Mag. Gen. Donald Edwards>>> I salute you and couldn`t agree more.

I have no problem with renewable sources of energy. What I have a problem with is that the United States has more oil underground than nearly all the rest of the world combined, and we aren't allowed to drill for it. Our military runs on oil. 99% of our vehicles run on oil. Oil is the lifeblood of this nation, and we are spending decades and trillions to develop alternative energy supplies while the world drains our money coffers and we supply our enemies. We need to drill, drill, drill. Then as the renewable sources are developed, we can cut back. We're don't it backwards. Plus, with all the problems in the Middle East, what's to prevent them from cutting us off completely. Then what will we do? I'll tell you what we'll do: we'll go broke. Drill now. It's the only sensible thing to do.

Drill Baby Drill !!...EJ you make perfect sense. We should use our own oil while developing alternate sources....However, I'm afraid no matter what we do, it's too little too late, something should have been done years ago.

I think that the good General would also support DRILL BABY DRILL!!! Pour on the Coal!! Until we are up to speed. Hydro and Tidal Power!! Yah!! Wind Power Blah!

EJP: as I recall, the amount of recoverable petroleum in (under) the US is dwarfed by proven recoverable reserves in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Gopher - The US has more oil than nearly all the rest of the world combined. Just about all of the oil is recoverable. Trouble is, the land that the government allows us to drill on is so small that it probably warps the numbers. Between the Anwar and the newly discovered reserves in the Dakotas and Montana, there is enough oil to power this country for well over a century. But, both are off limits because of the wackjobs in DC.

In 2007, about 23% of U.S. "imported" oil came from the Middle East. This percentage includes the following countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia makes us 17% of that 23%. This is according to the U.S. Department of Economics.

Don't know where Gen. Edwards gets 60% but it's just plain wrong - we get 30% from Canada and Mexico alone.

Agree with his premise, however - we need to drill our own offshore and land-based leases. We can hire environmentalists to work in the food service departments on the rigs - galley hands, laundryworkers, toilet cleaners. They'll never be roughnecks or drillers but these nancy boys would be ok for waiting on the drilling crews.

Or, we could just legalize Industrial Hemp, and make biodisel from Industrial hemp, and not have to risk our environment and contribute to the distruction of the earth.

Industrial Hemp, a renewable resource, carbon neutral, helps the environment, green jobs.

Oil, non renewable and is running out, contributes to global climate change, destroys the environment, and provides jobs that are unsustainable.

We're in the 21st century now. Time for 21st century ideas.

The Industrial Revolution is over.

Yo, Blueskies - WGAF about global climate change? Anyone who believes humans are causing GW is riding the short bus. It's been getting colder for 10 years - sunspots are almost non-existent and really thick people want to believe the planet is warming? Oil ain't running out yet - check out the massive sub-salt reservoirs in the Santos Basin off Brazil. We're just getting started in ultra-deepwater drilling, man, and there's billions of barrels yet to be discovered. Who's destroying the earth and who gives a dogs dinner about sustainability? What is that anyway? The industrial revolution is rocking, baby, and it's not going to end in my young lifetime. How's that hemp working out for you?

Future Poll suggestion:

Do you believe in Global Warming?

Yes

No

MiloCrabtree: The Earth is not flat,

Humans are contributing to climate change.

Our way of life is unsustainable. We cannot continue to pollute and exploit our natural resources and pretend there will be no consequences.

You would take this world down in a handbasket if it included a tax break and a free tank of gas.

And I'll enjoy my shortbus running on hemp biodisel just fine.

How are your knuckles? Theyve been dragging on the ground so long they must have quite the callouses built up.

Say hi to the Neanerthals for me.

*Neanderthals

BS (how appropriate is that?) - I'm cut to the quick by your vitriol. Can't we all just get along?

While I'm pleased that you've discovered that the earth is not flat, I could have told you that and saved you the worry of falling off the edge. And you don't have to worry about AGW because it isn't actually happening. Open your mind and do the tiniest bit of research and you'll find that humans aren't the problem - it's the big fiery thing in the sky, man.

