Being happily carless, I have no worries about where my next gallon of gasoline might come from. I would gladly support a tax on imported oil to reflect the costs of the military-industrial complex our leaders use to secure the gushing flow of oil into our country.
BTW, kudos to Iraq for starting and encouraging an oil boycott on the United States until Israel pulls out of the West Bank.
It is worth noting that oil is used for other things than keeping gas-guzzling suvs moving. We use it for electricity, plastic, and a variety of other functions. Does anyone have any data on how much of our oil comes from what sources and is used in what applications?
I would first turn to an encyclopedia or perhaps a good almanac. I know a librarian for the EPA who probably knows how to get his hands on that kind of info.
Cars are sadly necessary for many things, most of my hobbies are included in this. I’m in the SCA, and even if I never went to an event outside the Pgh area, I really can’t take my knives, axes, and bow and arrows onto a bus to get to practice. Bus drivers can refuse to go anywhere if they think you aren’t safe, and peer pressure will get you off the bus if you’re holding up other people.
Besides, the busses don’t go anywhere near the archery range on weekends, so I’d have to walk quite a bit before practice. I walk enough during retrieving arrows 🙂
Then there’s going to another city for an event regularly at least once a month, if not more often – having a car or having friends with cars is necessary.
I try to drive non-extravagantly, and my Escort gets about 28-30mi/gal highway, so I’m happy.
I just wish I had any idea about how much oil might reasonably be extracted from ANWR, relative to what’s available from the middle east. Anybody know of any balanced, rational sources for that kind info? Or is it all “We’re sure untapped oceans of Oil await, with minimal impact on the animals” v.s. “They want to kill all the caribou for just one more tankful.” ?
On the other side, I’m all for increasing R&D spending on alternative & more efficient fuel sources. I’d also like to see new nuclear reactors being built. Long term, I think the right energy architecture is something like this:
Large (nuke) plants produce Electricity.
Electricity is used to generate fuel cell fuel, or charge batteries.
Smaller power units (engines, etc…) are either fuel cells, batteries or both.
The only wastes in this picture are the (very dense per unit energy generated) radioactive nuke byproducts, which can be collected and stored in a (relatively) small space. But there’s still the NIMBY problem. Anyone have rational/unbiased sources of Yucca info? I’d like to hear from more than just Nevada’s governor to convince me that it’s not safe.
Yucca Mountain, in Nevada. The currently designated final resting place for the US’s high level radioactive waste. Here’s the latest off the AP wire:
–On Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:40 AM +0000 “AP / KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer” wrote:
>
> LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, not wishing his
> state to become the nation’s home to 77,000 tons of nuclear waste,
> has so far defied the Energy Department and the president of the
> United States.
> Now he must take on Congress — and he says he’s running out
> of money.
> “This is one state fighting an uphill battle,” Guinn told a
> cheering rally before flying to Washington to argue his state’s
> case.
> This week, Guinn rejected a plan endorsed by the Energy
> Department and President Bush to store the nation’s nuclear waste in
> Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
> A 1982 federal law that began studies about hauling nuclear
> waste to Yucca gave Nevada the power to exercise such a veto.
> Congress must now decide in 90 legislative days whether to uphold
> the president or side with Nevada.
> Strategists believe public opinion could sway senators in
> some key states to sustain the Republican governor’s action. The
> strategy would include television ads in places where lawmakers’
> re-election chances might be determined by environmentalists.
> But the state campaign — boosted by catchy slogans like
> “Hell no, we won’t glow” — is short of money. After failing to raise
> the $10 million it says it needs, Nevada is now soliciting donations
> $1 at a time.
> Last week, Nevada had to pass on buying expensive commercial
> time on an episode of “The West Wing” that depicted the fictional
> White House dealing with a nuclear transportation accident.
> The ads were expected to raise the specter of a radioactive
> accident in one of the 43 states through which trucks and trains
> would carry spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain.
> Defenders of the project argue it is safe. Bush, in a letter
> to congressional leaders last week, said he approved the Yucca
> Mountain project because a central repository for nuclear waste “is
> necessary to protect public safety, health and this nation’s
> security.”
> Nevada officials have argued there are still many
> outstanding issues not yet fully resolved when it comes to whether
> Yucca Mountain’s geology will adequately contain the waste thousands
> of years from now.
> Guinn initially raised $6 million from state and local
> governments and a handful of businesses for lobbying, advertising
> and legal opposition to the plan. But he said all but $2.5 million
> of that fund has been spent, and the rest is being reserved for
> anticipated legal battles.
> “We have to convince everybody that this isn’t just Nevada’s
> problem,” said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, an outspoken opponent
> of the Yucca Mountain plan. “We have to alert, not alarm, senators’
> constituents about the potential of a disaster happening in their
> back yards so they tell their elected officials, ‘Don’t let this
> come by my house.'”
