Why is it there is no outcry from the masses for this country to be energy independent?
We can go to the moon...send cameras to mars and beyond....read your licence plate from space, etc......why isn't there a priority to make something happen?

Is it going to take a catastrophic event that reduces or eliminates this countries foreign oil supply? At any given moment from the time a decision is made we are years away from any new technology to replace oil dependence.....BUT.....the oil can be cut off today/tomorrow.

The priorities as portrayed by the media....the economy.....the war.....terrorism....are politically motivated and maneuvered. The real.....REAL....problem will be revealed when you find you can't run your car....heat or cool your home.....

I could never understand how we as a nation can REMAIN so naive about the down side potential staring us in the face every day.

What is it going to take to wake every body up?

Oooops I just figured it out. There is never any discussion about this horrible potential in the new daily bread.....the 24/7 media......so it must not be a problem.

$4 a gallon gasoline won't even scratch the surface of getting folks riled. They pay over $7 a gallon in Germany.....and so will we.....so the price of gas won't startle us to reality....only the interruption of supply and the subsequent screwing up of our life styles....then it will be too late.

Disgusted on this scary subject :edit:

BTK

In my opinion, had Gore or Kerry been elected rather than Bush, there would be more focus on energy related issues. Bush family ties to mid-east oil interests and big business are well known. As a president, Bush has not lead the country in the right direction. Looking ahead, Senator Obama believes that America must commit to a new national energy policy focused on improvements in technology, investments in renewable fuels such as wind and solar power, and greater efforts in conservation, efficiency, and waste reduction. The rest of his proposals are located here: http://obama.senate.gov/issues/energy/index.html

The Washington lawmakers and the President respond to the heat and clamor closest to their door. On the subject of energy Independence, there is no heat or clamor coming from registered voters....the SILENT majority.
Doesn't matter who is President.....this problem didn't start under the current regime....it has been there since the crisis of the 70's.....the will of the people is all but silent, so why should ANYBODY in Washington worry about it?

Let's assume only a small interuption of imported oil like 50% reduction....I choose that because it could happen...TOMORROW. Now let's assume you can only get one tank of gasoline per month per family....and so on....is a picture forming in your mind yet...

IT AIN'T A PRIORITY FOR THE EVERY DAY AMERICAN......YET!!!!!!!!!!!

BTK

BTK- Here's a subject we agree on. We should be plowing money into energy independence.

You'll get no argument from me on this one. I'm not a treehugger but dang close. I do believe saving our resources is important. Not just oil but ALL of our natural resources.

I loathe palm trees because they'll dig their roots down as deep as necessary to draw the water they need -- a 10-foot palm can have roots as long as 100 feet. While Southern Californians don't want to admit it, their stupid palms have gotten deep enough to get into the aquifers and have helped with the water shortage plaguing California today. Mind you, "helped" -- palm trees aren't the only problem but at least they are one problem that could be resolved by getting rid of the dang things. If Florida ever gets into a serious, long-term drought, I'm sure the palms will do the same thing here.

We've finally gotten smart about replenishing our trees as we chop them down. Let's hope it is not too late.

We have cut down on pollution. Not enough but at least it's better. Bad air days used to be common in Northern California -- at least 30 out of the year in the Bay Area. Now, we're down to about 10-15. Hopefully, as time goes on it will get even better.

Oil consumption has to be cut down a lot more than it is. Alternative methods have to be found and used. The hybrid cars are, today, nice but not really practical -- it takes too many resources to make them thus defeating their basic purpose. Ethanol is not a viable option. Solar and wind energy can and do help but not enough.

This is a problem that should cross all party lines. Our "leaders" should put the environment and our dwindling natural resources above their and their friends' needs. Unfortunately, that's not happening. It didn't happen under Bush. It didn't happen under Clinton. It certainly didn't occur under Reagan. The silent majority chooses to be silent, although they do say it is an important issue. I honestly can't imagine the environment truly being an issue until the deep pockets of this country are affected or there are protests across the nation.

this is the singular most important issue for the US's economic and political influence in the years ahead. If we don't solve it ASAP, we'll be a second rate country within a couple of decades

Maybe we should educate the public on the use of nuclear power and reduce our consumption of burning fossil fuels to generate the power required to satisfy our "needs". The fuel consumption used to generate electricity is mind boggling. The US burns 400 million tons of coal each year to generate electricity, not counting oil and gas. There is actually more natural occurring radiation being emitted from coal burning power plants than what is released from nuclear plants. According to Harvard School of Public Health, approximately 15,000 premature deaths occur annually in the US from heavy metals and other noxious pollutants in our atmoshpere that are a result of burning fossil fuels. Deaths? No body even considers the amount of miners that are lost in mining accidents each year. How about 5,200 miner deaths in China last year. But, we write it off as an occupational hazard. Yes, nuclear has its downfalls, but we can't continue to burn fossil fuels and not suffer the consequences, which by the way are a lot more than the allmighty dollar.

I agree with most here. Engery Independence is a very big key to turn. BTK brought up some very good points. I'm going to create a post that is a spin off of his comments and I'll say it here and I'll say it there. It is strickly meant to be non-partisan.

read an interesting article about how energy independence is not "very sexy"

there's no big money in it (as in ~oil~), once established (wind , solar, etc) it's there and no major effort (ie: big money) required, and there are no special interest groups clamoring for it (other than us), so the politicos don't respond well