, distance, handling, and exchange rate. If I subcontract and pool my volumes with other small well owners I can use any commodity exchange in the world. I pool with about a hundred other crude well owners and sell on the Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) which pays approximately 15% more because the big boys won't ship there. In the US prices probably fluctuate by 10-20% depeding on the exchange. I can only sell on certain exchanges and get top dollar due to the make up of my crude and my natural gas; both are high in sulfur and I can't get top dollar in any of the eastern exchanges or in California. In Chicago and St.Louis they don't care. US oil is very locational, and based on volume and make up among other things. In the US there are tons and tons of small well owners like me. I have absolutely no business relationship with any of the big oil companies. With corn, I am tied to Cargill because they provide the seed, which is part of the deal, it's almost no risk and no up front cost for me.
BTW, the Oil, Gas, and Coal Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report came out today and this was summarized on the first page. (I'll post it when a public copy is available - it was posted but has been taken down after today's session with Inhofe):
America’s combined recoverable natural gas, oil, and coal reserves are far larger than that of China, Saudi Arabia, and Canada combined.
Future reserves of natural gas total 2,047 trillion cubic feet, sufficient to satiate U.S. energy demands for 90 years.
The U.S. is the world’s leader in coal reserves, at 28% of the world’s known coal. The 262 billion short tons are enough to satisfy our annual needs for 218 years.
The Department of Energy estimates that there are 1.38 trillion barrels of recoverable oil shale in the Rockies. That amounts to five times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.
Per today's discussion of the CRS:
"The cessation of Libya’s mere 1.7 million barrels of production per day has caused chaos in the global market. Were we to pump our oil reserves at a similar rate, the oil would last for 263 years. This would presumably have a commensurately positive effect on oil prices."
"This would presumably have a commensurately positive effect on oil prices."
Sounds promising.
Yes, I believe that was Dr. Chu that said that. He is Obama's Secretary of Energy... he really knows what's going on... he knows all about lasers, which is very helpful...
Tesla would have kicked his ass with early 1900's knoweledge...
Dennie made some very, very good points in his original post. I am back living in the UK and things are much much worse than the government lets on. I have been unemployed for 9 months now and there ARE NO JOBS. Forget about my field, Anywhere. The most menial jobs get posted and there are over 200 applicants. America is no different. The Western Governments paint a completely different picture but the people living the nightmare are more in tune to what is really happening. Europe - Greece, Ireland, Spain,Iceland with others hot on their heels are either bankrupt or on the verge of it. Nobody is going to lend them money because how are they going to pay it back??
Quote "The money poured into the banks is not going into creating jobs in the west but is mostly being gambled on commodity trading, sending the prices of everything from cocoa to wheat, corn, sugar etc rocketing"
Just wait we haven't seen anything yet. Fuel, with the continual unrest in the ME is going to continue to skyrocket as is the price of food and normal law abiding citizens in Europe, sick to the back teeth of their duplicitous, scheming, out of touch politicians, are going to take to the streets. Britain is seething as it is.
Bernanke and that idiot Geitner just continue to add fuel to an out of control fire.
@Chris,
I can't tell you how much I appreciate the fairness and hard truthful honesty of your comments.
It would be nice if the conditions and issues I pointed out in my original post did not exist but they do.
We have already seen Greece, Ireland and now Portugal fold economically, requiring bailouts from the IMF/EU.
America is at a point where something can be done to avoid their fate if we act decisively now,... but we must act to stop the out of control spending by our government. America does not have a revenue problem we have an out of control spending problem.
If we can't get the American people to wake the hell up and take the action required, we will go belly up and when we do go bankrupt,.. there won't be anyone to bail us out. Because of our inaction, lack of resolve, and cultural decline into liberal progressive socialism,.. America has very little in reserve both from a monetary and an energy stand point to stave off major calamity's caused by things like "oil embargoes", "natural and man made disasters" like what has just occurred in Japan, or God forbid a major terrorist attack with a nuclear or chemical/biological weapon on a major U.S. city.
As American citizens there are many things we have no control over however spending money we do not have is not one of them.
This is a problem that can be resolved but not through ignorance, apathy, or silly/foolish socialistic liberal thinking and talking points designed to keep the Democrat Party in power by scaring elderly Americans and minorities into thinking they are all going to be thrown into the street by conservatives.
