After the primary's then there is the presidential race. Perhaps this thread should be stickied! Maybe we could hold a rally on the mall at capital hill.
We The People of the Digitech forum do hereby declare we are fed up with high fuel cost and politics as usuall!....Oh and Walmart too! :twisted:
I would not have a problem using mass transit if we had efficient an well thought out service in place. But why should I take an hour or more one way on a bus, when I can get there in 15 min. in my car?
Did you knw that GM ( they make buses ), Goodyear (they make tires for the buses) and Standard oil ( fuel for the buses) collaborated and bought all the streetcar and trolly systems in every major us city and did away with them. Thus the Municipalities had to buy buses, tires and fuel from you know who. The feds took them to court and they were found guilty. The corp. were only fined $100,000 the ceos/owners were only fined $1 yep $1. Draw your own conclusion.
But I do know that there have been issues that people spoke up on and have had an impact on whether a bill was passed or not. There have been times when enough people have called the capital that it overloaded its phone circuts that it crashed. So never think that calling your rep. doesn't have them think twice!
This is jmo but not only is it your right, but your duty! ... You can do it while reading this thread, kill two birds with one stone.
The fact that things are as bad as they are now is proof that God is soon going to do away with this old human system and replace it with his Kingdom under Christ Jesus.
For more information please visit www.watchtower.org
OK Partchie...lets all jump on the Doomsday Wagon once again
Heehee...yah, I wonder who that chix booked with now that the gov isn't spending campaign money on her. :shock:
Ya think she'd return my phone calls?!? :oops:
The fact that things are as bad as they are now is proof that God is soon going to do away with this old human system and replace it with his Kingdom under Christ Jesus.
For more information please visit www.watchtower.org
Yeah, they're much worse now than when Hitler killed millions while trying to conquer the world. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
During the depression (and both WWs), the country was on rations. So, I see your point on how we're worse now. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
No matter what conditions are, we are to live each day the best we can.
That is harder to do, when things get crappy, but then ones true character
can be found, as well as ones ability to reason.
We should be able to judge the smaller things in life, and not be foolish, especially in repeating past mistakes, or worse...doing nothing.
After all, repeating mistakes does help create improvement.
Hey Manatou I don't think angels look quite like that :shock: & Coalbalts I'm not no gloom & doom kind of guy! My future is bright & yours could be to!! I was just asking if everyone was ready to be caught up to be with the Lod Jesus for ever? I am! I hope & pray you will as well someday Coalbalts!
I agree - wholeheartedly - with 'tou and 'ed. No matter how bad things get, fact is we have it better than nearly everyone in the world. And it's important to be able to count your blessings and be thankful for what you have, and what you DON'T have.
Yeah, we have to put up with high prices, corrupt government, and rude waitresses.
BUT: we don't have to put up with \"leaders\" like Chavez and Hitler and Ahmenadijad, genital mutilation, starvation and disease, and forced resettlement. We can turn on a tap and drink clean(ish) water, we can vote, we can lust over hott women without being beaten in the street for our immorality, we can choose our religion without being killed in the night.
The high fuel prices that spawned this thread are an awful thing - especially when the resource situation is really no different than it was 10 years ago, yet prices have doubled - but it's apparent to anyone with a brain stem that it's politics and policy that're causing it, NOT resources. That's pitiful. But, at the end of it all, you still want to look back and remember how cute your kids were, not how angry your corrupt government made you...
VIENNA - OPEC on Wednesday accused the U.S. of economic “mismanagement” that it said is pushing oil prices to new record highs and rebuffed calls to boost output, laying the blame on the Bush administration.
Oil prices surged for the first time past $104 a barrel after the OPEC announcement and the release of a U.S. government report showing a surprise drop in crude oil stockpiles.
The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would maintain current production levels because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken in the second quarter.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he called “the mismanagement of the U.S. economy,” and that America’s problems were a key factor in the cartel’s decision to hold off on any action.
“If the prices are high, definitely they are not due to a lack of crude. They are due to what’s happening in the U.S.,” Khelil said. “There is sufficient supply. There’s plenty of oil there.”
Khelil’s comments came one day after U.S. President George W. Bush lashed out at the organization, warning Tuesday: “I think it’s a mistake to have your biggest customers’ economies slowing down as a result of higher energy prices.”
White House spokesman Dana Perino said Wednesday that Bush was “disappointed” OPEC didn’t do more to rein in prices, which some say are pushing the U.S. economy into recession.
