The U.S. Is Poised to Hit a New Oil Gusher

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So if you are white but have a disability this means you don't have to be self-hating anymore??? Coool!!! That counts me out!!!

Anyway, I didn't feel like wading through 11 pages of political mudslinging but just wanted to say that I hope this means we are going to feel justified in continuing living the same way with suburban sprawl and huge SUVs... the Peak Oil people may be extreme but whether the peak has already happened or whether this delays it some the oil will eventually run out, this merely postpones the crash... I agree with James Howard Kunstler that we need to reshape the way we have built America in the last 50 years from being so car-centric to being more based on public transit - think Europe.. Not only is it better for the environment but it is better for people with disabilities who can't or shouldn't drive(think the elderly in Florida with no choice but to drive, even if they are nearly blind...) And maybe then there will be oil left over for our grandchildren and great grandchildren... if we keep building more McMansions and SUVs then we are screwed. And the worst thing India and China could do is to copy the wasteful American suburban lifestyle... there needs to be a happy medium, not suburban sprawl or overcrowding but maybe like the streetcar suburbs of the early 20th century... of course this won't happen because the car companies have become too powerful, they bought up all the streetcar lines and the people have just shrugged and accepted the car culture because there hasn't been an alternative... There is such a demand to live in NYC because(among other reasons of course) it is the only city with 24/7/365 convenient public transit widely spread over the whole metro area - in most places in America it is a vicious circle, there is little transit so people choose to drive, thus the transit system is underfunded and cuts service...what to do... Most baby boomers and Gen Xers have little saved for retirement... imagine if instead of driving and maintaining a car for 40 years you took public transit, all the money you could save...

I agree, but I'm not sure how we'd be able to reshape the urban sprawl of cities out in the west such as LA or Phoenix. Mcmansions and SUV's seem like natural extensions of an economy that's built on us all being good at consuming, so I don't think they are going to go away anytime soon. Interestingly, I noticed a similar trend in the city of Cebu, PI - where the more well off Filipinos drive SUV's. It's like saying, 'I'm well off enough that I can burn my money in my fuel tank.'

[Heracles 417]

Liberals are generally politically correct. Political correctness by definition is not honest. Connect the dots. Liberal guilt?

Liberal guilt is caused by:

1. not being black, Hispanic, Asian, gay, Native American, "differently abled," bisexual, suffering from any disease, or poor, or any combination of the above, or

2. being held responsible (by any or all of the above) for all possible repression or oppression, past, present, or future, that may or may not have occurred toward any of the above mentioned groups, or any combination of the above groups (i.e., bisexual Asian midgets with ADD, etc.) or

3. just being a white man.

Note that this is a variant of white guilt. The two often appear interchangeable, but don't be fooled -- there are differences. Liberal guilt in its purest form usually involves any or all of the following:

1. Obsessively sorting household refuse for recycling, then transporting said recycling to the recycling center in a behemoth of an SUV;

2. Involvement in any number of cost-ineffective nonprofit organizations, which must boast slick yet "natural"-looking brochures and periodicals;

3. Spending one's time and energy trying to change/heal/Oprahfy the world not via any sorts of actions, but rather by participation in hackneyed and blasphemous imitations of Eastern religion, positive thinking/visualization, and/or extreme usage of scented candles; and

4. Buying organic.

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Liberal_guilt

[Heracles 417]

I agree, but I'm not sure how we'd be able to reshape the urban sprawl of cities out in the west such as LA or Phoenix. Mcmansions and SUV's seem like natural extensions of an economy that's built on us all being good at consuming, so I don't think they are going to go away anytime soon. Interestingly, I noticed a similar trend in the city of Cebu, PI - where the more well off Filipinos drive SUV's. It's like saying, 'I'm well off enough that I can burn my money in my fuel tank.'

I thought there where a lot of complaints about the rail system when it was first built in LA

Rail is the way to go. This country has one of the largest rail networks in the world but is unfortunately only used for cargo. A fast modern day rail network could rejuvenate the country side.

