Comments on: Drill baby, drill?

By: George Ramus, Winchester, TN

George Ramus, Winchester, TN — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:42:18 +0000

Seems someone has gotten a little off topic here. Some of you are correct, oil companies will drill when they think they can make money. Ahhh…drilling…that and holding back for control.

By: paul warren Rockvale, TN

paul warren Rockvale, TN — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:29:37 +0000

Yes, CHuck…greed is very much alive and well… as well apparently in Fayetteville Tennessee… Double mileage…30 dollar an hour box packing? 3000 for a garage sale that made 900… give me a break.

By: Brett, Cincinnati

Brett, Cincinnati — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:32:37 +0000

some of you people are either stupid or just not thinking right about your so called “alternative resources”. Hemp oil, corn ethanol, give me a break people!! Did any of you know that we would need about 275 million acres of corn fields to produce enough ethanol to full-fill our needs. Do any of you know that there are only about 75 million acres of corn fields in the U.S. total. Corn is food, eat it. Oil is power, use it. Think about how much it cost to actually produce ethanol from plant sources (a lot). We have an ocean of oil beneath us and we should use it. We don’t have to drill off shore so all you people worried about the marine life can just not worry about it anymore. Let the grown ups drill for oil.

By: Kirsten Meeker, Ventura, CA

Kirsten Meeker, Ventura, CA — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:16:25 +0000

If we increase drilling what’s to prevent the oil companies from selling it overseas? Big oil crosses national boundaries they have no national loyalty. The market is international and I don’t think we can really become “self-sufficient” without regulation/nationalization of the energy companies. This might not be such a bad thing, since the market has been manipulated to rip off the consumer several times in recent history: California electricity privitization, Enron.

By: Terry, La Quinta, CA

Terry, La Quinta, CA — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Drilling is not the answer. We need a firm national commitment to develop other energy sources for all methods of transportation. The auto industry should use this opportunity to create the replacement for the internal combustion engine.

By: Bill Phillips Decatur, GA

Bill Phillips Decatur, GA — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:33:02 +0000

I don’t drill, you probably don’t drill, and the US government doesn’t drill. OIL COMPANIES DRILL. They will drill when they think that is the way to make the most profit. They will buy cheap foreign oil if selling that is more profitable. How about a tax on imported oil, much like the one on imported ethanol? Start it at a few dollars per barrel and increase it each year.

By: Boyd, Hope NJ

Boyd, Hope NJ — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:04:54 +0000

Energy indpendence is a farce. So called “Alternative” forms of energy such as wind and solar will probably never be capable of being scaled up to a level wherein they could replace our current cheap source of energy: coal. The countries in OPEC have an energy surplus — we have an energy deficit. They have more supply than demand, for us in America, we have more demand than supply — this is how free trade works. It doesn’t matter where the oil comes from, the price is the price. If we slow our demand for oil by using alternative forms of energy, countries like China and India will be right there to use whatever oil America used to consume.

One thing that alarms me about these comments and so many others in the general public is everyone’s seemingly genuine expectations that politicians and government are going to solve something as complicated as so called “energy independence”. The government, historically, is not good at solving complicated problems — arguably it’s not effective at solving any type of problem. Let capitalism, free trade and economics sort the problem out — when there’s a profit to be made you’ll find that people come up with some pretty effective solutions in a lot less time than the government ever could.

By: Rick Tarpley Waterloo IL

Rick Tarpley Waterloo IL — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:09:49 +0000

Yes we should drill baby drill …but just in the short term. A national goal has to be set that we become independent. I had to laugh when I heard that somewhere in the next few years cars must get 30 MPG. !! Our nation’s leaders should mandate 100 miles per gallon in the next 10 years. But where would all the road revenue come? Maybe our government contributes more to the problem rather than the solution.

By: G. Kaw, Troy, Michigan

G. Kaw, Troy, Michigan — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:02:06 +0000

1st If you find oil and then drill, it’ll take 10 years soonest before you’re able to use it. 2nd Whatever price is on the International market is what it will sell on said market. 3rd It’s so difficult to transport this oil to shore that there’s a high risk to marine life. 4th We would be better served if we devote our resource to finding an alternative because oil is finite and it’s an addiction(per President Bush), I say build the electric hybrid, to build our auto industry and free us from dependence on middle eastern oil!!!!

By: Stephanie Ellison, Houston Texas

Stephanie Ellison, Houston Texas — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:11:09 +0000

“All you folks out in the cities…why don’t you try reducing your ridiculous consumption levels? You love to see states like WY drill for oil so you can heat and cool your 3500 sq ft overvalued homes…but drill in CA, no way. The urban centers have reaped what they’ve sown…I have no sympathy for any of you.”