[cut to a second comment, since I’m over the word limit]
> Guinn has backed off convening a special session of the
> Nevada Legislature to fund the campaign after it became clear he
> didn’t have support. The state is facing a $100 million shortage,
> and some lawmakers worried the lobbying campaign might not help
> anyway.
> On the day Guinn headed to Washington, full-page
> advertisements in the state’s four largest newspapers invited
> residents to donate $1 or more to Nevada’s “Stand Together”
> campaign.
> By comparison, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the main
> pro-Yucca nuclear lobbyist, contributed $25 million to political
> parties and $13.8 million to candidates during the 2000 election,
> according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.
> Guinn isn’t done fund-raising. He recommend using $3 million
> from a state emergency fund for the Yucca Mountain fight. A
> legislative committee was to consider the idea Wednesday.
> As part of the $6 million already raised, gambling interests
> have reported contributing $750,000 toward the anti-nuclear lobbying
> effort.
> But some grumble that the gambling industry hasn’t done
> enough.
> “I don’t believe the casinos and businesses and people
> stepped up,” Goodman last week. Las Vegas has contributed $100,000
> to the effort.
> Bill Bible, president of the Las Vegas-based Nevada Resort
> Association, defended the casino industry’s efforts.
> “I think it’s the nuclear industry against the state of
> Nevada,” Bible said. “We’re part of the community.”
> Some think the monied interests are hedging their bets.
> “I think the people of Nevada are increasingly prepared to
> say it’s time to talk about benefits, what we can get in return,”
> said consultant Robert List, a former Nevada governor. “I think
> citizens and businesses of Nevada feel that this is wasted money;
> that this is a done deal.”
> ——
> On the Net:
> Yucca Mountain Project: http://www.ymp.gov
> Pro-Yucca Mountain site: http://www.nei.org
> Anti-Yucca Mountain site: http://www.nirs.org
>
This MOdern WorLd is almost always right on the money!
Nifty. Considering I’m hoping to buy one of the new Civic Hybrids to put my money where my mouth is. By the way, they’re finally out. Yay!
Now I just need to have the money to afford my own car…
carless & no worries
Being happily carless, I have no worries about where my next gallon of gasoline might come from. I would gladly support a tax on imported oil to reflect the costs of the military-industrial complex our leaders use to secure the gushing flow of oil into our country.
BTW, kudos to Iraq for starting and encouraging an oil boycott on the United States until Israel pulls out of the West Bank.
Re: carless & no worries
It is worth noting that oil is used for other things than keeping gas-guzzling suvs moving. We use it for electricity, plastic, and a variety of other functions. Does anyone have any data on how much of our oil comes from what sources and is used in what applications?
But still & all, it’s a very valid point.
Re: carless & no worries
I would first turn to an encyclopedia or perhaps a good almanac. I know a librarian for the EPA who probably knows how to get his hands on that kind of info.
Librarians are unsung heroes.
yes! exactly!!!
28 years and no car; never had a driver’s licence.
The evil that is cars
I’ve had two cars, both very fuel efficient, both very used. =) The convenience was nice from time to time, but I still prefer public transportation.
Now if only my wild schemes for the betterment of public transportation would become a reality =)
Cars are sadly necessary for many things, most of my hobbies are included in this. I’m in the SCA, and even if I never went to an event outside the Pgh area, I really can’t take my knives, axes, and bow and arrows onto a bus to get to practice. Bus drivers can refuse to go anywhere if they think you aren’t safe, and peer pressure will get you off the bus if you’re holding up other people.
Besides, the busses don’t go anywhere near the archery range on weekends, so I’d have to walk quite a bit before practice. I walk enough during retrieving arrows 🙂
Then there’s going to another city for an event regularly at least once a month, if not more often – having a car or having friends with cars is necessary.
I try to drive non-extravagantly, and my Escort gets about 28-30mi/gal highway, so I’m happy.
“any takers? =)”
I just wish I had any idea about how much oil might reasonably be extracted from ANWR, relative to what’s available from the middle east. Anybody know of any balanced, rational sources for that kind info? Or is it all “We’re sure untapped oceans of Oil await, with minimal impact on the animals” v.s. “They want to kill all the caribou for just one more tankful.” ?
On the other side, I’m all for increasing R&D spending on alternative & more efficient fuel sources. I’d also like to see new nuclear reactors being built. Long term, I think the right energy architecture is something like this:
Large (nuke) plants produce Electricity.
Electricity is used to generate fuel cell fuel, or charge batteries.
Smaller power units (engines, etc…) are either fuel cells, batteries or both.