Analyst John Hall, of John Hall Associates in London, said OPEC probably should have added oil to the market as Bush had asked.
“But in this time of intense geopolitical tension, it would be difficult for Saudi (Arabia) or any other producer to acquiesce simply because President Bush had asked them to,” he said. “In the short term, any true respite for the consumer is still out of reach.”
Although OPEC opted not to intervene, it did pledge to maintain “constant vigilance” over the market.
Khelil said he and OPEC’s secretary-general were authorized to call an extraordinary meeting or hold phone consultations “at any time, depending on the pressures on the market” — an apparent gesture to ease global economic jitters.
There had been some speculation that OPEC might actually cut production — a move that would drive prices even higher, along with profits for cartel members — but Khelil said a cut was not discussed at Wednesday’s meeting. He said OPEC had no plans to meet again before its next scheduled conference in September.
Earlier in the week, price hawks Venezuela and Iran indicated they planned to push for less production.
Khelil said crude stocks were well within their five-year average and the 13-nation group was not inclined to either boost or reduce its current output of about 32 million barrels a day. OPEC satisfies roughly 40 percent of the world’s demand for crude.
OPEC said it “highlighted the economic slowdown in the U.S., which, together with the deepening credit crisis in financial markets, is increasing the downside risks for world economic growth and consequently demand for crude oil.”
“Crude oil prices are being strongly influenced by the weakness in the U.S. dollar, rising inflation and significant flow of funds into the commodities market,” it said.
Oil shot up a dramatic 19 percent last month as the falling dollar prompted speculators and other investors to shift cash to crude and other commodities as a hedge. Among other reasons for the spike: tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and Turkey’s incursion into northern Iraq.
Key cartel members said this week that prices in the $85 to $90 per barrel range would be optimal.
But oil’s only direction Wednesday was up.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.02 to $101.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe — amid growing expectations that it stood to climb even higher.
“There’s an ongoing stampede to be a part of the crude oil rally,” said Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., in New York.
Hall said OPEC was partly to blame for economic woes in the U.S. and elsewhere. “By helping the price to rise, they have fueled inflation and they’re fueling recession,” he said.
But Stephen Schork, editor of The Schork Report, which keeps tabs on global energy markets and trends, said the cartel may not have had much choice.
“If you’re OPEC, you see ample supplies and questionable demand,” he said.
Schork gave OPEC credit for not pushing through a cut in output, which “would legitimize the bullish speculation we’ve seen since February” and risk sending oil to $120 a barrel or higher.
The 13 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is the only member not subject to the cartel’s output quotas.
Blame the USA..(cof-cofbullsheit)
I think Khelil and OPEC are showing us their political inyerendo…to Americans…and I’d be happy if we obliged them…completely. Pull our Troops out and let them deal with their own Dictators in the future. Which, by the way, not only would Kuwait be overrun right now, but also Saudi Arabia. This never was about Terrorism.
Our mistake is making it clear also, that we the consumer, will keep lining up at the pump, and buy oil at whatever the price. This emboldens these OPEC priques to cut production and inflate prices, as a political tool. Our task is to enact our own methods of moderating prices, by increasing domestic production, and weaning our Nation off oil in every way possible, short term and long term.
I’ll concede there is an element of truth in this article. Supply and demand alone does not account for $110/ barrel oil. Falling dollar value is a part of it, overseas demand is a part of it, and our own refusal to adjust our lifestyles is a part of it. All that being said, the biggest issue right now is speculation. This is not entirely caused by economic mismanagement, and the bidding is beyond reasonable right now, taking advantage of our decline. This is now an Economic War.
Non-stock money has to go somewhere, and as people start betting one way or another concerning a recession there tends to be more and more money leaving the stock market. The traditional avenues are not exactly attractive. Newly issued bonds? They don't pay crap as interest rates fall. Outstanding bonds? They have skyrocketed in price as interest rates have fallen, so their actual outlay isn't very attractive (even if we ignore any recent increases in default risk). So the money flows into gold and oil - two things that people are pretty certain we'll always buy. Other commodities have likewise had a good run recently. If the big banks manage to dig up enough cash to work their way out of the current liquidity crunch, I think you'll see the markets stabilize late in the summer. That should cut into the speculation, and moderate prices.
Pull our Troops out and let them deal with their own Dictators in the future. Which, by the way, not only would Kuwait be overrun right now, but also Saudi Arabia. This never was about Terrorism.
