yelling at the radio
sometimes, while driving to work, i find myself yelling at my radio. not at the contraption itself, but what is coming through the speakers. listening to NPR, it's not an unusual thing, really. one topic that usually results in my string of expletives is anything involving our dear retards of a president. this morning it was a discussion of the high gas prices. yes, it hurts everyone. i know that first-hand, having a long commute (i know there are people with longer). HOWEVER, the president seems to think that the high gas prices are due to there not being enough gas. umm...wrong! the gas prices are not necessarily linked to the amount of gasoline available. in fact, we do have plenty in reserves and there's still plenty available in the mid-east. however, there are people who control the amount of fuel being sent out from the originating country. of course, there are other factors that contribute the the price of gas, other than the availability. there are gas taxes, there are fees to pay, there are costs on both ends: selling the gas (stations need to make money, too) and transporting the gas (funny that in order to get gas, one must use gas to get it to places to sell it). plus, there's speculations on the commodities market, which can drive up the suspected worth of fuel. all of these contribute to gas prices. like it's been said a number of times before, europe has been paying high gas prices for AGES. while we were paying $1.50/gallon, people in, say, london were paying about $8.00/gallon. so, we [rightly] complain of gas prices at $4.50/gallon, londoners are lucky to get a gallon of gas LESS THAN $10.00/gallon.
our retard of a president seems to think that lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling would bring RELIEF to gas prices. one of the shores which would have increased drilling IF this moratorium is lifted is california. the california government has jurisdiction over those shores. our governator is opposed to any further off-shore drilling, so that would mean there'd be no further drilling here. PLUS, you have to take into account how long it'll take to actually START drilling. first you need to find out where there's oil. then you gotta build the rigs. next you have to man the rigs. finally, you wait. oil doesn't come automatically once you start drilling. so, while we're prospecting for more oil, we're still going to be relying on fuel coming from overseas AND dealing with high (and higher still) gas prices. not to mention, adding to the already polluted waters in our oceans and pollution in the air. off-shore drilling is NOT an immediate answer. i don't even think it's a viable LONG-TERM answer. the story i heard today, gave an estimate of about 10 years, before we actually SEE any of that oil that MAYBE is underground off our shores. there are also too many people in our current government and in our country who are ADAMANTLY opposed to drilling and EVEN speculation of drilling in the arctic reserve. why not, instead, use that money we set aside to drill and use it for R&D for other fuel resources. you know, those people in white coats with microscopes and pipettes? what are they called...scientists?! in the 10 years it would take to SEE if we've got any oil out there, we could possibly find a viable alternative for the fuel we use. i'm not talking about a 1-to-1 substitution (let's face it, we won't find one), but a supplement an alternative, a choice to have OTHER THAN oil. possibly something that's SUSTAINABLE. something that does NOT take more energy to create than to use (like corn ethanol), but something that we can use that is sustainable that would help with lower emissions. it's not a pie-in-the-sky fantasy, it is a possibility. what we lack is the money and the research methods. if we had the money, we could start the research. those men and women in white coats have brought us answers to a lot of our problems in the past, why not let them figure out this one?
personally, even though i mind having to pay the high prices, i think it might be a GOOD thing that gas prices are this high. i've already seen more people riding their bikes around town. i'm even geared to ride my bike. why do i need to drive the 2 miles to get coffee, when i can easily bike, or walk, even? i think higher gas prices will help people drive less, which helps our environment and will eventually make us healthier people. we need both of those. yeah, and don't even get me STARTED on that "lifting of the $0.18 fed gas tax holiday". crock of shit that is...
+_+_+
on to a happier subject, at least for me, anyway... with only 7 weeks away, the summer olympics are looming. sure there's been TONs of controversy surrounding the olympics in beijing. i personally LOVE the olympics, no matter where it's being held. i love watching gymnastics, swimming, diving, track and field events, everything! let's put aside the squabbling and enjoy friendly competition. the olympics have always been about the athlete and the marvels of human accomplishment. so yeah, i'm really looking forward to the olympics this year. :)
our retard of a president seems to think that lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling would bring RELIEF to gas prices. one of the shores which would have increased drilling IF this moratorium is lifted is california. the california government has jurisdiction over those shores. our governator is opposed to any further off-shore drilling, so that would mean there'd be no further drilling here. PLUS, you have to take into account how long it'll take to actually START drilling. first you need to find out where there's oil. then you gotta build the rigs. next you have to man the rigs. finally, you wait. oil doesn't come automatically once you start drilling. so, while we're prospecting for more oil, we're still going to be relying on fuel coming from overseas AND dealing with high (and higher still) gas prices. not to mention, adding to the already polluted waters in our oceans and pollution in the air. off-shore drilling is NOT an immediate answer. i don't even think it's a viable LONG-TERM answer. the story i heard today, gave an estimate of about 10 years, before we actually SEE any of that oil that MAYBE is underground off our shores. there are also too many people in our current government and in our country who are ADAMANTLY opposed to drilling and EVEN speculation of drilling in the arctic reserve. why not, instead, use that money we set aside to drill and use it for R&D for other fuel resources. you know, those people in white coats with microscopes and pipettes? what are they called...scientists?! in the 10 years it would take to SEE if we've got any oil out there, we could possibly find a viable alternative for the fuel we use. i'm not talking about a 1-to-1 substitution (let's face it, we won't find one), but a supplement an alternative, a choice to have OTHER THAN oil. possibly something that's SUSTAINABLE. something that does NOT take more energy to create than to use (like corn ethanol), but something that we can use that is sustainable that would help with lower emissions. it's not a pie-in-the-sky fantasy, it is a possibility. what we lack is the money and the research methods. if we had the money, we could start the research. those men and women in white coats have brought us answers to a lot of our problems in the past, why not let them figure out this one?
personally, even though i mind having to pay the high prices, i think it might be a GOOD thing that gas prices are this high. i've already seen more people riding their bikes around town. i'm even geared to ride my bike. why do i need to drive the 2 miles to get coffee, when i can easily bike, or walk, even? i think higher gas prices will help people drive less, which helps our environment and will eventually make us healthier people. we need both of those. yeah, and don't even get me STARTED on that "lifting of the $0.18 fed gas tax holiday". crock of shit that is...
+_+_+
on to a happier subject, at least for me, anyway... with only 7 weeks away, the summer olympics are looming. sure there's been TONs of controversy surrounding the olympics in beijing. i personally LOVE the olympics, no matter where it's being held. i love watching gymnastics, swimming, diving, track and field events, everything! let's put aside the squabbling and enjoy friendly competition. the olympics have always been about the athlete and the marvels of human accomplishment. so yeah, i'm really looking forward to the olympics this year. :)