A few years ago during the Bush Administration when gas prices momentarily soared he announced a policy of opening up more leases off our coasts for oil drilling. The oil market responded at just the "possibility" of America taking matters into its own hands.
Without virtually any new drilling being done, oil prices began to drop at just the announcement of our newly stated aggressive posture to increase drilling.
The more oil we drill the cheaper the price becomes for us and the less we have to rely on what other countries do in regards to price fixing.
Cuba is getting ready to drill 3-4 platforms in the gulf using expertise from Communist China.
If ,... as some of you seem to imply,...America doesn't need to drill,.. why is Communist China/Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Vietnam etc doing so much drilling in the Gulf?
Bottom line on the oil issue is,.....
well,.....
Sam Ingram is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT IN HIS ANALYSIS!
Aint gonna be much Wakeboarding if th!s crap keeps up!!!!!
Let's say Sam and Geez are correct. So BP, Exxon, whoever, is given reign to begin drilling away. Don't test wells have to be drilled? Doesn't analysis on these test wells have to occur? Is the attitude that they just pick any spot, plant a well, and in a month we reap the benefits????
Truth is, it would take ~10 years before we would see this "influx" of American oil. By then, by Geez's prediction, we will all be in concentration camps, slaves to the Socialist government. It won't matter if gas is 5.00 or .05 a gallon, we won't have any cars.
@Sam
Thanks for the posts, interesting reading considering our "Boyee" Timothy Geithner's propensity to over-print U.S. dollars.
I was especially interested in what don had to say and I quote here:
Quote:
Again, to be crystal clear rapidly increasing oil prices (as measured in US dollars) is the effect and not the cause of inflation. An increase in the money supply is the culprit, the increase in the price of a barrel of oil is the result of federal government action.
Does this mean that the price of oil would be static without the government printing presses running overtime? Of course not. We have a fixed supply of oil on the planet, and an increasing demand from an growing population and industrialization around the world. WIth a fixed supply and an increasing demand we would expect the price to rise over the long run. Demand, however, hasn't increased enough in the past 7 years such that the price of oil is four times more expensive than it was in 2001. Nearly all of the price increase in oil isn't from the increase in the cost of oil, but from the decreased value of the dollar.
Let's say Sam and Geez are correct. So BP, Exxon, whoever, is given reign to begin drilling away. Don't test wells have to be drilled? Doesn't analysis on these test wells have to occur? Is the attitude that they just pick any spot, plant a well, and in a month we reap the benefits????
Truth is, it would take ~10 years before we would see this "influx" of American oil. By then, by Geez's prediction, we will all be in concentration camps, slaves to the Socialist government. It won't matter if gas is 5.00 or .05 a gallon, we won't have any cars.
Test wells have already been drilled about 50 years ago... They know exactly where the oil is and what it will take to get it. They don't screw around anymore. Even the wildcatters are using satellites now.
You are basically quoting the EXACT same argument that was quoted ten years ago. Can you imagine if we ramped up drilling ten years ago and now we were 100% independent of foreign oil? Do you not think world prices would go down? The entire argument against US oil production is just pure IDIOCY! Somehow, it is better for the environment if we buy oil instead of drilling for it. If we drill for it we can mandate how it is done and protect the environment in the process. What kind of control do we have over Middle East drilling practices, what about Hugo Chavez's, or China's drilling practice... nil, none, nada.. and then we have to run some big ass ships all over the ocean... nope they don't pollute any... oops old Shipmaster Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood didn't screw anything up... If it's global economy, I figure it's a global environment too..
Lets mandate that you can't drill for it on land or anywhere near the shore... mandate that you have to drill in a mile of water where a man can't even go... ya, that's a good idea.
@Jeremy
Your analysis as usual is very very flawed and again you don't seem to be paying attention to what is going on or has been previously said in these posts.
Your attitude is the basic problem to getting anything done,.. inaction, sitting on your hands, arguing just for arguments sake, waiting until it is virtually too late exacerbates the problem and never ever gets anything accomplished.
Almost fifteen years ago we tried to bring the oil from Anwr in Alaska to market and it would already be in production allowing Americans to reap the benefits The longer we wait to get started the longer it takes to get product to the market.
