Off-shore drilling in NC

[cranberries]

Things aren't bad enough now, but what if they become bad enough? It would then be too late to build a platform and start receiving the revenue. That takes more than a couple years to do. I doubt the need is going to go way up because of the sudden surgence of "we need alternative fuels" and gasoline's price causing some people to decide when it is actually necessary to drive or take the bus to work.

As for the lottery, most states have issues when they first allow the lottery.

It isn't bad enough until people get out of their gas guzzling SUV's and use those vehicles when they need to, and not just because it is there. Example, my neighbor gets into his minivan (3 people in his family) and he drives by himself 2 1/2 blocks to the coffee shop, double parks, and gets a cup of espresso, drives back home. Every morning. It is a waste of gas and basically is just lazy. I walk to the grocery store with a 'granny cart' and pack it full and go home. True, it isn't fesible for everyone, but a little alternate thinking and alternate fuels will ensure that we don't ever have an emergency. We can't afford to wait to change the way things are being done. Besides, the sour excuse people keep using to have an SUV "I feel safer".. with that in mind we will eventually be driving semi trucks. Larger shouldn't make people feel safer - if all cars are the same size, there isn't a problem.

As for the oil on the beach, look at the refinery area of LA. The beaches all have little clumps here and there. It is from small leaks, imagine a large one.

NC is prone to having hurricaines, so it doens't matter how far off the coast, water will transport any oil onto the beach. It is reality. Another reality is that we don't need it.

Perhaps a hybrid gas/electric or even solar/electric car in the future. Solar panels are now flexible and can be even painted. Car hoods,roofing all in solar panels. Then drive all we want.

The biggest problem that I have with drilling is that there is no going back after an accident.

I would choose the two decade scenerio you proposed.

[AuLukey]

While I never drive somewhere if I don't have to (I live in University, so I don't have much of a choice from where I live) I also understand the need for people to get from one place to another. SUV's, well, I have driven them in the past, never had one myself, I just don't like them. They aren't practical and use a lot of gas. Only maybe 2% of people that own SUV's actually use them for the original purpose they were designed for. SUV's are an American trend. I severely doubt people are buying them for the soul purpose of wasting money on gas.

While I can say I'm not a tree hugger (pardon the expression,) I do care about what condition our environment is in. The worse it gets now, the worse it will have compounded to become when my children are my age. I do hope for a way to process ethanol less wastefully. Eventually progress on that front will exceed the poor productivity percentages. If the cost of solar panels that could cover an entire car (without overheating the individual driving it) ever goes down to practical senses, I may very well be the first in line. Also, if the performance of electric cars were improved upon I am sure the American public would be more accepting of them. Solar Panels used for body panels may someday be coming, they just simply get way too hot to outweigh their benefit as the extra insulation the car would have to have would negate any performance the car could have the potential of having.

If there were a way to stop all oil platforms in the world and still have sufficient energy to keep our world moving, by all means start now. The only issue and why I believe it would be a good idea in smaller quantities is that the US is due for a recession and the more interdependent we are the better. The less we have to import, the better. Perhaps a recession is what our country needs to help decrease the price of oil even though China looks to be ruining that chance as they are beginning to consume more and more.

As for the "granny cart," I too used to do that to Woolworths when I lived in Australia. I didn't drive a car when I lived there. It took me almost a full mile uphill each way -- literally, there was a 60m deep valley between point A and B -- in the sweltering Australian summer heat. The worst part, their shopping carts are four wheel drive in that all four wheels spin. This caused the cart to swing sideways when on an slanted or uneven surface. Good times.

[cranberries]

While I never drive somewhere if I don't have to (I live in University, so I don't have much of a choice from where I live) I also understand the need for people to get from one place to another. SUV's, well, I have driven them in the past, never had one myself, I just don't like them. They aren't practical and use a lot of gas. Only maybe 2% of people that own SUV's actually use them for the original purpose they were designed for. SUV's are an American trend. I severely doubt people are buying them for the soul purpose of wasting money on gas.

While I can say I'm not a tree hugger (pardon the expression,) I do care about what condition our environment is in. The worse it gets now, the worse it will have compounded to become when my children are my age. I do hope for a way to process ethanol less wastefully. Eventually progress on that front will exceed the poor productivity percentages. If the cost of solar panels that could cover an entire car (without overheating the individual driving it) ever goes down to practical senses, I may very well be the first in line. Also, if the performance of electric cars were improved upon I am sure the American public would be more accepting of them. Solar Panels used for body panels may someday be coming, they just simply get way too hot to outweigh their benefit as the extra insulation the car would have to have would negate any performance the car could have the potential of having.

