Money before nature ? (Barrow, Point Hope, Kaktovik: buy, public schools, income tax)
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I STILL put human life before that of the Almighty whale, caribou, salmon or any other animal on earth!
I won't get into other political ramifications here, but when we have more suicides, deaths from poor health care and so on, due to the economic struggles folks are having than deaths in war, I say open off shore drilling, open ANWAR, and don't let the gas and oil be syphoned off by China and Russia. It will be drilled for, there are already reports of Russia making moves to drill in the seas north of Alaska, at least with the US in charge, WE WILL keep the oil companies in line!
Maybe we should just ban having children. Less people means less demand for oil? Then the Caribou might be free to over populate the entire northslope and starve themselves into extinction. Just a thought.
So Floyd, you are one of those that don't mind seeing how many folks here in AK are committing Suicide every year? Just wondering, that sure seems strange and a bit heartless since the highest incidence in the nation is right out in the villages......and is epidemic all across Alaska!
What get's me is...how many Native Alaskans are working here in Kuparuk (and Prudhoe and Alpine and the other fields)...and none of them complain about the fact we are drilling here. Or about Caribou populations. Who'd a thunk it?
You have to laugh at the antics of the anti-development leaf-lickers. If you disagree with them, well then your analysis is flawed, your sources are not credible, you are greedy, selfish, and a flat out liar. They manufacture fantastic scenarios how the world will abruptly come to an end if we even attempt to lower the gasoline prices at the pump by $0.01.
But Glitch, that's exactly what the non-leaf lickers do when they refute the leaf-lickers. And instead of manufacturing fantastic scenarios about the world ending, they manufacture delusional scenarios where we can keep doing what we're doing and everything will be fine. The "truth" is somewhere in the middle... instead of one side fighting the other, someone needs to step up and work together to find some workable solutions.
In this fake "oil crisis" we all know it is just all about making more profit and exploiting the taxpayer to the bone.
Some time ago, some strict measures were taken to protect Alaska's unique nature, flora and fauna. That was good.
Now, that the oil fascists have created another fake "crisis", they are trying to use this as a pretext to attack Alaska's unique nature.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) published this in a news column:
" Mr Bush, who has repeatedly pushed for an end to the (oil drilling) ban, has accused Democrats of using their control of Congress to undermine attempts to boost domestic oil production. The president also renewed his call on Wednesday for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to be opened up to oil drilling."
I am no-one, but I think this is totally unacceptable. It only shows the contempt that Bush and the other oil criminals have for Alaska and the Alaskans.
Was it Cheney or Rumsfeld who once said: "Who cares about those pathetic Eskimos ? They can always eat snow."
Any other opinions ?
Kthxbai.
Takeo.
Well, the US buys quite a lot of oil products from Canada. Oil production in Canada is quite large. In fact We also buy electricity from Canada. The bottom line is that you have been mislead, and your post seems quite childish.
I'm not a tree hugger and do not believe that opening ANWR would be a disaster for Alaska's environment. However, I recognize that big oil does not want this run to end anytime soon, but the fact is, it needs to end and end yesterday. They control and influence many aspects of our government and by keeping America so dependant on oil, they are jeopardizing our long term safety, future, and stability.
We need huge energy infrastructure reform in this country and we need it now! Things like solar, nuclear, wind, liquid coal, hybrid technology, the list goes on and on, but oil needs to go take a back seat. We need to end our dependence on the black gold from the middle east.
I, personally am in AWE, of what is taking place right before our eyes in this country and very little if anything is being done. Sure we hear a random story here or there, but our worthless government should be banning together with large corporations, the American people, scientist, research companies and so on to develop new energies that everyday people can use in a pratical and real environment. It should be a national priority at the highest level. Perhaps even higher then the war on terror. It would create millions of jobs and in 10-15 years we would wave the flying bird to the middle east once and for all and watch all those terrorists funding nations that want us gone, wither away and die in the desert sand without firing a single bullet. What do we do instead? We sit here and gripe and vote for clowns like Obama, who could not run a 3rd grade classroom, much less the greatest country on earth. I fear we are about to get what we deserve, for being so damn stupid and naive!
If it makes anyone feel any better...it looks like Shell has decided not to persue drilling off the northern coast this year.
We should raise gasoline prices to about 8 bucks a gallon...and then put in electric rail systems across the nation. Get people out of their gas guzzling SUV's and into money saving rail cars for traveling town to town or crossing the US.
There are tons of things that our governments could do with the money they take from us in taxes rather than using it to fight wars to protect our oil supply, or subsidizing businesses that are wasteful and gas guzzling. Here's just a few:
1. Increase, an actually beneficial amount, the tax deductions and rebate incentives for individuals and businesses who install valid alternate energy systems and water conservation measures.
2. Offer zero interest, government subsidized, loans for communities, businesses and individuals who want to install valid alternate energy systems and water conservation measures.
3. Subsidize the alternate energy businesses and scientists, if necessary, so that the cost of equipment is lowered and more efficient technologies continue to be developed.
4. Switch the subsidization of farmers from a system of forcing them to grow low-value monoculture crops (that the gov't uses as a hard commodity in the global market) in an industrial farm situation, to a system the returns them to a more sustainable polycultural farm that requires less fuel and petrochemical fertilizers to manage.
5. Decentralize the food industry by offering incentives and subsidization for smaller, local farmers so we can afford to return to a more localized eating culture. 1/5 of the oil our country consumes is for the transportation and processing of our food from all over the country and world. (but we, the people, have to adopt a local and seasonal diet offered in farmers markets in order to make this really work).
6. Change the regulations and legislation that makes it nearly impossible for a small, polycultural farmer to stay in business and make his goods available for public consumption at reasonable costs. Most of the current laws and regulations are designed to ensure public health because of the unnatural and unsanitary conditions of the huge commercial farms and processing plants... those health concerns rarely apply to the small farmers.
7. Offer useful amounts of tax relief and rebate incentives for people who trade in their gas & diesel vehicles for zero-fossil-fuel alternatives, or who retrofit their vehicles to electric or bio-diesel, etc.
8. Subsidize the automobile industry only to produce more non-fossil vehicles faster... not to keep them afloat now that people aren't buying the gas-guzzlers anymore. Perhaps even temporarily penalize the production of non-efficient vehicles?
9. Increase funding for alternate energy research projects. Particularly: the projects to replace airplane fuel with a more efficient, sustainable source; the projects to replace/create efficient mass public transportation systems all over the country (not just in some cities).
10. Pass legislation, or maybe just offer incentives, that actively promotes decentralization of businesses, telecommuting and cottage industry piece work for businesses that do not need to have people working and commuting to a formal office which are expensive to maintain because said central location is not physically required to continue to do business. (Factories requiring heavy or specialized equipment, etc would continue to be exempt).
I'm sure we could all think of more ways the government could spend our money that actually helps us now *and* in the long term instead of digging us deeper into trouble and refusing to help us get to the other side of our dependence on an archaic and dwindling fuel source.
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