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Originally Posted by padthaiforlunch
Of course the current Administration could stop filling the national reserve and actually release oil (like the Clinton Administration did) to ...
Of course the current Administration could stop filling the national reserve and actually release oil (like the Clinton Administration did) to lower oil prices.
Naturally, Exxon's repeated record-breaking profits have nothing to do with dragging down the economy. And god forbid we hold Bush accountable for anything.
Unfortunately, nuclear plants cost more to build than they generate in profits.
Well the reserves are for emergencies and not for political games, IMHO that is.
Exxon and other Big Oil, so was you there crying crocodile tears when the price of a barrel hit $12 and they were losing money.
Nuclear Plants are expensive just like building new Refineries, care to expand on why?
Obviously Bush and Company have made mistakes, yet without a doubt the loonies in Congress have done everything they could to drag this economy down. The last I look we are still a Republic and we do not have a Imperial Presidency or better known as a Dictatorship. In fact the Congress has the first and last say, learn to keep your eyes on the ball.
All spending has to originate in the HOR, in the end its up to Congress as a whole to vote up or down, which they do less and less.
It really doesn't matter who the President is if the Congress is dysfunctional.
And when oil was $12 per barrel (10/98) our everlasting friends the Saudis said it should be between $22 and $28 per barrel in order for economic parity.
I am all for nuclear power and drilling here. Would you want a 3rd world country drilling that does not have the concern for the environment that our left wing nuts have?
I do think that if we got off of foreign oil and started to do more domestic oil, that we would hurt the middle east more then our military could, in their pocket books.
The republicans are smart to stand back and watch the dems destroy themselves.
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"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan
I am all for nuclear power and drilling here. Would you want a 3rd world country drilling that does not have the concern for the environment that our left wing nuts have?
I do think that if we got off of foreign oil and started to do more domestic oil, that we would hurt the middle east more then our military could, in their pocket books.
The republicans are smart to stand back and watch the dems destroy themselves.
Funny how environmentalists say that off shore drilling in America would not do a lot to get us off foreign oil. However, their efforts to protect even the slightest thing is very important and everyone should partake in it.
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"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan
Yes, let's put oil rigs off Pensacola Beach where there are oil reserves. You won't mind the obstructed view, noise and occasional oil slick, will you?
The problem with nuclear plants is economics. They don't produce enough energy during their lifespan to pay for the cost of building and decommissioning the plant.
If you really want to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, then you should join the environmental lobby in pushing for higher cafe (fuel efficiency) standards for light trucks and autos.
There are hundreds of rigs off the coast of Alabama and I can't remember any problems, other than most of the rigs hold some big fish.
Yeah, off Louisiana (my old home), too. Those rigs are further offshore in the gulf because of environmental regulations.
If we were to really open up the country to drilling, oil rigs will be much closer to the shoreline. Close enough to be more than just a blip on the horizon.
And, if you really want to open this country to unregualted oil drilling, ask yourself if you want your neighbor to have a rig in his backyard operating 24 hours a day. You can find this around Houston.
Yeah, off Louisiana (my old home), too. Those rigs are further offshore in the gulf because of environmental regulations.
If we were to really open up the country to drilling, oil rigs will be much closer to the shoreline. Close enough to be more than just a blip on the horizon.
And, if you really want to open this country to unregualted oil drilling, ask yourself if you want your neighbor to have a rig in his backyard operating 24 hours a day. You can find this around Houston.
One of my neighbors is already producing alcohol based fuel in his backyard.
Yeah, off Louisiana (my old home), too. Those rigs are further offshore in the gulf because of environmental regulations.
If we were to really open up the country to drilling, oil rigs will be much closer to the shoreline. Close enough to be more than just a blip on the horizon.
And, if you really want to open this country to unregualted oil drilling, ask yourself if you want your neighbor to have a rig in his backyard operating 24 hours a day. You can find this around Houston.
Who said anything about unregulated oil drilling? I lived in Houston and Pearland, while I could find those oil pumps, I have never seen one in a neighborhood? Do you really fall for these scare tactics?
DRILLING DOWN THE STREET
Oil rig joins neighborhood
24-hour noise may pay off for some residents
By ROSANNA RUIZ, Houston Chronicle
Mention oil wells and most people think of a dusty, sprawling Texas landscape dotted with pumpjacks and rusting derricks.
The working-class neighborhood of Northmore, just north of the 610 Loop, hardly ever comes to mind. Until now, perhaps.
A local oil company, Ballard Exploration, began drilling on a vacant lot at Cockerel and Tulane earlier this month, creating a round-the-clock hum likened to a group of idling tractor trailers.
But sleep-deprived residents — those who hold mineral rights to their properties — could find themselves warming up to their noisy new neighbor, particularly if it produces a gusher of oil profits into their bank accounts.
"It is a problem — you can't sleep during the day and you can't sleep at night," said Helen Idlebird, 75.
"I hope it will be successful," her husband Henry, 78, said, adopting more of a glass half-full outlook.