The comment about my knuckles is not nice at all - you really do need to get out more because Neanderthals have been extinct for many thousands of years. Probably wiped out by climate change or talked to death by some well-intentioned proto-environmentalist.

Our way of life is freakin' excellent and you need to harden TF up, dude.

You can keep your head in the sand with your crabs.

My point about the world being round, was there was a time when people thought the world was flat, and trying to tell them otherwise seemed ludicrous.

I think that is happening again with Climate Change. It makes people and Industries upset,

"What do you mean Im contributing to Climate Change?

I like my way of life and why should I change? Its not my fault, its those pesky environmentalist hippies being hysterical again.

I shouldnt have to feel bad about my carbon footprint, lets go shopping."

And then you put your head in the sand again after a long day of shopping. How excellent. Life has no environmental consequences on the earth.

And then to make it even more convenient for you, You think that anyone that disagrees with you must be uneducated and / or ignorant.

My point about Neanderthals, is that they didnt get with the program, they didnt evolve, and eventually died off, like the Republican Party.

Sorry if I affended your knuckles.

*offended

BS, give up, man, you can't write rubbish like that and compete in the arena of ideas. You first accuse me of not being human and then accost me for intellectual elitism. Can't have it both ways, dude.

Life has manifold consequences on the earth - Helen Keller could see that. Your problem is that you appear to despise human life. If you're that committed to Gaia, make the ultimate commitment and check out early. If you lack that sort of passion, at least get your tubes tied and ease the population burden.

Chevron rocks, dude.

Drink your swill and keep up your corporate cheerleading, rah rah.

Peace.

Swill? What swill? If you're going to comment, do it before you roll one up, man.

Peas, dude.

What swill? I dont know, I guess in my mind, you project to me as a rightwing alcoholic redneck.

Whither your swill is imaginary or liquid, drink up because you seem to enjoy it.

I can't believe you wrote that, man. I'm a registered independent and I rarely drink anything more potent than Moxie. When I try to imagine you, I see someone who cares about the environment, craves wealth redistribution, and has a problem with concave Richard the thirds. Surely an apology is in order, BS. Man up, dude, and do the right thing.

You accuse me of despising human life, should kill myself, or stop breeding.

Should I apoligize?...no. I'd say we're even.

Not saying that you should kill yourself, dude, just observing that if you're really, really, really committed to sustainability, you might want to consider the option. And based upon your comments thus far, sterilization would certainly be best for the gene pool. Now, how about supporting more coal-fired power stations or offshore drilling in the Gulf of Maine?

What? support coal fired power stations or offshore drilling in the Gulf of Maine?

That's like saying,

Want more pollution in the air and water? Want more acid rain? Want more Oil spills? Want more corporate profits at the expense of Earth and all it's inhabitants?

We need to pollute less, not more.

Those are investments in the opposite direction we as a country should be taking.

The Country voted for change, not more of the same.

There aint nothing clean about Coal.

And I'd rather not risk Maine's Oceans ecosystems at the expense of our insatiable thirst for cheap fuel.

Investments in renewable energy and fuels that work with nature not against it, must be our only course.

Anything else is a step backward and will contribute to our demise.

Oil spills? What oil spills, dude? What's the spill frequency for exploration drilling? And what's the ratio of AOS (anthropogenic oil spills) vs. natural seepage in US offshore leases? And what percentage of US energy generation is provided by renewable energy?

What percentage of the country voted for a change in our energy infrastucture? You waffle on about renewable energy but you offer no quantifiable alternatives. Give a brother a break, man and do the freakin' math.

BS, petroleum is liquid sunshine and every bit as organic as compost or uranium. Drilling in the Gulf of Maine is simply an advanced method of organic gardening.

Well MiloCrabtree, Im not an industry lobyist, or expert, And I dont have anything to prove to you, and dont know why I should waste my time trying to convience you of anything when you seem pretty stuck in your ways.