A virtual moratorium on new oil drilling leases in the gulf is in affect, oil rigs have moved off and over 13,000 people thus far have lost their jobs because the EPA tree huggers force companies to drill in deeper water instead of closer to the coast where it is saver, easier and cheaper to drill.
Alot of the "testing" etc you espouse is not required in many cases.
There are "proven reserves" in the Gulf, and off the east and west coast, our government isn't allowing us to exploit it.
There are proven reserves in Alaska, our government isn't allowing us to exploit it.
We have tremendous resources in coal, our government isn't allowing us to exploit it.
This list could go on and on and on!
Jeremy,.. yours just seems to be more of the same liberal socialistic heaped upon heap of useless nonsense, spewing all the invalid reasons why we can't do this or that because of your religious ideological political talking points that somebody down the line somewhere brainwashed you into thinking was the truth.
We need to get the government the hell out of the way and let the American people do what they do best and that is getting to work fixing these problems.
"Jeremy,.. yours just seems to be more of the same liberal socialistic heaped upon heap of useless nonsense, spewing all the invalid reasons why we can't do this or that because of your religious ideological political talking points that somebody down the line somewhere brainwashed you into thinking was the truth."
Why does disagreeing with what you say insinuate that I have fallen victim to "liberal socialistic" nonsense? Just because I don't buy into your chicken little style of thought, that doesn't make me wrong. And how does religion have anything to do with drilling for oil? It's moronic for you to try to equate the two. Unless you think it makes someone more Christian to want to put holes all over our country simply to pollute the Earth further.
"A virtual moratorium on new oil drilling leases in the gulf is in affect,...'
{I think you mean "is in effect"} Is this supposed to be a bad thing?? I know you might not believe this, but Americans actually inhabit the Gulf Coast. Maybe you like splashing around in an oil slick, but the majority of us don't. Do you know how much wildlife perished? And you understand that people, other than oil platform workers, also lost their jobs? And don't give me that line about "if they could drill closer this wouldn't have happened". That is speculative and being able to drill closer does not definitively mean that the spill last year would have never happened.
Sam
"You are basically quoting the EXACT same argument that was quoted ten years ago. Can you imagine if we ramped up drilling ten years ago and now we were 100% independent of foreign oil? Do you not think world prices would go down? The entire argument against US oil production is just pure IDIOCY!"
Why do you think posting this same mumbo jumbo in a different thread changes anything? Where is any evidence that prices go down depending on oil being foreign or domestic? Why isn't the oil that is drilled in the US, cheaper that the oil we don't get in the US? The majority of our oil comes from Canada and the transportation of bringing in Canadian oil is cheaper than say the transportation of Saudi oil, so how come we don't see that reflection in price at the pump? How come a scuffle in Libya (from whom we receive only a small percentage of oil) has such a huge bearing on our price? A threat of a category 1 hurricane causes a price spike, but not a major spill in the gulf....Why?
America is at a point where something can be done to avoid their fate if we act decisively now,... but we must act to stop the out of control spending by our government. America does not have a revenue problem we have an out of control spending problem.
...
As American citizens there are many things we have no control over however spending money we do not have is not one of them.
As Americans we don't have much control over the spending of our money. The recent budget negotiations are a joke. Neither side wanted to reduce anything meaningful. It was all for show. We have a budget crisis, so shouldn't we do things like...'
1) Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now.
2) Cut funding in half for the FDA, FEMA, Homeland Security
3) Cut defense by 1/3
4) End subsidies to large corporations.
Instead of pretending that Planned Parenthood is significant? What average American is going to care about the cuts above? These agencies are incredibly wasteful. FEMA gave $200K to an individual "pretending" to be the city of Orlando. $200K without even sending a FEMA representative to meet with the recipient. They hand out billions for storm damage in places that aren't in a state of emergency.
Rent the movie "Casino Jack and the United States of Money". While the culprits in that movie are mainly Republicans, the situation is the same for both parties. Our govt is bought and sold by all our representatives.
Why do you think posting this same mumbo jumbo in a different thread changes anything?
If we get most of our oil from Canada (which I am not debating), then how does the environmental argument work? How is it justified that we risk one of the most pristine environments in the world (Canada) versus drilling for it in this country? How can you deny what is happening in North Dakota with the economy?