The couple's home in the 300 block of Oriole sits an empty lot away from the rig, which is surrounded by mobile offices, heavy equipment and supplies.
Ballard has no intention of setting up shop there on a permanent basis, the Houston-based company's operations manager Tyson Dunn said.
The job, which entails drilling to a depth of 9,000 feet, could be finished within 10 days.
"We want to get in and get out as quick as we can," he said.
The company has drilled within city limits from "time to time," although it's not a common occurrence for the strictly on-shore drilling company, Dunn said. Ballard is relying on maps from the 1930s that show prior drilling at the site known as the Eureka Oil Field.
Inner-city drilling may not be all that unusual and may become more common as companies are less intimidated by the city's permit process, said Mike Barnes, a geologist and member of the Houston Geological Society.
"Houston is sprawling and it's getting larger and larger, and there's always a constant land use concern," he said. "If our governing bodies allow drilling within neighborhoods, then that's what we all have to get along with."
But, he added, Ballard's rig is not likely the signal of an inner-city oil boom.
"I see it as an opportunity for the smaller operators to step back in time and do things that were not done 10 or 15 years ago where certain technologies were not available to them," Barnes said.
To drill in the city, among other requirements, a company must pay a $225 fee, acquire a permit from the Texas Railroad Commission, drill more than 500 feet from city water wells, more than 1,000 feet from Lake Houston and seek council approval if the permit is for drilling on public property.
The city's Department of Public Works and Engineering took over the permit process from Planning and Development last December, said Public Works spokesman Wes Johnson. At that time there were three companies involved in the application process. The city issued permits to two and the third remains pending, he said.
The exact number of permits issued before 2001 is incomplete because of records lost during Tropical Storm Allison, Johnson said.
Drilling companies must demonstrate that spill prevention and other measures to address potential runoff problems are present, he noted.
"If anybody has complaints, we want to address them and try to make it right, with the main point being that they will benefit from our successes as well," Johnson said.
DRILLING DOWN THE STREET
Oil rig joins neighborhood
24-hour noise may pay off for some residents
By ROSANNA RUIZ, Houston Chronicle
Mention oil wells and most people think of a dusty, sprawling Texas landscape dotted with pumpjacks and rusting derricks.
The working-class neighborhood of Northmore, just north of the 610 Loop, hardly ever comes to mind. Until now, perhaps.
A local oil company, Ballard Exploration, began drilling on a vacant lot at Cockerel and Tulane earlier this month, creating a round-the-clock hum likened to a group of idling tractor trailers.
But sleep-deprived residents — those who hold mineral rights to their properties — could find themselves warming up to their noisy new neighbor, particularly if it produces a gusher of oil profits into their bank accounts.
"It is a problem — you can't sleep during the day and you can't sleep at night," said Helen Idlebird, 75.
"I hope it will be successful," her husband Henry, 78, said, adopting more of a glass half-full outlook.
The couple's home in the 300 block of Oriole sits an empty lot away from the rig, which is surrounded by mobile offices, heavy equipment and supplies.
Ballard has no intention of setting up shop there on a permanent basis, the Houston-based company's operations manager Tyson Dunn said.
The job, which entails drilling to a depth of 9,000 feet, could be finished within 10 days.
"We want to get in and get out as quick as we can," he said.
The company has drilled within city limits from "time to time," although it's not a common occurrence for the strictly on-shore drilling company, Dunn said. Ballard is relying on maps from the 1930s that show prior drilling at the site known as the Eureka Oil Field.
Inner-city drilling may not be all that unusual and may become more common as companies are less intimidated by the city's permit process, said Mike Barnes, a geologist and member of the Houston Geological Society.
"Houston is sprawling and it's getting larger and larger, and there's always a constant land use concern," he said. "If our governing bodies allow drilling within neighborhoods, then that's what we all have to get along with."
But, he added, Ballard's rig is not likely the signal of an inner-city oil boom.
"I see it as an opportunity for the smaller operators to step back in time and do things that were not done 10 or 15 years ago where certain technologies were not available to them," Barnes said.
To drill in the city, among other requirements, a company must pay a $225 fee, acquire a permit from the Texas Railroad Commission, drill more than 500 feet from city water wells, more than 1,000 feet from Lake Houston and seek council approval if the permit is for drilling on public property.
The city's Department of Public Works and Engineering took over the permit process from Planning and Development last December, said Public Works spokesman Wes Johnson. At that time there were three companies involved in the application process. The city issued permits to two and the third remains pending, he said.
The exact number of permits issued before 2001 is incomplete because of records lost during Tropical Storm Allison, Johnson said.
Drilling companies must demonstrate that spill prevention and other measures to address potential runoff problems are present, he noted.
"If anybody has complaints, we want to address them and try to make it right, with the main point being that they will benefit from our successes as well," Johnson said.
What is the point? Three permits in a city the size of Houston, no wonder I never notice one! Yet, the people are looking to benefit nicely, financially speaking that is.
Re: Nader throws hat in ring
have nothing to do with dragging down the economy. And god forbid we hold Bush accountable for anything.
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