If there were a way to stop all oil platforms in the world and still have sufficient energy to keep our world moving, by all means start now. The only issue and why I believe it would be a good idea in smaller quantities is that the US is due for a recession and the more interdependent we are the better. The less we have to import, the better. Perhaps a recession is what our country needs to help decrease the price of oil even though China looks to be ruining that chance as they are beginning to consume more and more.

As for the "granny cart," I too used to do that to Woolworths when I lived in Australia. I didn't drive a car when I lived there. It took me almost a full mile uphill each way -- literally, there was a 60m deep valley between point A and B -- in the sweltering Australian summer heat. The worst part, their shopping carts are four wheel drive in that all four wheels spin. This caused the cart to swing sideways when on an slanted or uneven surface. Good times.

Agree. If everyone cuts back - like we did in the 1970's, then we should be able to sustain ourselves. Thinking of China using more oil, they are starting to get more and more autos and using more in production and that will strain the world's oil supplies even further. Scary. At the recent prices for gas, perhaps it is now affordable for oil companies to drill here at home for oil.

I would love to see the pumps charge for gas according to the MPG of the vehicles. It would never come around, but those Hummers at 6 MPG vs a Prius at 50-60 MPG.. That is a larger difference. ( I believe they really get around 40-50 from consumers)

[whitehourseview]

There might be a need for some definition of terms on this thread, I'm not sure, I'm new to it.

The options that have been debated, considered and at the moment tabled for drilling off the coast of North Carolina are for the extraction of natural gas, not petroleum; as there is a large natural gas deposit off the coast, near Morehead City. Some in the field estimate that this may be the largest reserve of natural gas in the world, though exploration is inconclusive.

While they exist, the environmental concerns for drilling natural gas are different as compared to petroleum extraction. Natural Gas, in moments of disaster or spills, has a much different effect than leaked petroleum.

I'm undecided on this issue, but here is a link to an article about natural gas and the marine envrionment:

http://www.offshore-environment.com/naturalgas.html

[mcashlv]

Really bad analogy (complete with non-relevent hysteria-mongering photos). The Alaskan oil spill was caused by a grounded oil tanker. Offshore oil drilling poses almost no risk whatsoever of oil spills. The money generated to the state and citizens could fund beneficial environmental and public works projects (like public trans) and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Stop listening to Al Gore and get a grip on reality.

Why are people's minds always driven by money?... " more income for the state"... We would gain $5 billion and lose $10 Billion in tourism because the beaches will look like Bakersfield CA oilfields - black oil spills everywhere OR like Alaska Coast with every rock in sight with a guey coat of oil that can't be rinsed off.

It is more about destroying things that can't be replaced. Let's make decisions based on what is really right. It is far easier to not sit idle or driving two blocks to the store when we could Bike, public transportation, walk, carpool, etc. It is more of changing our way of thinking and finding better ways to use the fuels that we have.

Example - the big trees in California. years ago, they cut the larger trees down because they were so easy. They were 300-400 years old. Not thinking that these are precious trees that can't be just replaced the next year or so. So now 90% are gone. They were 250-200 ft tall and 40 feet in circumference. Wonderful. But gone. Are we going to ruin our white beaches with oil for a few bucks? Tree below is huge!!!!

[MR-2]

Really bad analogy (complete with non-relevent hysteria-mongering photos). The Alaskan oil spill was caused by a grounded oil tanker. Offshore oil drilling poses almost no risk whatsoever of oil spills. The money generated to the state and citizens could fund beneficial environmental and public works projects (like public trans) and lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Stop listening to Al Gore and get a grip on reality.

Off-shore drilling does coat beaches with oil. There are plenty of beaches along the gulf that have become much worse for the wear. Ships are also required to pick up and transport the stuff from floating waypoints. Considering how shallow our beaches get, I can't imagine this being a bad idea at all.

This says nothing about the annoying sight oil derricks would be from the coast.

Stuff comes at a price. We have the most undisturbed coastline in the east. That's not something to lightly toss away. It requires a lot of consideration.

[SimCity]

I hope that offshore drilling never comes to the southeastern United States. Any oil drilled would have to be refined nearby on our coastlines and refineries and the petrochemical companies that always locate near them are terrible polluters of the environment. Just look at the extremely high mortality rate in the Cancer Alley that the oil refineries and petrochemical companies have created in Southern Louisiana. I've visited there before around Baton Rouge and even the very air is polluted and tainted and unsafe to breath. Do we want that for our relatively unspoiled coastlines? Also, don't forget about the subsiding Louisiana coast and marshlands caused in no small degree by the side effects of offshore oil drilling.