The last time I checked Donald Trump understood business a little better than most people... or do you have a series of hotels and buildings that are better?
- We have truly huge, energy-based economy. It doesn’t turn on a dime.
- The U.S. consumes 25% of the world’s petroleum, and produces, not coincidentally, 25% of global GDP.
- As much as we hear about “renewable energy”, the dominant renewable source is hydropower. The greens want less hydropower, not more.
- Solar is coded yellow in this graphic. Wind is in purple. They are only used to generate electricity. The primary sources of electricity are coal, natural gas and nuclear energy. Wind and solar would have to grow explosively for many years to become a significant source of electricity.
- Natural gas is the most versatile fuel on the chart. It is a major source of all energy except transportation, and it has growth potential in that market. We have an ample supply of gas, which is clean, efficient and nearly 100% domestic.
What do you see that I missed?
More Observations (Mine):
- It seems to me that we should spend less time trying to figure out alternative sources of energy and more time working on efficiency.
- I can't believe how much energy is wasted... I think that is what is meant by the dark and light grey lines.
I was just listening to a report that says the cracking of the shale to mine the natural gas releases enough methane geenhouse gas to negate it's green advantage over coal.
I was just listening to a report that says the cracking of the shale to mine the natural gas releases enough methane geenhouse gas to negate it's green advantage over coal.
The company that I have my natural gas wells through (Atlas Natural Gas and Oil) is really big into Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) for this very reason. It qualifies as a "green energy" in California. They make most of it by processing coal, but make some from biomass too.
@Jeremy
You are full of distortions and "BS" as usual, here is just another classic example of your intellectual dishonesty.
You claim I posted the following quote: "if they could drill closer this wouldn't have happened". You are simply a bald faced liar Jeremy,.. that is what you posted, not what I posted.
You need to learn how to use the copy and paste feature of your computer dude so you aren't caught in yet another lie.
I posted the following comment: "closer to the coast where it is saver, easier and cheaper to drill".
Jeremy,..it is safer to drill in shallower water, much much safer at 2-300ft or less versus a mile down, cheaper and easier to do. Since you seem to like the word moron I will use it here.
Any moron should know it is safer, cheaper and easier to drill at shallower depths.
The deeper you drill the tougher and more dangerous it is to do, this is just a simple mathematical fact Jeremy.
Govt policy that forces the drilling of over a mile down instead of shallower water makes incidents more likely not less, causing more potential harm to the environment you claim to want to save.
As for religion,....what I meant is,...your comments seem to be based more on a "religious like" socialistic ideology rather than on any real facts.
In other words your socialistic liberal view talking points seem to be your religion as is the case most often for the majority of socialistic liberals such as yourself.
Geez, you are speculating and the reason I posted about drilling in more shallow water was NOT because you said it previously, but I knew that you would argue that issue with me. Low and behold, I was correct!!!! Geez, do you want an oil platform on your favorite lake? My guess is no, so why would anyone else want a platform right outside their backdoor?
Price of gas has nothing to do with where the oil is drilled. So it really doesn't matter if we had oil platforms up on the beach right next to where little Johnny is trying to build a sand castle. A bit of research would tell you that. I remember when you would only come on here to post one of your songs or poems. Now all we get is a regurgitation of what you heard on Fox News or chicken-little doom and gloom.
I don't understand how caring about our planet makes me a "socialist liberal". Kooky conservatives such as yourself, want to "conserve" everything...except the one planet we have to inhabit.
@Jeremy
Nice try Jeremy.
Why don't you just admit the truth for a change.
It wont hurt you all that much to tell the truth that you were caught in another BS lie.
Geez, you are speculating and the reason I posted about drilling in more shallow water was NOT because you said it previously, but I knew that you would argue that issue with me. Low and behold, I was correct!!!! Geez, do you want an oil platform on your favorite lake? My guess is no, so why would anyone else want a platform right outside their backdoor?
Price of gas has nothing to do with where the oil is drilled. So it really doesn't matter if we had oil platforms up on the beach right next to where little Johnny is trying to build a sand castle. A bit of research would tell you that. I remember when you would only come on here to post one of your songs or poems. Now all we get is a regurgitation of what you heard on Fox News or chicken-little doom and gloom.