I can sympathize with you, living in the big city of Houston myself. We have lots of retail stores and offices spaces that have their thermostats as low as 68 degrees, virtual ice boxes. We have people driving large SUVs in Houston, which can take two hours to cross under normal traffic loads. Oh, and on top of that, these same people are more often the ones that drive 80-85+ on the highways. Energy is so expensive, because most of it is used in power generation.

I’d be happy to let you know that my gasoline budget per month is $60-80. Per month. And my electric bill averages $30-35 per month. Yes, per month. I use the AC when it’s above 82 degrees, and I drive only when I have to, as much as possible. I keep myself occupied at home to pass the time in between my workshifts. I even consider a drive from west Houston to south or north central Houston a special occasion trip, like you used to consider the drive to San Antonio from Houston a special trip 25 years ago.

By: Charlie, Atlantic City, NJ

Charlie, Atlantic City, NJ — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:32:51 +0000

This is a no brainer. We have to a a greater percentage of oil and natural gas produced domestically or be at the mercy of OPEC. At he same time we need to invest heavily in wind and solar. These people who argue against wind farms with comments like “we need a bat mortality study” need a serious reality check.

By: Dave, Charlotte, NC

Dave, Charlotte, NC — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:23:57 +0000

“if the republicans did not have their hands in the pockets of BIG OIL the last 8 years, America could have already been energy independant from countries like Saudi Arabia.
I have simply stated the facts. They are facts, they are not disputable.”

Not Disputable. If Bill Clinton had done the same 16 years ago, we would have been independent. Enough blame to go around for both parties. Last time I checked, each party received large sums of money from Big Oil. We as citizens need to stand up and throw all of them out. Stop the war. Invest in our infrastructure. Eliminate subsidies. Quit bailing out companies that could not handle their own money much less ours.

By: steve d carmel me

steve d carmel me — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:16:07 +0000

Farming just six to eight percent of our farmland in industrial hemp would satisfy our current demands for oil and gas! It is at the very minimum four times more efficient than corn for ethanol production. Hemp is the #1 source of biomass on the planet and grows without herbicides or pesticides to foul the soil and water, and in climates and conditions other crops won’t grow. Anything made from oil, coal, timber, or cotton can be made with it. All paper, plastics, packaging, textiles, fuels, lubricants, paints, varnishes, plywood, structural components, insulations, concretes, Many cosmetics, health foods, and medicines, over 25,000 known products can be made with ecologically friendly hemp!!!

thats becousethey want to burn it in there pipes

By: Mary, Arrington, Tennessee

Mary, Arrington, Tennessee — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:03:14 +0000

The oil companies have leases they don’t use and shut down refineries in the past decade because they’d rather import “sweet crude” than refine good ole USA crude. Have they invested all those obscene profits into better technology and new energy? Probably not–if they had, they’d have figured out a way to keep all those oil platforms out of a hurricane’s path!

By: Randy Pettit, Elyria, Ohio

Randy Pettit, Elyria, Ohio — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:52:36 +0000

I listened to an interview, on NPR with author/activist Antonia Juhasz, that said there was already a lot of drilling going on in America and the whole ‘drill baby drill’ concept is redundant. The oil companies just hold back from distributing to keep prices high. Gee, what a concept.

By: Debbie,Clinton,WA

Debbie,Clinton,WA — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:35:32 +0000

We need to do it all. Drill, refine,nuclear what we have now plus innovate. All with clean technology. There is something wrong with the notion that while millions starve our fertile plains should be growing hemp to burn in our homes and autos. If we don’t do it all soon we will be following suit. The late great USA.

By: Len, Detroit, MI

Len, Detroit, MI — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:24:07 +0000

Drilling and finding alternatives are imperatives — essential to our future. American entrepenuerial leadership and innovation has always led the world and now it’s more important than anything we do.

By: Robin Clark, Harrison, ME

Robin Clark, Harrison, ME — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:08:22 +0000

This is the same mentality that got us into the sub-prime mess – let’s spend our children and grandchildrens’ inheritance of a clean and plentiful earth, so we can get short-term gains today. The mess the natural gas fields have made, should make people think twice about the world their children will inherit.

By: Mike Valdosta GA

Mike Valdosta GA — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:26:39 +0000

If Exxon could charge us for sunlight and wind then there wouldn’t be a drill baby drill mentality and we’d have alternative energy out the kazoo.

By: Hank, Chicago, IL

Hank, Chicago, IL — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:23:50 +0000

ABSOLUTELY! With all due respect for environmental concerns, responsible energy drilling is the only long term answer to meet our needs. With developing countries like China increasing global demand, it is up to “We the People of the USA” to take care of our needs. Tax the drillers or consumers if you like and use the monies to fund alternative energy reources and “actual need” environmental initiatives.

For too long we have stymied drilling and the creation of nuclear plants, to satisfy the voice of a loud minority. As cruel as this may sound, our world is Darwinian in nature and the species which need survive is human.