The only wastes in this picture are the (very dense per unit energy generated) radioactive nuke byproducts, which can be collected and stored in a (relatively) small space. But there’s still the NIMBY problem. Anyone have rational/unbiased sources of Yucca info? I’d like to hear from more than just Nevada’s governor to convince me that it’s not safe.
What’s “yucca”?
Yucca Mountain, in Nevada. The currently designated final resting place for the US’s high level radioactive waste. Here’s the latest off the AP wire:
–On Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:40 AM +0000 “AP / KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer” wrote:
>
> LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, not wishing his
> state to become the nation’s home to 77,000 tons of nuclear waste,
> has so far defied the Energy Department and the president of the
> United States.
> Now he must take on Congress — and he says he’s running out
> of money.
> “This is one state fighting an uphill battle,” Guinn told a
> cheering rally before flying to Washington to argue his state’s
> case.
> This week, Guinn rejected a plan endorsed by the Energy
> Department and President Bush to store the nation’s nuclear waste in
> Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
> A 1982 federal law that began studies about hauling nuclear
> waste to Yucca gave Nevada the power to exercise such a veto.
> Congress must now decide in 90 legislative days whether to uphold
> the president or side with Nevada.
> Strategists believe public opinion could sway senators in
> some key states to sustain the Republican governor’s action. The
> strategy would include television ads in places where lawmakers’
> re-election chances might be determined by environmentalists.
> But the state campaign — boosted by catchy slogans like
> “Hell no, we won’t glow” — is short of money. After failing to raise
> the $10 million it says it needs, Nevada is now soliciting donations
> $1 at a time.
> Last week, Nevada had to pass on buying expensive commercial
> time on an episode of “The West Wing” that depicted the fictional
> White House dealing with a nuclear transportation accident.
> The ads were expected to raise the specter of a radioactive
> accident in one of the 43 states through which trucks and trains
> would carry spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain.
> Defenders of the project argue it is safe. Bush, in a letter
> to congressional leaders last week, said he approved the Yucca
> Mountain project because a central repository for nuclear waste “is
> necessary to protect public safety, health and this nation’s
> security.”
> Nevada officials have argued there are still many
> outstanding issues not yet fully resolved when it comes to whether
> Yucca Mountain’s geology will adequately contain the waste thousands
> of years from now.
> Guinn initially raised $6 million from state and local
> governments and a handful of businesses for lobbying, advertising
> and legal opposition to the plan. But he said all but $2.5 million
> of that fund has been spent, and the rest is being reserved for
> anticipated legal battles.
> “We have to convince everybody that this isn’t just Nevada’s
> problem,” said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, an outspoken opponent
> of the Yucca Mountain plan. “We have to alert, not alarm, senators’
> constituents about the potential of a disaster happening in their
> back yards so they tell their elected officials, ‘Don’t let this
> come by my house.'”
[cut to a second comment, since I’m over the word limit]
[continued from previous comment]
> Guinn has backed off convening a special session of the
> Nevada Legislature to fund the campaign after it became clear he
> didn’t have support. The state is facing a $100 million shortage,
> and some lawmakers worried the lobbying campaign might not help
> anyway.
> On the day Guinn headed to Washington, full-page
> advertisements in the state’s four largest newspapers invited
> residents to donate $1 or more to Nevada’s “Stand Together”
> campaign.
> By comparison, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the main
> pro-Yucca nuclear lobbyist, contributed $25 million to political
> parties and $13.8 million to candidates during the 2000 election,
> according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.
> Guinn isn’t done fund-raising. He recommend using $3 million
> from a state emergency fund for the Yucca Mountain fight. A
> legislative committee was to consider the idea Wednesday.
> As part of the $6 million already raised, gambling interests
> have reported contributing $750,000 toward the anti-nuclear lobbying
> effort.
> But some grumble that the gambling industry hasn’t done
> enough.
> “I don’t believe the casinos and businesses and people
> stepped up,” Goodman last week. Las Vegas has contributed $100,000
> to the effort.
> Bill Bible, president of the Las Vegas-based Nevada Resort
> Association, defended the casino industry’s efforts.
> “I think it’s the nuclear industry against the state of
> Nevada,” Bible said. “We’re part of the community.”
> Some think the monied interests are hedging their bets.
> “I think the people of Nevada are increasingly prepared to
> say it’s time to talk about benefits, what we can get in return,”
> said consultant Robert List, a former Nevada governor. “I think
> citizens and businesses of Nevada feel that this is wasted money;
> that this is a done deal.”
> ——
> On the Net:
> Yucca Mountain Project: http://www.ymp.gov
> Pro-Yucca Mountain site: http://www.nei.org
> Anti-Yucca Mountain site: http://www.nirs.org
>