But for "what oil spills, dude?",

here's a list a quick list

found on www.factmonster.com/askeds/major-oil-spills-since-1978.html

Looks like some are from around the world,

but we all live on one world, there are no boundaries when it comes to water, oceans, rivers and lakes and such, so I think they are just as valid.

Especially since America isnt too picky where it gets its oil from.

Oil Spills and Disasters:

1967

March 18, Cornwall, Eng.: Torrey Canyon ran aground, spilling 38 million gallons of crude oil off the Scilly Islands.

1976

Dec. 15, Buzzards Bay, Mass.: Argo Merchant ran aground and broke apart southeast of Nantucket Island, spilling its entire cargo of 7.7 million gallons of fuel oil.

1977

April, North Sea: blowout of well in Ekofisk oil field leaked 81 million gallons.

1978

March 16, off Portsall, France: wrecked supertanker Amoco Cadiz spilled 68 million gallons, causing widespread environmental damage over 100 mi of Brittany coast.

1979

June 3, Gulf of Mexico: exploratory oil well Ixtoc 1 blew out, spilling an estimated 140 million gallons of crude oil into the open sea. Although it is one of the largest known oil spills, it had a low environmental impact.

July 19, Tobago: the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain collided, spilling 46 million gallons of crude. While being towed, the Atlantic Empress spilled an additional 41 million gallons off Barbados on Aug. 2.

1980

March 30, Stavanger, Norway: floating hotel in North Sea collapsed, killing 123 oil workers.

1983

Feb. 4, Persian Gulf, Iran: Nowruz Field platform spilled 80 million gallons of oil.

Aug. 6, Cape Town, South Africa: the Spanish tanker Castillo de Bellver caught fire, spilling 78 million gallons of oil off the coast.

1988

July 6, North Sea off Scotland: 166 workers killed in explosion and fire on Occidental Petroleum's Piper Alpha rig in North Sea; 64 survivors. It is the world's worst offshore oil disaster.

Nov. 10, Saint John's, Newfoundland: Odyssey spilled 43 million gallons of oil.

1989

March 24, Prince William Sound, Alaska: tanker Exxon Valdez hit an undersea reef and spilled 10 million–plus gallons of oil into the water, causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Dec. 19, off Las Palmas, the Canary Islands: explosion in Iranian supertanker, the Kharg-5, caused 19 million gallons of crude oil to spill into Atlantic Ocean about 400 mi north of Las Palmas, forming a 100-square-mile oil slick.

1990

June 8, off Galveston, Tex.: Mega Borg released 5.1 million gallons of oil some 60 nautical miles south-southeast of Galveston as a result of an explosion and subsequent fire in the pump room.

1991

Jan. 23–27, southern Kuwait: during the Persian Gulf War, Iraq deliberately released 240–460 million gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf from tankers 10 mi off Kuwait. Spill had little military significance. On Jan. 27, U.S. warplanes bombed pipe systems to stop the flow of oil.

April 11, Genoa, Italy: Haven spilled 42 million gallons of oil in Genoa port.

May 28, Angola: ABT Summer exploded and leaked 15–78 million gallons of oil off the coast of Angola. It's not clear how much sank or burned.

1992

March 2, Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan: 88 million gallons of oil spilled from an oil well.

1993

Aug. 10, Tampa Bay, Fla.: three ships collided, the barge Bouchard B155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255. The Bouchard spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into Tampa Bay.

1994

Sept. 8, Russia: dam built to contain oil burst and spilled oil into Kolva River tributary. U.S. Energy Department estimated spill at 2 million barrels. Russian state-owned oil company claimed spill was only 102,000 barrels.

1996

Feb. 15, off Welsh coast: supertanker Sea Empress ran aground at port of Milford Haven, Wales, spewed out 70,000 tons of crude oil, and created a 25-mile slick.

1999

Dec. 12, French Atlantic coast: Maltese-registered tanker Erika broke apart and sank off Britanny, spilling 3 million gallons of heavy oil into the sea.