I agree. It is not in US interests to interfere in affairs of other sovereign nations.
But of course, U.S. has so many interests (see my previous post) in SA, that we could have never let that happen.
Yeah, we have to put up with high prices, corrupt government, and rude waitresses.
Awah Bro!...now THAT crosses the line. :evil:
Let me know where this waitress is...and I will bring the devil upon her.
The devil who is a master of Wu Tang, and will screetch, puke, throw things,
squeal nee nee noo noo over and over, bend fingers back, poke eyes,
and THEN open the Gates of Hell!!! Wu Tang! waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! :evil:
50% of gas cost goes to the gas supplier
23% of gas cost goes to state and local governments
_2% of gas cost goes to the gas station(hence the overpriced chips /cigs/..
25% of gas cost goes to THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT that is funding whatever they can line their pockets with and this effen middle east hoax :evil: :evil: :evil: Fuel costs are funding it! :shock:
AND!!!!!!!!!THATS where they are pulling this $500 \"refund\" or \"Economical stimulus\" bs refund check for each household in may :roll:
tooooooooo pissed to post more :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil:
I'm glad my vehicle gets 60mpg but takes $14 to fill it up...........its a harley :?
my 25 cars and trucks???..............just sit there collecting dust :x :evil: (i need a screeming emoticon )
I'm glad my vehicle gets 60mpg but takes $14 to fill it up...........its a harley :?
my 25 cars and trucks???..............just sit there collecting dust :x :evil: (i need a screeming emoticon )
If only I had a Harley equivalent of a 1/2 ton, extended cab pickup, that could carry a full load, I could justify my independent delivery job, and save the other $10,000/year I spent for gas last year!
As for a musclecar hobby, I'll stop putting gas in the lawnmower, and use the gas for the car, instead, no matter how much the neighbors or city complains about it.
Speaking of mowing the lawn, I even told the cop that, who was going to write me a ticket (for littering) for having a pile of leaves in my front yard, that I had just raked up. I told him \"If you're going to write a ticket, make it out to Mother Nature! SHE put the leaves on the trees, that FELL into my yard, so they're NOT MY LEAVES!\"
He saw my point, and left me only with a warning to \"remove the pile\", so as soon as he was out of sight, I pushed them into the street, and the wind blew them away! After they spread out in the neighbor's yards, they just blended in, but they weren't a PILE in MY front yard, anymore!
No ticket, No leaves, Problem solved!
Oppression causes Depression, and Rebellion. If you can't control something, then go on with life, and don't make it miserable for other people, as they have their own problems to deal with.
So, full circle brings us back to enjoying the hobbies that you can't really put a price on, such as the TIME that you have to pick up that guitar and PLAY, to forget about the World News and problems, and just relax and HAVE FUN (which sounds like what I'm going to do, right now, actually). 8)
So, full circle brings us back to enjoying the hobbies that you can't really put a price on, such as the TIME that you have to pick up that guitar and PLAY, to forget about the World News and problems, and just relax and HAVE FUN (which sounds like what I'm going to do, right now, actually). 8)
ENJOY every day, Guys, and Keep Jammin'!
Amen brutha. Look for the daylight and not the darkness. The darkness will find you anyway. :?
And remember, kids: Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to the Dark Side. :shock:
soooooo.......... i watch the 10pm news and THEN go lock myself in the studio,turn the lights off,turn the fan on,open a window(for the cig smoke)pull out my acrylic guitar that glows in the freakin dark and jam till i'm sleepy 8) 8)
Everyone seems to be blaming the consumption of \"gas\" aka \"petroleum\" on cars and trucks. In reality, cars and trucks do not consume very much on the whole. What is the problem is industry, particularly in countries such as China who seem to not really care about anything (particularly humans rights...Tibet) and are consuming resources like no tomorrow. What needs to be done in the interim is clean up their act. With existing technology as others have said.
Secondly, hydrogen cars make me laugh. The concept is incredibly stupid to me. Hydrogen is produced via electrolysis of water. That is, you pump electricity into water and it splits the water into oxygen and hydrogen. So... unless you have clean electricity, you are placing the problem in someone else's lap. IF and only IF each house or business has the capabilty to produce their own environmentally sustainable hydrogen will it be workable.
