Energy solution for the U.S.?

[tarheel91]

luinil said:

tarheel91 said:

Energy from nuclear power plants is much more expensive than other forms of energy despite decades of intensive research. Also, we still don't have a practical way to safely store or dispose of the waste created from nuclear power plants. There's a reason the great majority of countries are scaling down their nuclear power plant programs.

While we do have a few decades of oil left, pursuing new drilling places isn't very wise. Prices are going to keep rising regardless of a few more million barrels of oil. I believe it's speculated that if we extracted ALL the oil left in our planet, it'd still only last us 60-80 years at current rates. Essentially, drilling for new oil spots is a waste of time because it diverts our attention away from new energy sources and doesn't do anything to help prices. We can't just magically find new drilling spots; there are a limited number, and they're running out.

Note: The only problem with natural gas is it's stored and transported in a liquid form that is highly combustible. It's much more dangerous than oil to transport. We do have over two centures worth of it, though, at current consumption rates.

Edit: The ignorance part, in case it wasn't clear, was in reference to the mistaken idea that many people have that we can magically find new drilling spots and there's this unlimited supply of oil. Also, people think nuclear power is some magical solution when it has just as many pros and cons as other energy sources in reality.

 So... we are not to drill to ease the strain on current market supply... We are only to look forward. Gotcha.

So we are supposed to move on to new technologies that are not yet ready for mass market use... they are far too expensive and unreliable at this time.

So because the oil is starting to run out, or so you think, we should not drill for more... Also the number of available drilling spots are running low so no more exploring for oil... Ok, so what about Oil under the Gulf of Mexico, or off of Florida and California. What about ANWR, or the Bakken Formation? There is plenty of oil for us to use for no, while we develop new technologies for future use. Government should get out of the way and allow exploration and drilling while other companies look into developing better alternative fuels. 

 I think we're arguing about two different things.  I'm not talking about known sources of oil in terms of exploration.  I'm talking about scouring our country for other ones that have yet to be discovered.  That is a waste of time.  There's not enough oil in these spots to be worth the time.  As for known ones that are controversial for drilling, they really won't make too much of a difference in terms of easing market strain.  If we got all the oil out of all the availaible reserves in the US, it'd last us a few years at best, and the whole world 6 months (I'm not pulling these numbers out of thin air; using figures from an AP enviro science textbook).  Plus, with all the controversey involved in getting permission to drill them, it seems like more hastle than its worth.  We've still got a few decades before things get bad even leaving things the way they are.  I, personally, think time would be better spent developing systems that make natural gas more efficient and practical for nationwide use.  That's just me, though.