I really miss the convenience of rail to the suburbs and light rail in the city back in Melbourne.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The monorail system in LA is pretty decent - though they're a fairly long way from extending the lines out into the suburbs.

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

The rail system is supported by the government.

[Heracles 417]

Huge investments need to be made into rail. It is a great option in such a large country.

Seeing stuff like this is a ridiculous. waste.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Huge investments need to be made into rail. It is a great option in such a large country.

Seeing stuff like this is a ridiculous. waste.

Pretty much everywhere has discontinued rail lines - it doesn't mean there isn't investment in rail.

[Heracles 417]

Pretty much everywhere has discontinued rail lines - it doesn't mean there isn't investment in rail.

Rail is underutilized in terms of passenger use. And I am not talking about inner city rail.

Amtrak is also useless and way to expensive.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Pretty much everywhere has discontinued rail lines - it doesn't mean there isn't investment in rail.

Rail is underutilized in terms of passenger use. And I am not talking about inner city rail.

Amtrak is also useless and way to expensive.

Sure - but picking up a random picture of disused railway lines is hardly indicative of that point. Surely the line could have been redundant?

[mawilson 2,133]

Liberal guilt in its purest form usually involves any or all of the following:

...

4. Buying organic.

I thought buying organic was about eating healthy.

I buy organic. I honestly don't have any kind of white or liberal guilt.

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

Liberal guilt in its purest form usually involves any or all of the following:

...

4. Buying organic.

I thought buying organic was about eating healthy.

I buy organic. I honestly don't have any kind of white or liberal guilt.

What does "organic" really mean? I see things everywhere that say they are organic but does it mean anymore than tricking us into paying a few cents more for something thinking we are saving the world or eating healthier? I would bet anything that if you were to check out something labeled organic in Wal-Mart it is exactly the same as the product next to it without the "organic" label.

[Heracles 417]

Liberal guilt in its purest form usually involves any or all of the following:

...

4. Buying organic.

I thought buying organic was about eating healthy.

I buy organic. I honestly don't have any kind of white or liberal guilt.

What does "organic" really mean? I see things everywhere that say they are organic but does it mean anymore than tricking us into paying a few cents more for something thinking we are saving the world or eating healthier? I would bet anything that if you were to check out something labeled organic in Wal-Mart it is exactly the same as the product next to it without the "organic" label.

Liberals don't shop at walmart. heck they refuse to allow it in NYC. They shop at Whole Foods..

[Don_Joy's Prince 0]

Fight Islamic extremists, USE OUR OWN OIL! Duh!

I disagree. I think we should suck them dry first. Then they'll be left with nothing and we'll still have our reserves.

OK

[Peikko 1,575]

Organic can be many things - generally though the process to produce the food is more labour intensive and uses significantly less chemicals. Most organic meats are produced ethically as well. That means the animals lead a more natural life and interestingly this dramatically increases the flavour of the meat.

[Don_Joy's Prince 0]

Alright, here is what I would do if I were president. I would first build a string of nuclear plants near large bodies of water. I would dedicate those plants to the production of hydrogen. I would at the same time build infrastructure to deliver liquid hydrogen to every home, business and gas station. I would also put money into the development of fuel cell technology for homes and cars. Every home would have it's own fuel cell to power its needs. This could eliminate our use of oil almost completely. There would be no need for oil or coal fired power plants, no need for new oil drilling and no need for gasoline. At the same time I would provide research money for nuclear fusion. That is an renewable energy that we would never run out of. When fusion becomes a reality then the fission plants would be replaced and they would start producing hydrogen.

Now there is a government project that I can get behind. One that I would be willing to raise my taxes over. It would also have the added benefit of getting us out of the mid-east and it would also take the money out of the hands of the countries that we are bankrolling to train the terrorists. It would also reduce our CO2 output and save the environment. There, I just outlined a way to save the world. Where is my Nobel Prize?

Exactly! I have said this same thing a million times and the liberals scoff every time. They are so wound up with their BS technologies that are incapable of producing enough energy to sustain us that it gridlocks all progress.

Progressive my A$$!

Nobel prize for GARY C.!

Not boneheads like Jimmy Carter and ALGORE.