I think the fruits of it aren't a 5-year payoff. It might be that long (or longer) if you have to build a pipeline, however, it doesn't take 5-years in general to make a field productive.
If Bill Clinton would have allowed those fields in Alaska to be developed, we'd have that oil today and would have provided an extra 5% cushion in supplies. That's enormous. As I've said before, a 50,000 barrel a day pipeline breaking down in outer Mongolia causes world prices to spike. 50k as a percentage of 88-million is practically 0%.
Economies are struggling right now, however, I don't think we're looking at a collapse situation. Oil companies and oil exporting countries still need buyers for their products, so we're not going to $800 a barrel as that one pundit predicted.
I'm out of here for the rest of the afternoon. There are steaks and beer waiting for me! (BTW -- home brewed beer)
Originally Posted by Big
Don't you think drilling and exploration is irrelevant if the fruits of it can be realized only 5 years from now while the economy will collapse by then?
What reason is it to search water for a month when you can't live that long without water?
"He has put forth measures to the congress (very recently) for less restrictions on drilling and exploration. Guess what Pelosi said: No, No, and No."
From the 2003 State of the Union Speech:
President Bush announced a $1.2 billion hydrogen fuel initiative to reverse America's growing dependence on foreign oil by developing the technology for commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells to power cars, trucks, homes and businesses with no pollution or greenhouse gases. The hydrogen fuel initiative will include $720 million in new funding over the next five years to develop the technologies and infrastructure to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen for use in fuel cell vehicles and electricity generation. Combined with the FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) initiative, President Bush is proposing a total of $1.7 billion over the next five years to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells, hydrogen infrastructure and advanced automotive technologies. Under the President's hydrogen fuel initiative, the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by fuel cells. The hydrogen fuel initiative complements the President's existing FreedomCAR initiative, which is developing technologies needed for mass production of safe and affordable hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles. Through partnerships with the private sector, the hydrogen fuel initiative and FreedomCAR will make it practical and cost-effective for large numbers of Americans to choose to use clean, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2020. This will dramatically improve America's energy security by significantly reducing the need for imported oil, as well as help clean our air and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Had Congress, both Dem and Pub, acted early on to move on Presidential initiatives and allowed responsible drilling off the coast and in Alaska things could have been very different today. The biggest problem I see is that currently Congress is more about gathering power and control than they are in the future of the nation.
The fact that people are making individual choices at limiting their use of oil is good, unfortunately those who are affected the most by high fuel prices are those who can least afford it. In the meantime, we have lost quite a few years screwing the pooch instead of moving ahead with a responsible energy plan for the future. I expect we will pay a heavy price for that.
I've heard, but not verified, that there is, in fact, a huge oil field under Israel but at depths not previously drilled. What would happen if, indeed, the largest oil field were there and it was tapped?
This would be good news. The Brazilian find will be coming to market in a few years, so flooding the market with supply is the ticket. Demand is not that strong, so we have a fussy supply issue. The Brazilian find is nearly 19,000 feet down, so it can be done.
I've heard, but not verified, that there is, in fact, a huge oil field under Israel but at depths not previously drilled. What would happen if, indeed, the largest oil field were there and it was tapped?
It's called nuclear energy. France and China figured it out....when will we?
There is enough raw material to power nuclear plants in the world for the next 10,000 years minimum. A baseball sized piece of uranium powers massive U.S. warships for 20-years w/o refueling.
Case solved -- where's my commission?
Originally Posted by Big
What if there is no viable alternative whatsoever? None! Zilch! Nunca!
It's called nuclear energy. France and China figured it out....when will we?
There is enough raw material to power nuclear plants in the world for the next 10,000 years minimum. A baseball sized piece of uranium powers massive U.S. warships for 20-years w/o refueling.
Case solved -- where's my commission?
Your comission is on hold until you provide a solution appicable to vehicular travel What we need is another man from ISU that is George Washington Carver like and can do like he did with the many uses of a peanut only this time apply the uses to transportation problems.
I was kind of kidding. With nukes and other possible infrastructure upgrades, we could nuke our way out. Car companies are working like mad scientists on efficient battery-only cars (Nissan), fuel cells, hybrids, etc. Gasoline fired engines will be around for long time, however, they will be having some real competition from other types in the next 2-years. This is an exciting time as we slowly gearing up towards alternate power-plants.
Honda announced last week that it will introduce a new car next year (a hybrid) that represents a leap in technology from its previous attempts. Get this: the premium for the hybrid will only be $1,800. Depending on how much you drive, this could easily pay-off.
Originally Posted by Throwby
Your comission is on hold until you provide a solution appicable to vehicular travel What we need is another man from ISU that is George Washington Carver like and can do like he did with the many uses of a peanut only this time apply the uses to transportation problems.
Re: Soviet Union is coming to America 
What we need is another man from ISU that is George Washington Carver like and can do like he did with the many uses of a peanut only this time apply the uses to transportation problems.
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