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Originally Posted by gracielove  I have no desire to continue this discussion except to say the deep water drilling is a very dangerous adventure. There is far less chance of such accidents happening in wells that are not drilled at such extreme depths. The idea of near shore drilling has been looked at. There are obvious risks to that, though different than deep well drilling. Here's something from when it was being considered for the Florida Gulf Coast. http://www.lwvfla.org/pdf_files/dril...um%20final.pdf
I never condemned a whole religion or country. I said that those who do not agree with such beliefs are not the ones in charge in Iran. There are moderates in every culture, unfortunately, it is those who go to the extreme who have the control of the country at the moment. I'm not gonna touch that one.
I don't believe that you seriously think that an nuclear bomb is less harmful to the environment than an oil well accident. Yes, we have done nuclear testing miles underground but that is not what would be done in a war in the middle east. Millions will die and all oil supply will be cut off. Now that is quite a bit of doom in my mind. There have been over 300 ABOVE ground nuclear tests. I didn't say a nuclear bomb's damage was less than 1 oil well accident. It could or could not be, depending on specifics. You said earlier that 1 nuclear bomb would create more damage than all oil wells ever could. That is what I responded to.
Business and industry as well as the millions of people who live in this country cannot exist on electricity that is generated only by wind mills and solar power. At this point in history we are dependent on fossil fuels.People need jobs and jobs are produced by business and industry. We need paychecks to buy our food, clothing and shelter. We need technology that goes far beyond wind mills and solar power to move this country into a productive stature that does not depend on fossil fuels. Actually, solar power could go a long way, but no one technology is going to be the magic bullet. I've seen where some plants are actually running off incinerated garbage. The technologies are here...the political will isn't. Given the right incentives (not subsidies), these technologies could compete in the marketplace.
Maybe the minds that once sent people into space can now find methods that will produce the kind of power fossil fuels do. I hope so because our lives depend on it. I live in the north and millions would die here and in other countries without electricity. It's sad but I think that is exactly what some environmentalists would like since they feel that the existence of too many humans is hurting the planet. Human beings will always be more important than the ground they walk on.
I'm sorry you feel we should stop reproducing. I am expecting a new grand child soon and I believe you said you have some grandchildren as well. How you expect to attain 0 population growth with our loved ones giving birth is beyond me. Are we supposed to just decide to eliminate certain populations? It seems you have decided we are killing our planet and yet we have this problem in that people are still reproducing and thriving on this dying planet. Very thoughtless of us. Living and reproducing on a dying planet. Inconsiderate of us indeed. What zero population growth means, simply put, is that 2 people produce 2 people. My wife and I had 2 children. My oldest has had 2 and then a vasectomy. My youngest hasn't had any and his wife is having trouble conceiving. So my family is lagging a bit but we won't be ADDING to the population. And yes, people are reproducing, the population is growing, but many are far from thriving. The latest data shows 1 in 7 people goes hungry. 2011 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics by World Hunger Education Service |
This subject really goes much further than our energy supply. It's about an increasing population, the choices they make and the impact it has on the planet. When you're talking about a population of 7 billion, little choices can make a huge impact. Shoot, just going by the U.S. population, you're talking about 300 million, so we can't just la-ti-da through life anymore, thinking that it doesn't matter.