Thirdly, nuclear fusion power is a pipe dream. The physics of it make it that way. In order to trigger fusion, you need temperatures in excess of 1 million degrees celsius. What materials are there that you know that can contain this sort of energy? At the moment the energy that has been put into the heating and containment of the reaction far exceeds what has been produced from the reaction.
Nuclear power is better than fossil fuels, but when we have such a huge amount of energy that is free and everywhere (solar) why would you bother?
If we could catch just 1/10000 of the sunlight that falls on the earth, we would have enough power to do what we do at them moment. And then we can have electric cars for which the technology currently exists for them to perform on par with petrol cars.
I am all for green energy. Too bad in most cases around here (Northern Minnesota) it is just more expensive than fossile fuels. Our local Electric Co-op buys some of its power from wind turbines, which is a great idea. Unfortunately, the price is higher than the coal buring electricity plants. I don't know why. I suppose it has something to do with intitial costs of those wind turbines and years to break even. The hope is that by purchasing renewable energy now, we will develop better technology in those green areas and that at some point in the future our 'investment' in green technology will actually provide us with cheaper energy.
We don't see too much solar energy being used around here. My new house though has large windows facing south for passive solar heating (and light). The walls are 8 inches wide and insulated like crazy. My two car garage is attached and offers both a wind break for the house from the 20-30 below zero outside temperatures and keeps my cars above freezing in the winter. I also have electric floor heat in the garage if needed, but it is seldom used except for the very coldest days.
I have a dual furnace that runs primarily on off peak electricity (half the price of regular electricity) with a backup propane system for when they regulate (turn off) the off peak electricity. Most of the big appliances also run using the off peak electricity including the water heater, the clothes dryer, air condidtioner, floor heat for the house, and main furnace like I said. The walls are 8 inches thick and heavily insultaed and the glass is all insulated double glass. All that stuff cost me extra when I built the house, but I figured that the breakeven point for the costs would take me about 10 years. Point is, we all make choices everyday and sometimes thinking of energy savings needs to be thought of in terms of years for pay back rather than how much it costs us today.
The choices I made in building my house cost me $1000s more than if I would have gone with less energy efficient building standards. However, my heating costs for this 4000+ square foot house are about half of what my nephew pays for his small 14X70 mobile home. My electric bills for this 6 bedroom/4 bathroom house are about half of the cost of most average three bedroom houses in this area. So each year my initial expenditure for the higher efficent house options is paying off. As the price of fuel and electricity goes up, my payback time time goes down.
Also, since I have lived in Europe a number of times in my adult life, I have learned to keep the thermostat lower in the winter and just wear a sweater and slippers around the house. In the summer, the air conditioner is used only when I feel uncomfortable. Otherwise, I use fans and open windows at night to bring in the cold air. Curtains and blinds are used to block the sun (or let it in) for heating and cooling. It all makes a difference. Besides, it does give one a feeling of being more in touch with nature if you make adjustments of your lifestyle along with the seasons.
OK, I'm off my soapbox. Point I wanted to make is that is does cost extra money to go 'greener' at first but that it will save money over time. Also, that simple lifestyle changes relating to energy use can really add up in savings and enhance your life in so many other ways. Since I save about $500 per month on heating costs alone, I suppose I could buy a good Epi Les Paul Custom almost every month or maybe a Gibson once every winter! I wish. Take care.
I would argue that nuclear is better than fossil fuel. While it may burn cleaner, the waste and byproduct are certainly worse. Living down stream
of Hanford on the Columbia river certainly doesn't make me rest any easier knowing of all the storage and leakadge issues that have been going on there for years. Besides all the issues that have gone on at all the other reactor sites. I hope we didn't forget about Chernobyl. But I will agree that it can't be done overnight which is why we should have done alot more by now knowing what we knew clear back in the 60's and before. Hell we have Sea lions 90 miles inland looking for Salmon that aren't there, There will be no Salmon season this year or probably next year. It's a sign of the times that we have depleted yet another of natures great resources. Toxic levels taken from fish in the Columbia that are suposed to be 1 part per million are something like 30,000. The west coast is the end recipient of China's smog. And the lists go on and on. It really comes down to a global issue. Yes we need to do more in the US, but the entire globe needs to ante up.
\"It really comes down to a global issue. Yes we need to do more in the US, but the entire globe needs to ante up.\"
Absolutely! If pollution, labor standards ( and equal tarifs ) were just as stringent in China, Mexico and else where in the 'third' world would the incentive still be as attractive to move manufacturing there if they still had to adhere to the same laws as from where they are moving from?
