So, What do you all think about Bush's plan to drill oil in Alaska?

[desy]

OK
It is a bad idea for many reasons.
1 Arctic recovery from any disaster takes 100X as long as anywhere else on earth. Many are going on about screw Alaska, pardon? They are US citizens living there and as many said I don't want drilling in my back yard what makes you think they want it?
In fact from the current oil drilling revenues they have they have a bout a 40 Billion dollar surplus and soon will be a tax free state.
2 The arctic reserve is the only resource the US has left basically so to use it now means there is NOTHING after that. There is not 200 yrs worth of resource up there sorry.
3 If the US wants to be energy independat from the middle east and the rest of the world a little more effort should be put into conservation which has basically gone out the window from the 70s and alternative energy options. The worlds oil production will peak by about 2005 of the easy to get oil then we are on the down cycle. There is lots of oil left it is just getting harder to get and yes the price will rise no matter what. Get used to it.

 

[Linflas]

<< (snip) The worlds oil production will peak by about 2005 of the easy to get oil then we are on the down cycle. There is lots of oil left it is just getting harder to get and yes the price will rise no matter what. Get used to it. >>



Hmm I have seen several of these oil production predictions slip by unrealized. I expect I will see this one pass by in the same manner. Actually according to the doomsayers of the 70's we should have been out of oil since 1990.

 

[huanaku]

A very small portion of the preserve would even be used. I am for digging. It would not destroy the area. The technology is good enough to keep damage to a minimum. I do agree, however, that we need better ways of getting oil.

 

[desy]

Yep but the information is a lot better today than it was in the 70s
or haven't you noticed this?
I didn't say out of oil, I said easy to get oil. I live where we produce a lot of oil. The easy to get stuff is gone they have gone over the ground with more advanced seismic trust me they know whats left. All the different companies squabbles over drilling leases are gone cause they know what is there and what is worth bidding on.
Now most of our feilds are moving to CO2 extraction same wells different technology. Horizonatal drilling, same wells different technology.
They know.

 

[Linflas]

<< Yep but the information is a lot better today than it was in the 70s
or haven't you noticed this? >>


Of course it is and the information tomorrow will be better than today. I had noticed that and am not completely ignorant on this subject since I majored in geology in college. Not claiming any special expertise in this area since I am a working computer geek, not a professional geologist, but I do understand the basics. What is hard to get at today may not be so with tomorrow's technology nor do I believe that we have found it all yet.

 

[crystal]

I say no drilling. Let the price of gas goes way up. Only then will the consumers demand &quot;new&quot; technologies to solve this energy &quot;crisis&quot;. Nothing like a little motivation coming from where it will really hurt, your pocket! Drilling IMHO is just a short term/short sight solution that will not solve anything in the long run.

 

[SpongeBob]

The U.S. could easily cut down on oil consumption. Engines that get over 30 mpg are very common, public transportation is very common. Hybrid electric propulsion is starting to emerge in the market. There is no need to drill in Alaska, however it will happen anyway because Bush is in bed with Big Oil.

 

[classy]

Its a bad idea. His second decsion in office is a mistake as well as his first.

 

[desy]

OK so now you gonna make me pull out the articles are you?
First one is a report generated for congress re OIL reserves.
Conclusion NA should allow increased oil production but it aint gonna matter spit.
http://www.cnie.org/nle/eng-3.html
Second explains why we shouldn't rely on cheap energy.
http://commondreams.org/views/030700-104.htm
Like he said our feilds don't produce til oil hits 18 a barrel. when it was like 12 and 13 couple yrs ago everything was shut down.
Oil at 22 a barrel is comfortable but I don't think it will get down to that anytime soon.

 

[Raspewtin]

bad idea IMO for at least two reasons. (1) not a long term sustainable oil source (2) I don't trust the govt to preserve wildlife while drilling for oil

 

[Static911]

good idea cuz middle east controls 63.3% of oil reserves in world. US only has 2% oil reserve in the world. I believe technology will offset ths &quot;scarce resource.&quot; simply by supply and demand. If it becomes more and more scarce resource, prices will increase. However, prices are still relativly stable; oil not running out in near future. But in the future, when oil becomes a really scarce resource, we will have already figured another way to power our stuff.

btw, i am taking a graduate level class about natural resources and in relation to economics (taught by a adjunect prof from the dallas fed reserve). Just took a test yesterday and had to write a 3 pager on OPEC, natural resource scarcity.

jus my $0.02

Static911

 

[Linflas]

<< OK so now you gonna make me pull out the articles are you? (snip) >>



Both those sites are run by issues advocacy groups. No doubt with some searching I could find similar articles supporting views on the opposite side but I would not place anymore faith in them than the ones you supplied. Issue advocacy sites are there solely to advance their point of view and of course will provide &quot;facts&quot; backing them up. I have been alive long enough now to have seen many of these doomsayers predictions bite the dust. You replied that we have more information now than we did in the 70's and I agreed that is a given however the same can be said for any future date you care to postulate. That oil is a finite resource is not in dispute (at least from sources on this planet). What is debateable is how much there is and when we will run out. We just disagree on this and that is ok since it is all just opinion anyway.

 

[WMC]

Read my lips: THE OIL WELLS *ARE ALREADY DRILLED*, THE GUBMENT MADE THE OIL COMPANY CLOSE THEM DOWN

 

[desy]

The best outlook I've seen is 50 yrs the worst is 5 yrs.
I should be alive in either event so sooner or later NA will have to pay the price. The Alaskan reserve will not effect the price of oil nor will it provide any long term relief in oil consumption.
So pros vs cons it doesn't make any sense to needlessly tap into that resource?
I haven't seen any compelling arguments yet to warrant it from the dozens of articles I've read. It won't effect the US squat other than some US based oil companies will make some more money which they will eventually someday and probably will make more when pricing is higher.
the people of Alaska aren't desparate for jobs and they make good revenue of their current production. Like I said 40 Billion surplus no debt and soon no taxes. Why now?

 

[CJZ]

<<What do Alaskans have to say about new drilling there?>>
<They helped elect Bush, so I guess they are for it.>

I think the better question would be what people who live in the area (mostly indigenous tribes) think. Even they are divided. Some feel that it would bring jobs and money to the area while others think that it will ruin their homeland and few jobs would be available to them.

I personally feel that increase in supply just isn't as smart as trying to conserve more. The US already consumes too much fuel (with the fuel-inefficient SUV's and such) as it is. I am also concerned about the high level of CO2 produced by motor vehicles. The greenhouse effect is a very real concern. In wealthy countries like the US, the effects of global warming could be dealt with but in poorer lowlying countries like Bangladesh, global warming would be catastrophic.

 

[monckywrench]

I vote for opening the wells. Anything that buys time for new technologies to develop while buffering OPECs leverage (however little the buffer) is worth the nominal risk. A resource unexploited is a waste.

 

[dave127]

i think the plan is necessary...plus maybe opec will get fed up with us being able to provide our own oil cheaper and lower their prices

 

[LIBERTYorDEATH]

come listen to a story bout a man named nanook, poor eskimo fisherman barely kept his family fed, then one day he was drilling in ANWR, and up thru the ground come a bubblin crude..

 

[josphstalinator]

well if we dont pump it then its just gonna sit there, so pump away

 

[WMC]

Yeah, either pump the oil now, or our government will give it to Russia

DETAILS HERE

 

[LIBERTYorDEATH]

Pump every last drop! Then go get the deep frozen methane deposits from the gulf of mexico. Get it all! Quickly..move it..go do it .