I don't understand how caring about our planet makes me a "socialist liberal". Kooky conservatives such as yourself, want to "conserve" everything...except the one planet we have to inhabit.
If oil is the issue, I don't understand how not drilling for it in the US is good for the planet. If we drill for it in the US the EPA can regulate it. We can not regulate it when they drill in the middle east, Canada, in South America, or when the Cubans or Chinese do it in the gulf... If we drill in our own land we can regulate it... Explain how not drilling here is good for the environment...
By the way, no one, and I mean NO ONE, has more talented drillers and riggers than the US.
When 33 Chilean miners were pulled from 2,000 feet underground, they had U.S. drillers to thank for their rescue.
Despite being home to the best, most innovative and safest drilling procedures, equipment and employees in the world, the U.S. has not widely embraced the practice. While the world applauds Jeff Hart and his crew for their flawless rescue - in which not a single miner was injured even when a drill entered their small cave - U.S. citizens remain vastly unaware of American involvement in the feat.
Even the president failed to praise this impressive drilling demonstration in his address to the nation, being apprehensive to offer any praise to an industry he intends to shake down for revenue that will support his aggressive spending agenda.
It is an unfortunate time in the U.S. when the technological marvel that is American drilling can only get the recognition it deserves in fictional Bruce Willis movies.
I've often wondered if the guise of environmentalism is used to restrict drilling internally on purpose. IF the numbers are correct, and we have that much resource available to us, when the time comes that other sources run dry blah blah blah, we will be in a pretty enviable position.
Matt: @ The top of the Forums it say's in bold Non-Wakeboarding Discussion
Where else would you say that something like this should be posted?
IMO It's just another person trying to tell you to STFU. And if you don't like political threads I understand. Put your head back in the sand and click on another thread there is a bunch more that could use your imput
So back to the topic
Some very good points! IMO the reason we are in the Position we are currently in is BECAUSE we the American public have been asleep! We have given over the power to our leaders who serve them self's and Not the people that got them their. When you see something that's WRONG what do you do about it? Most people do NOTHING and silence is Approval!
Time to speak up! And Time to do something. Get involved. Try to talk to your Neighbors and People around you. Don't be afraid to voice your Opinion. The silent majority are getting rail roaded by the very Vocal special interest. IT'S NOT ABOUT RIGHT or LEFT wing it’s about RIGHT or WRONG Find out what you can do before it’s too late. Places like this are a perfect place to discuss problems and solutions
I don't think any election will be the "start of the last best chance" to restore and save the good ole USA, as long as these career politicians have big money and their own agendas fueling their lies...I do however agree with the majority of your post though. Alot of truth there. We're headed down a wreckless road for sure.
@Sparky Jay,
I agree.
Are we headed down hill like a snow ball headed for hell,....?
Ah sing it Merle!
It's really sad that a large portion of the population think it's the government is supposed to take of their every need. I blame a lot of our problems on lawyers, the media, and apathy. You can still make a difference though. For example, about 7 years ago, a policeman told my wife that if someone breaks into your house, help them carry the TV out so the thief will not hurt him/herself. THAT'S WHAT THE POLICEMAN SAID!!! I thought. With some work, however, we can now shoot when threatened after some good people were elected into office. Voters have to educate themselves about issues because the most of the media is liberal press these days.
Colin, do you even realize how in debt our country is? We're running off of foreign countries like China essentially propping us up...
@Nick,
I think you are absolutely right,... you are all over it Nick.
You have to wonder though why is it,.. you and others can easily see it but so many are blind to it?
Incredibly amazing that so many people refuse to see the truth of our situation.
It is not that republicans are going to just magically fix things. It is just their policies are better suited for spreading the wealth as you say. The democrats have two or three main objectives that have completely thrown us off track.
1) They are rampant internationalists now. They are for spreading the wealth to other countries through the UN. They constantly push for a world tax on America. That is what Cap and Trade is about. A phony scheme to get Americans to pay more to the world community. If you listen most of the democrats and I think I even heard Obama say this, they say they are children of the world and they say they want to spread the wealth from the richest down to the poorest. Hate to tell you, but America is the richest and they are trying to spread your wealth to the world. Don't be mad, they are doing exactly what they told you they are going to do and people don't like it.