And what about gas. Do other nations require all the bs additives and distilling <--- ya know where my mind is. refining proccesses that we do? Do their cars even have the all polution bs on them that ours do?
Manitou, for years desiel was cheaper than gas why is it more than gas this past decade. The short version- I always was under the assumption that in the refining proccess it went, oil-kerosene-desiel-gasoline-jet fuel. so if it takes less proccesses one would think it should cost less? Did the price go up when they started putting desiels in non-com vehicals? What do them tractors have, two 50-100 gal fuel tanks? How many miles does the average over the road hauler get with todays trucks from 200 gal?
We lost much of our Industry because we did not want the pollution.
I mean..that is one aspect...but in essence we didn't loose the pollution, we just moved it further away, and it is seeping now, back to us.
Comments
We The People of the Digitech forum do hereby declare we are fed up with high fuel cost and politics as usuall!....Oh and Walmart too! :twisted:
I would not have a problem using mass transit if we had efficient an well thought out service in place. But why should I take an hour or more one way on a bus, when I can get there in 15 min. in my car?
Did you knw that GM ( they make buses ), Goodyear (they make tires for the buses) and Standard oil ( fuel for the buses) collaborated and bought all the streetcar and trolly systems in every major us city and did away with them. Thus the Municipalities had to buy buses, tires and fuel from you know who. The feds took them to court and they were found guilty. The corp. were only fined $100,000 the ceos/owners were only fined $1 yep $1. Draw your own conclusion.
But I do know that there have been issues that people spoke up on and have had an impact on whether a bill was passed or not. There have been times when enough people have called the capital that it overloaded its phone circuts that it crashed. So never think that calling your rep. doesn't have them think twice!
This is jmo but not only is it your right, but your duty! ... You can do it while reading this thread, kill two birds with one stone.
OK Partchie...lets all jump on the Doomsday Wagon once again
Ya think she'd return my phone calls?!? :oops:
Yeah, they're much worse now than when Hitler killed millions while trying to conquer the world. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
During the depression (and both WWs), the country was on rations. So, I see your point on how we're worse now. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah....
I guess recess is over. :?
No matter what conditions are, we are to live each day the best we can.
That is harder to do, when things get crappy, but then ones true character
can be found, as well as ones ability to reason.
We should be able to judge the smaller things in life, and not be foolish, especially in repeating past mistakes, or worse...doing nothing.
After all, repeating mistakes does help create improvement.
Yeah, we have to put up with high prices, corrupt government, and rude waitresses.
BUT: we don't have to put up with \"leaders\" like Chavez and Hitler and Ahmenadijad, genital mutilation, starvation and disease, and forced resettlement. We can turn on a tap and drink clean(ish) water, we can vote, we can lust over hott women without being beaten in the street for our immorality, we can choose our religion without being killed in the night.
The high fuel prices that spawned this thread are an awful thing - especially when the resource situation is really no different than it was 10 years ago, yet prices have doubled - but it's apparent to anyone with a brain stem that it's politics and policy that're causing it, NOT resources. That's pitiful. But, at the end of it all, you still want to look back and remember how cute your kids were, not how angry your corrupt government made you...
_______________________________________________________________
Blame the USA..(cof-cofbullsheit)
I think Khelil and OPEC are showing us their political inyerendo…to Americans…and I’d be happy if we obliged them…completely. Pull our Troops out and let them deal with their own Dictators in the future. Which, by the way, not only would Kuwait be overrun right now, but also Saudi Arabia. This never was about Terrorism.
Our mistake is making it clear also, that we the consumer, will keep lining up at the pump, and buy oil at whatever the price. This emboldens these OPEC priques to cut production and inflate prices, as a political tool. Our task is to enact our own methods of moderating prices, by increasing domestic production, and weaning our Nation off oil in every way possible, short term and long term.
I’ll concede there is an element of truth in this article. Supply and demand alone does not account for $110/ barrel oil. Falling dollar value is a part of it, overseas demand is a part of it, and our own refusal to adjust our lifestyles is a part of it. All that being said, the biggest issue right now is speculation. This is not entirely caused by economic mismanagement, and the bidding is beyond reasonable right now, taking advantage of our decline. This is now an Economic War.
