Posts Made By: Joe Bergeron

October 12, 2006 02:03 AM Forum: Polls

June 20, 2008 03:13 AM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

ANWR is not maintained as a tourist destination. It's, well, a wildlife refuge. The world contains many places which I don't want to be ruined even though I will never personally visit them. About 96% of the globe, I would estimate.

Drilling ANWR is at best a short-term amelioration of a problem which is not going away. If we insist on extracting every last thimbleful of fossil carbon, no matter where it lies, before we get serious about facing the inevitable need to replace that energy source, we are only going to delay that need, not avoid it. We will create a gruesome mess in the meantime, with mountaintops planed off, oil shale regions turned into moonscapes, and further billions of tons of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere, regardless of what happens at ANWR. We're going to have to change eventually. I say do it now and mitigate the damage our last few decades of scavenging will do.

June 20, 2008 03:30 AM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

Socialist nightmare? What the hell does socialism have to do with any of this? Do you know of any socialist countries where rampant environmentalists are empowered to preserve their environment and deprive their people of needed resources? Or is socialism just a buzzword you've been trained to throw around when referring to something you don't like?

June 20, 2008 05:15 PM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

Thanks for contributing a sane post based on actual knowledge rather than "OMG, gas is expensive! Drill, drill drill!" hysteria.

One thing that sickens me about this whole situation is how perfectly predictable it all was. It was clear 20 years ago or more that on some not-too-distant day petroleum would get really expensive. What did the brilliant American people do to prepare? They ran out and bought huge low-mileage vehicles, as though their profligate lifestyle was their eternal God-given right. Now they all run around like headless chickens. If it weren't all so potentially destructive it would be laughable.

June 23, 2008 01:27 AM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

General Motors is developing a plug-in electric car called the Volt (imagine that, GM trying to do something innovative and useful. Truly a seismic shift). It's actually a hybrid, though it adopts a different strategy than something like the Prius. The Volt is driven by electric power only, with electric motors on all wheels. They hope to achieve a 40 mile range on the lithium ion battery. The car also has a small gasoline engine, which starts only when the battery is depleted, and then only to charge the battery, not drive the wheels directly. They hope to get about 50MPH in this mode, but many drivers would never need to burn a drop of gas as the battery range would be plenty to manage their commutes. When you get home, recharge overnight from any outlet.

I too would prefer an all-electric car, which could obviously be simpler and cheaper than a hybrid. A 40 mile range would be enough for almost all my needs.

I wish GM success with their project.

June 21, 2008 08:14 PM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

Did you actually read what the man said?

June 22, 2008 07:51 PM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

The logic lies in the fact that all that drilling would have only a minor, temporary impact on gas prices. Furthermore, it would have zero impact for years, even if development started now. Of course, this development could have been done years ago, in which case those reserves would already be gone or close to it, and the only difference would be that the changes we need to make to move past petroleum (whatever they are) would be even further delayed. The proposed drilling is not really doing anything about the oil crisis. It's only an attempt to delay doing anything.

We can at least conceive of energy sources other than fossil fuels, and even implement them. It's harder to imagine a substitute for plastics. Look at your possessions and ask yourself what would be a good substitute material for all the plastics there. If the world's last oil reserves must someday be sponged up, it seems to me that burning it is the most foolish use of it we can make.

As for environmentalism, I consider it more than an ideal, it's a necessity if you want to maintain a habitable planet. The only people who resist the reality of global warming are certain politicians, pundits, and their eager followers who cling so fiercely to old ways of doing things. It certainly isn't the vast majority of actual climate scientists. Insisting on injecting every last possible CO2 molecule into the air just because that's all we know doesn't seem like a defense of the common good to me.

I don't like this situation either. I like to travel. I value my freedom of movement as much as anyone. It is now seriously curtailed, and I wonder if it will ever improve. But evidently we need to experience this pain, to force us to move forward, or at least to adjust. And frankly, we deserve it, for being so foolish and short-sighted during all those precious years when preparations could have been made.

Finally, can you offer a few examples of offshore drilling and drilling in environmentally sensitive areas with "minimal impact"? Anything comparable to ANWR there?

June 22, 2008 07:22 PM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

Thank you again for another cogent, knowledgeable post. The idea that the USA can drill its way to anything close to energy independence is a fantasy which needs to be dispelled as soon as possible.

June 27, 2008 11:49 PM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

Amen, brother.

June 29, 2008 12:44 AM Forum: Polls

Drill ANWR

Posted By Joe Bergeron

Thanks for your temperate, sweet-natured post. So, you and Rush are convinced that all calls for conservation and change are nothing but an attempt by your insidious political opponents to impose their foreign ways on you, huh? I hope you and your fellow he-men don't drag us all down with your need for endless lubrication. Now that your "tolerance" has been exceeded, what are you planning to do? Form rogue drilling parties and ravage the back yards of all effete environmentalists, after you render them for oil? And oh, thanks so much for "tolerating" me and my kind for as long as you did. I'm sure it must have been a trial for you.