Is James Inhofe a Crazy Person? (gas, pollution, natural, oil)

[kinkytoes]

I am listening to JI (senator from Oklahoma) on C-SPAN now trying to convince the senate that it is bad that over 80% of public lands are protected from drilling for oil and other fuels.

YES we could apparently be energy independent if we dug up the entire country, poisoned all the remaining clean water and cut down all the trees. Gas would be so cheap, but I have to think he is a complete idiot. There are reasons we don't dig up the entire country to get gas for our cars, or fuel to heat our homes.

He has shown himself to be extremely ignorant and short-sighted and I feel sorry for Oklahoma if that's his view on our country's natural resources.

Oh wait, I forgot to add the costs: more water treatment needed to clean the water, higher medical costs as a result of asthma etc because of reduced air quality and pollution of occupied areas/food sources because of the inevitable accidents...But oh...let's dig up our entire country. At least if only for Karma, I think we owe the Native Americans to take care of the few natural areas we have left.

I enjoy breathing somewhat clean air and being relatively cancer-free and being able to eat the somewhat unpolluted seafood left in our oceans and waterways...But no...let's turn the ENTIRE country into an arid desert full of sinkholes and then Water and Air will be the costly resources..but I guess the senator is OK with having to pay $50 a gallon for water, since he can probably afford it.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by kinkytoes

......higher medical costs as a result of asthma etc because of reduced air quality......

I know environmentalist love to wave the asthma flag because of the large increase in cases but consider this for a moment:

Air Quality Trends | AirTrends | Air & Radiation | EPA




I'm sure this is shocker to a lot of people that have the perception of an ever increasing amount of pollution. Having said that if asthma cases are on the increase and air pollution is on the decrease then certainly we need more air pollution to prevent this.

My opinion is the cause is quite simple, homes have become much more efficient within this same time frame. Triple pane windows, insulation, Tyvek house wrap. etc. They are much more efficient than they were years ago and trap a lot more heat/AC inside the home. This also traps a lot of indoor air pollution in homes.

We also have many more homes using ductwork to distribute heat/AC as opposed to the traditional hydronic systems. This can be a source of indoor air pollutants and easily distribute them around the home.

Combine that with kids spending much more time indoors than they did years ago... I'd also add that it is more likely you will have kids diagnosed with asthma that might not have been diagnosed with it years ago.

[_redbird_]

Originally Posted by kinkytoes

I am listening to JI (senator from Oklahoma) on C-SPAN now trying to convince the senate that it is bad that over 80% of public lands are protected from drilling for oil and other fuels.

First, I think all of Oklahoma's politician's are crazy. What's ironic is the sheer number of wells in the State of Oklahoma. There are at least 5 wells within a mile from our place. Our state is covered with wells, both oil and natural gas.

I think there is an angle in there, meaning someone is pulling his strings, the question is, who stands to benefit from opening up public lands to drilling?

[601halfdozen0theother]

I used to live in Inhofe's district, and was so depressed by him.

He votes on the most extreme right of the extreme right on every possible issue. He does not believe in evolution. He believes that those of us who do not share his religious beliefs are going to hell.

Why would he bother to do anything positive for people who he thinks are going to hell?

All he ever had to do to get re-elected was to say the word "abortion". People whose political buttons can be pushed by that word will continue to vote for him no matter what his votes are on any other issue and no matter what his real actions are in Congress.