Non-stock money has to go somewhere, and as people start betting one way or another concerning a recession there tends to be more and more money leaving the stock market. The traditional avenues are not exactly attractive. Newly issued bonds? They don't pay crap as interest rates fall. Outstanding bonds? They have skyrocketed in price as interest rates have fallen, so their actual outlay isn't very attractive (even if we ignore any recent increases in default risk). So the money flows into gold and oil - two things that people are pretty certain we'll always buy. Other commodities have likewise had a good run recently. If the big banks manage to dig up enough cash to work their way out of the current liquidity crunch, I think you'll see the markets stabilize late in the summer. That should cut into the speculation, and moderate prices.
I agree. It is not in US interests to interfere in affairs of other sovereign nations.
But of course, U.S. has so many interests (see my previous post) in SA, that we could have never let that happen.
Let me know where this waitress is...and I will bring the devil upon her.
The devil who is a master of Wu Tang, and will screetch, puke, throw things,
squeal nee nee noo noo over and over, bend fingers back, poke eyes,
and THEN open the Gates of Hell!!!
Wu Tang! waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! :evil:
50% of gas cost goes to the gas supplier
23% of gas cost goes to state and local governments
_2% of gas cost goes to the gas station(hence the overpriced chips /cigs/..
25% of gas cost goes to THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT that is funding whatever they can line their pockets with and this effen middle east hoax :evil: :evil: :evil: Fuel costs are funding it! :shock:
AND!!!!!!!!!THATS where they are pulling this $500 \"refund\" or \"Economical stimulus\" bs refund check for each household in may :roll:
tooooooooo pissed to post more :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil:
I'm glad my vehicle gets 60mpg but takes $14 to fill it up...........its a harley :?
my 25 cars and trucks???..............just sit there collecting dust :x :evil: (i need a screeming emoticon
If only I had a Harley equivalent of a 1/2 ton, extended cab pickup, that could carry a full load, I could justify my independent delivery job, and save the other $10,000/year I spent for gas last year!
As for a musclecar hobby, I'll stop putting gas in the lawnmower, and use the gas for the car, instead, no matter how much the neighbors or city complains about it.
Speaking of mowing the lawn, I even told the cop that, who was going to write me a ticket (for littering) for having a pile of leaves in my front yard, that I had just raked up. I told him \"If you're going to write a ticket, make it out to Mother Nature! SHE put the leaves on the trees, that FELL into my yard, so they're NOT MY LEAVES!\"
He saw my point, and left me only with a warning to \"remove the pile\", so as soon as he was out of sight, I pushed them into the street, and the wind blew them away! After they spread out in the neighbor's yards, they just blended in, but they weren't a PILE in MY front yard, anymore!
No ticket, No leaves, Problem solved!
Oppression causes Depression, and Rebellion. If you can't control something, then go on with life, and don't make it miserable for other people, as they have their own problems to deal with.
So, full circle brings us back to enjoying the hobbies that you can't really put a price on, such as the TIME that you have to pick up that guitar and PLAY, to forget about the World News and problems, and just relax and HAVE FUN (which sounds like what I'm going to do, right now, actually). 8)
ENJOY every day, Guys, and Keep Jammin'!
And remember, kids: Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to the Dark Side. :shock:
okay :P
soooooo.......... i watch the 10pm news and THEN go lock myself in the studio,turn the lights off,turn the fan on,open a window(for the cig smoke)pull out my acrylic guitar that glows in the freakin dark and jam till i'm sleepy 8) 8)
Wisdom of purity young Shredd Skywalker has...
Unless you're talking to a cute girl. Then - smile, but cover your b@llz. :shock:
I have a few counter arguments here.
Everyone seems to be blaming the consumption of \"gas\" aka \"petroleum\" on cars and trucks. In reality, cars and trucks do not consume very much on the whole. What is the problem is industry, particularly in countries such as China who seem to not really care about anything (particularly humans rights...Tibet) and are consuming resources like no tomorrow. What needs to be done in the interim is clean up their act. With existing technology as others have said.
Secondly, hydrogen cars make me laugh. The concept is incredibly stupid to me. Hydrogen is produced via electrolysis of water. That is, you pump electricity into water and it splits the water into oxygen and hydrogen. So... unless you have clean electricity, you are placing the problem in someone else's lap. IF and only IF each house or business has the capabilty to produce their own environmentally sustainable hydrogen will it be workable.
Thirdly, nuclear fusion power is a pipe dream. The physics of it make it that way. In order to trigger fusion, you need temperatures in excess of 1 million degrees celsius. What materials are there that you know that can contain this sort of energy? At the moment the energy that has been put into the heating and containment of the reaction far exceeds what has been produced from the reaction.