2) Democrats are constantly into class and racial warfare. They constantly try and divide the people. Hate to tell you but there is always going to be rich people. Whether you are trading chickens and goats, there is always going to be someone who has more. Democrats always speak of distributing the wealth (class warfare). You can not spread the wealth by telling the people who worked the hardest to just give it away. That complete lacks understanding of the human condition. That is why republicans get so pissed off at democrats. What I see are many large groups of the population who want to screw off most of their life and then finally realize they have nothing. They then want handouts. All the handouts do is make a lazy society. A lazy society will fail. To think otherwise is to completely ignore history.
Prime example is California. Times have been very good for the people. The free money give away of the 90's followed up by free money from over inflated home prices. Most of this was started when a few progressive companies started giving stock options in a loop hole to the employees. The businesses did not have to count the money toward there losses if I recall. It put out a ton of money into the market. Prices inflated especially in housing. With lending requirements reduced to help the poor people nationally, people took advantage of the cash in there homes and the prices of everything went up some more. You want something as an example. Wakeboard boats. I figured at the end of the internet bubble they prices would fall. They went up another $10,000 plus in just a year or two due to the housing money on the market. In the mean time, all the little service industries are booming and people are making fast money. The kids are not going to college because they can just to build some houses or work in real estate or something else. Now you have illegals back filling the low paying jobs plus filling the higher paying construction jobs and the middle class people are screwed. You have a whole generation who did not go to college (of course college prices went through the roof too) or they went for art classes and they have been displaced in the lower waged jobs by illegals. They now have nothing.
During that time, The government in california moved toward leftist social agenda instead of trying to keep the state healthy business wise. Passing more and more environmental regulations, taxes and so on. Now companies do not want to move here. The state is pretty much heading down and the people in the middle are being pinched bad.
You want to see where the rest of the country is heading. Look at LA and Oakland. Both democrat ran cities in a state that has very liberal law to support them. They have the greatest wealth and potential for jobs within minutes away but they are been so brain washed from the liberalism for so long that they can not and will not pull themselves up. That is what liberalism does. It is so bad that many of the democrats here (now mainly progressive democrats) actually believe that any other country but the US should be on top in the world. They think we are vile knuckle draggers that pollute the earth and cause all wars. That is why I can't stand democrats in there modern form. They are not the small town midwest democrats who's ideas of spreading the wealth is making a even playing field for the people so they too can start a business and work outrageous overtime to create their slice of the pie. They truly think America is vile and the world would be a better place without us in it. That is where the rest of America is heading and you saw just a very small slice when Nancy Pelosi was moved into power and when we voted in Obama. Welcome of progressive America.
As Americans we don't have much control over the spending of our money. The recent budget negotiations are a joke. Neither side wanted to reduce anything meaningful. It was all for show. We have a budget crisis, so shouldn't we do things like...'
1) Get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now.
2) Cut funding in half for the FDA, FEMA, Homeland Security
3) Cut defense by 1/3
4) End subsidies to large corporations.
Instead of pretending that Planned Parenthood is significant? What average American is going to care about the cuts above? These agencies are incredibly wasteful. FEMA gave $200K to an individual "pretending" to be the city of Orlando. $200K without even sending a FEMA representative to meet with the recipient. They hand out billions for storm damage in places that aren't in a state of emergency.
Rent the movie "Casino Jack and the United States of Money". While the culprits in that movie are mainly Republicans, the situation is the same for both parties. Our govt is bought and sold by all our representatives.
@John
Just getting these liberals to "finally" start talking about it and "realizing" that we do in fact have a debt crises is a huge step forward as far as I'm concerned.
Many of the cuts you suggest would not be a bad idea to seriously take a look at John but even according to
Barrack Hussein Obama's own bi-partisan deficit/debt commission,..ALL of the above would not be enough to fix our debt crisis,.. not even close.
"Everything" has to be looked at including restructuring social security, Medicare, Medicaid in the best way possible.
Those 3 are the largest parts of Govt spending by a very wide margin and if they are not restructured then nobody will receive any benefit from them when they go
bankrupt in the near future.
That is what helped to cause the bankruptcy of Greece, Ireland, Portugal because they couldn't/wouldn't deal with those kind of issues until it was too late to do anything about it.
Without dealing with all of it they say it can not be fixed.
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