Environment or Oil?
54Are We Between a Fossil Fuel Rock and a Hard Place?
Ok, I admit it. I used a lot of fossil fuel today. I took a flight home from a business trip to Phoenix, then got into my car to drive home. No apologies, just doing what millions of other people are doing.
But, I became fascinated with the talk-radio topic of the evening. The co-hosts and guests were discussing the pros and cons of drilling for oil along the coast of California. The pros being - that it would boost the economy, lower gas prices to the overburdened consumers and buy us time to develop alternate fuels. The cons - offshore drilling is a hazard to the environment.
Normally, I would shout out - "drill!" "Lower the gas prices!" "It will mean new jobs!" However, now they're talking about my beaches - in my backyard! I live in California, and remember those creepy dinosaur-looking monstrocities moving slowly up and down. I haven't seen those things in horizon of my beach sunset in many years! A little too close to comfort for me, folks.
Are we to remain slaves to foreign oil and sacrifice our economy? Or do we sacrifice the environment?
What do you think?
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Comments
there are other alternatives and it's about time to develop those alternative, what's is needed is the initiative to really start doing it.
The more I read about all of these issues, the more I come to suspect that many of the new technologies that will replace the existing gas guzzlers, already exist in embryo, and probably all with patents held by the oil industry for all I know!
We are an ingenious race, and there is nothing like necessity to force new inventions to the forefront. I've never been to California, but I understand you have a lot of sunshine there. If you could send some our way, we'd be grateful (I'm in the UK). Do you have a lot of solarshingles and so on already in use in California? I'm curious to know whether having plentiful sunshine encourages the use of solar energy in an everyday situation. I can see why you wouldn't want new oil drilling ventures on your coastline. They're not pretty. I would feel the same.
Well of course I will prefer to go for an alternative source of energy, I it guess will be the best, we wont have compromise with the economy and at the same time the environment will be safe. Solar power, I guess is a good alternative.... I know it is not so efficient as petroleum and requires more R&D in the area but at least we have an option.
I have started writing blog on the ways to save environment and have created a hub for the same. Please visit my blog at http://greenenviromentnews.blogspot.com/ and my hub http://hubpages.com/hub/Natural-Green-Remedies. Don't forget to digg.
Hi,
We need to choose other alternatives but unless people throw their "buying" votes behind this, we will stay dependent on oil.
Thomas W. Keeney says:
18 months ago
Well my dear friend, you opened the door and asked what we thought….
eia - Energy Information Administration
Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife RefugeHere is the bottom-line from these folks and the same argument made for ANWR can be made for off-shore oil drilling along the California coast:ANWR Production UncertaintiesThere is much uncertainty regarding the impact of opening ANWR on U.S. oil production and imports, due to several factors: The size of the underlying resource base. There is little direct knowledge regarding the petroleum geology of the ANWR region. The USGS oil resource estimates are based largely on the oil productivity of geologic formations that exist in the neighboring State lands and which continue into ANWR. Consequently, there is considerable uncertainty regarding both the size and quality of the oil resources that exist in ANWR. Thus, the potential ultimate oil recovery and potential yearly production are highly uncertain. Oil field sizes. The size of the oil fields found in ANWR is one factor that will determine the rate at which ANWR oil resources are developed and produced. If the reservoirs are larger than expected, then production would be greater in the 2018 through 2025 timeframe. Similarly, if the reservoirs are smaller than expected, then production would be less. The quality of the oil and the characteristics of the oil reservoirs. Oil field production rates are also determined by the quality of oil found, e.g., viscosity and paraffin content, and the field's reservoir characteristics, i.e., its depth, permeability, faulting, and water saturation. This analysis assumes oil quality and reservoir characteristics similar to those associated with the Prudhoe Bay field. If, for example, the oil discovered in ANWR has a considerably higher viscosity than the Prudhoe Bay field oil, e.g., over 10,000 centipoise, then oil production rates would be lower than projected in this analysis. Environmental considerations. Environmental restrictions could affect access for exploration and development. Also, legal challenges to the BLM's leasing program and to its approval of seismic data collection and of specific oil field projects could significantly delay ANWR oil development and production. It is this uncertainty that is the biggest issue to take to the voting box. The answer is to stop our glut (United States) for oil and use the renewable resources. The longer we depend on oil, there is no incentive to research the renewable resources such as electric cars, alternate fuels, biofuels, wind, solar, etc. God gave us the brain and smartness to use His renewable resources. We just want to keep making money with oil since we know how to explore it and develop the facilities to pull it out of the ground and use to drive our homes and industry. The question is has the oil drilling technology become safer in the last 40 years? We refuse to live lightly on God's land, His Spaceship Earth.