Nuclear power is better than fossil fuels, but when we have such a huge amount of energy that is free and everywhere (solar) why would you bother?
If we could catch just 1/10000 of the sunlight that falls on the earth, we would have enough power to do what we do at them moment. And then we can have electric cars for which the technology currently exists for them to perform on par with petrol cars.
We don't see too much solar energy being used around here. My new house though has large windows facing south for passive solar heating (and light). The walls are 8 inches wide and insulated like crazy. My two car garage is attached and offers both a wind break for the house from the 20-30 below zero outside temperatures and keeps my cars above freezing in the winter. I also have electric floor heat in the garage if needed, but it is seldom used except for the very coldest days.
I have a dual furnace that runs primarily on off peak electricity (half the price of regular electricity) with a backup propane system for when they regulate (turn off) the off peak electricity. Most of the big appliances also run using the off peak electricity including the water heater, the clothes dryer, air condidtioner, floor heat for the house, and main furnace like I said. The walls are 8 inches thick and heavily insultaed and the glass is all insulated double glass. All that stuff cost me extra when I built the house, but I figured that the breakeven point for the costs would take me about 10 years. Point is, we all make choices everyday and sometimes thinking of energy savings needs to be thought of in terms of years for pay back rather than how much it costs us today.
The choices I made in building my house cost me $1000s more than if I would have gone with less energy efficient building standards. However, my heating costs for this 4000+ square foot house are about half of what my nephew pays for his small 14X70 mobile home. My electric bills for this 6 bedroom/4 bathroom house are about half of the cost of most average three bedroom houses in this area. So each year my initial expenditure for the higher efficent house options is paying off. As the price of fuel and electricity goes up, my payback time time goes down.
Also, since I have lived in Europe a number of times in my adult life, I have learned to keep the thermostat lower in the winter and just wear a sweater and slippers around the house. In the summer, the air conditioner is used only when I feel uncomfortable. Otherwise, I use fans and open windows at night to bring in the cold air. Curtains and blinds are used to block the sun (or let it in) for heating and cooling. It all makes a difference. Besides, it does give one a feeling of being more in touch with nature if you make adjustments of your lifestyle along with the seasons.
OK, I'm off my soapbox. Point I wanted to make is that is does cost extra money to go 'greener' at first but that it will save money over time. Also, that simple lifestyle changes relating to energy use can really add up in savings and enhance your life in so many other ways. Since I save about $500 per month on heating costs alone, I suppose I could buy a good Epi Les Paul Custom almost every month or maybe a Gibson once every winter! I wish. Take care.
MB
MB
of Hanford on the Columbia river certainly doesn't make me rest any easier knowing of all the storage and leakadge issues that have been going on there for years. Besides all the issues that have gone on at all the other reactor sites. I hope we didn't forget about Chernobyl. But I will agree that it can't be done overnight which is why we should have done alot more by now knowing what we knew clear back in the 60's and before. Hell we have Sea lions 90 miles inland looking for Salmon that aren't there, There will be no Salmon season this year or probably next year. It's a sign of the times that we have depleted yet another of natures great resources. Toxic levels taken from fish in the Columbia that are suposed to be 1 part per million are something like 30,000. The west coast is the end recipient of China's smog. And the lists go on and on. It really comes down to a global issue. Yes we need to do more in the US, but the entire globe needs to ante up.
Absolutely! If pollution, labor standards ( and equal tarifs ) were just as stringent in China, Mexico and else where in the 'third' world would the incentive still be as attractive to move manufacturing there if they still had to adhere to the same laws as from where they are moving from?
And what about gas. Do other nations require all the bs additives and distilling <--- ya know where my mind is. refining proccesses that we do? Do their cars even have the all polution bs on them that ours do?
Manitou, for years desiel was cheaper than gas why is it more than gas this past decade. The short version- I always was under the assumption that in the refining proccess it went, oil-kerosene-desiel-gasoline-jet fuel. so if it takes less proccesses one would think it should cost less? Did the price go up when they started putting desiels in non-com vehicals? What do them tractors have, two 50-100 gal fuel tanks? How many miles does the average over the road hauler get with todays trucks from 200 gal?
We lost much of our Industry because we did not want the pollution.
I mean..that is one aspect...but in essence we didn't loose the pollution, we just moved it further away, and it is seeping now, back to us.