2000

Jan. 18, off Rio de Janeiro: ruptured pipeline owned by government oil company, Petrobras, spewed 343,200 gallons of heavy oil into Guanabara Bay.

Nov. 28, Mississippi River south of New Orleans: oil tanker Westchester lost power and ran aground near Port Sulphur, La., dumping 567,000 gallons of crude oil into lower Mississippi. Spill was largest in U.S. waters since Exxon Valdez disaster in March 1989.

2002

Nov. 13, Spain: Prestige suffered a damaged hull and was towed to sea and sank. Much of the 20 million gallons of oil remains underwater.

2003

July 28, Pakistan: The Tasman Spirit, a tanker, ran aground near the Karachi port, and eventually cracked into two pieces. One of its four oil tanks burst open, leaking 28,000 tons of crude oil into the sea.

2004

Dec. 7, Unalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska: A major storm pushed the M/V Selendang Ayu up onto a rocky shore, breaking it in two. 337,000 gallons of oil were released, most of which was driven onto the shoreline of Makushin and Skan Bays.

2005

Aug.-Sept., New Orleans, Louisiana: The Coast Guard estimated that more than 7 million gallons of oil were spilled during Hurricane Katrina from various sources, including pipelines, storage tanks and industrial plants.

2006

June 19, Calcasieu River, Louisiana: An estimated 71,000 barrels of waste oil were released from a tank at the CITGO Refinery on the Calcasieu River during a violent rain storm.

July 15, Beirut, Lebanon: The Israeli navy bombs the Jieh coast power station, and between three million and ten million gallons of oil leaks into the sea, affecting nearly 100 miles of coastline. A coastal blockade, a result of the war, greatly hampers outside clean-up efforts.

August 11th, Guimaras island, The Philippines: A tanker carrying 530,000 gallons of oil sinks off the coast of the Philippines, putting the country's fishing and tourism industries at great risk. The ship sinks in deep water, making it virtually unrecoverable, and it continues to emit oil into the ocean as other nations are called in to assist in the massive clean-up effort.

2007

December 7, South Korea: Oil spill causes environmental disaster, destroying beaches, coating birds and oysters with oil, and driving away tourists with its stench. The Hebei Spirit collides with a steel wire connecting a tug boat and barge five miles off South Korea's west coast, spilling 2.8 million gallons of crude oil. Seven thousand people are trying to clean up 12 miles of oil-coated coast.

2008

July 25, New Orleans, Louisiana: A 61-foot barge, carrying 419,000 gallons of heavy fuel, collides with a 600-foot tanker ship in the Mississippi River near New Orleans. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel leak from the barge, causing a halt to all river traffic while cleanup efforts commence to limit the environmental fallout on local wildlife.

And that was a list starting just in 1967.

I dont even want to imagine how much was spilt before that.

As far percentages and "freakin math,"

Im sure you can make numbers say anything you want and use fancy logic and industry propoganda to prove your point.

I dont care personally, I dont want what your sellin.

There are sollutions out there to the status quo,

But Im not going to believe for a second,

that the answer is amplifying the industries that have already proven to be bad for the health of the Earth and it's inhabitants.

I have nothing to prove to you,

You seem pretty stuck in your ways,

and your not going to convince me of anything.

Take a freakin' breath BS, you're going to rupture yourself. You're starting to rant, man. Here's the deal, you hate oil and I love it. You want wind and solar power and so do I - but not until it's economically and practically viable and not until I've made a pile of cash drilling oil wells. The oil spilled in those disasters you've culled from the internet is statistically negligible when compared to the oil produced and transported in the same time span. And you conveniently ignored natural seepage.

Let me ask you this, man - what do you think would happen to humanity if petroleum disappeared in the blink of an eye? If "big oil" closed their doors and said "you want it, you find it". Consider the cataclysm and tell me truthfully if mankind is ready for that?

There are no viable alternatives that can displace coal and oil so to screech that "there are solutions out there to the status quo" is silly. That's not propaganda, dude - it's just the way it is.