State of the Union address

[furrycute]

Just saw this on Yahoo news.

Bush: U.S. Must Get Free Mideast Oil?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060201/ap_on_go_pr_wh/state_of_union;_ylt=AhXPNygHTXpp5mBvrqIUL2us0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

 

[racquetman]

Did anyone see the record profit margins of some of the oil companies announced recently? I heard a commentary about it on the radio this morning.
Here's a paragraph from a Chicago Tribune article:

" . . . . Exxon Mobil’s announcement that its 2005 fourth-quarter profits gushed to more than $10 billion. For the year, the company reported profits of $36 billion, thought to be the largest yearly profit for an American company in history."

Tough times nowadays for Exxon.

 

[furrycute]

I mean, we are paying ungodly prices at the gas pump, and the oil companies are making record profits? Something doesn't make sense here?

I smell another Enron in the works.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

WASHINGTON - A politically weakened President Bush declared Tuesday night that America must break its long dependence on Mideast oil and rebuked critics of his stay-the-course strategy for the unpopular war in Iraq.

Lets start by loosening the minimum standards on CAFE. Then we'll decrease our funding of research into alternative-fuel vehicles (Hybrid gas-electric engines still run on gas). Then we'll complain that people use too much gas.

This is the same government that paid farmers to not grow food during a famine. I'm not singling Bush out for this either, the government as a whole has been making very bad choices (concerning national fuel usage) for decades.

 

[gmoneyreece]

what a freakin joke!

when i get elected president, free home theater equipment (no limits) to all who are members of Audioholics! you got to take care of your buddies that put you there right?

 

[sts9fan]

I smell another Enron in the works

No they are just making money like the repblican government has set them up to do. Whats the beef?

My favorite part of the SOTU was when the Democrats clapped when Bush talked about not being able to pass the SS reform.

 

[gene]

Bush: U.S. Must Get Free Mideast Oil?

Sure so we can do more drilling here

Did anyone see the record profit margins of some of the oil companies announced recently?

Yes yet we are expected to pay the expense of adding more refineries.

 

[MDS]

Every President or Presidential Candidate for the last two decades has voiced the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and yet nothing has been done about it. It's a convenient political platform. It won't happen until it becomes a crisis. Same deal with health care, social security, the trade gap, the national debt, etc. When it does become a crisis, we'll all suffer...

The US went from the largest creditor nation on earth to the largest debtor nation on earth in less than 20 years. If you and I ran our personal finances the way the government does, we'd be bankrupt in no time. Oh wait, most americans ARE bankrupt!

 

[furrycute]

The Medicare plan D prescription drug plan so far is a disaster. The seniors end up paying much more than what they used to pay for the sam drugs.

So this is the comparison shopping the Republicans had in mind when they drew up the plan.

The drug plan is peanuts compared to social security. I wonder what kind of ungodly calamities would have befallen us if the Republicans were able to privatize social security. Comparison shopping my behind. It's all about fattening the already unholy largess of those Wall street tycoons.

 

[furrycute]

Oh wait, most americans ARE bankrupt!

And the Republicans just passed bills this past year that made it ridiculously difficult for an individual to declare bankruptsy. So technically, less and less Americans are becoming legally bankrupt. As to their ability to pay off their debts, that's an entirely different story the lawmakers have conveniently overlooked.

 

[Audioholics]

Every President or Presidential Candidate for the last two decades has voiced the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and yet nothing has been done about it. It's a convenient political platform. It won't happen until it becomes a crisis. Same deal with health care, social security, the trade gap, the national debt, etc. When it does become a crisis, we'll all suffer...

Agreed. Most of this is politics. I have seen no solutions from either side. When one side does present solutions it is either a) unrealistic, or b) politicized until it can't be acted upon.

The record profits were predictable. If you tracked, even loosely, the price of oil you would notice that the gas pumps were very quick to increase prices (when the barrel price went up), and very slow to drop them (when the price dropped back down)... Do that over a year and you have billions of dollars of profits.

I for one would like to hear about some real solutions (even from you guys). No one seems to do anything except complain (myself included).

 

[Buckle-meister]

I for one would like to hear about some real solutions (even from you guys)...

Stop using such gutsy vehicles?...

 

[sts9fan]

I for one would like to hear about some real solutions (even from you guys). No one seems to do anything except complain (myself included).

There are many things that can lead us into a better place but people don't like to give up their toys.

1) Don't drive a car that gets under 30mpg. Its a start and if you say just you not driving an SUV does not make a difference you are dead wrong.

2) Buy solar panels. They can at least supplement your hot water, heat and electricity. Where is the government subsidy for using less electricity? Why not have a prorated tax on how much juice you use from the grid?

3) Mother-Bleepin BioDeisel/E85!!!! Why not start grassroots biodeisel manufacturing in the midwest. Farmers could get goot money for soybeans and also get fuel for the farm equiptment of free or next to it. Do you know how much a farmer spends on fuel?? Quite a bit.

4) thermodepolymerization!! Imagine all the waste from a farm turning into oil. How bout raw sewage?? This is something like 90% energy efficient!!Why is nobody telling you about this!!
http://www.whizkid.com/stuff/thermo.html
http://www.changingworldtech.com/


Oh yeah and use bamboo for as much as possible!!

 

[sts9fan]

Oh yeah and you don't need a house thats is 1500+ sq ft per person. It is obsene and it pox on this great earth.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

I for one would like to hear about some real solutions (even from you guys). No one seems to do anything except complain (myself included).

Drive the speed limit: Sorry, but it really does help. Also use cruise control if your car has it.

Gasohol: Regular gasoline combined with a synthetic alcohol. While your car will still only get XX/mpg less of it will be fossil fuels. Sadly, I've only heard of gasohol (or whatever its brand name is) being offered for sale in California.

BioDiesel: Basically regular diesel fuel combined with fermented compost juice. Follows the same benefit scheme of gasohol (less fossil fuel per gallon), And is cheaper to produce, also runs in any diesel vehicle with no modifications. Lack of biodiesel stations still a problem. Also very few inexpensive fuel efficient cars run on diesel, mostly big trucks.

CAFE standards: Rather than lowering fuel economy demands, maybe tighten them? Basically anything you can drive with a 'Class D' license should have is F.E. increased 2% every five years. Especially true for "light trucks", I hate to single a group out.. but, well the kinda deserve it.

Motorcycles: Hey these things all get 50+ miles to the gallon! maybe create a campaign for awareness to the fuel benefits, also the traffic one (Can use HOV lane, can lanesplit in Cali.).

Bicycles: My local town actually banned bicycles from sidewalks and riding down Main St. (actually State st.). Maybe you have better access in your town. I hear some even have bicycle lanes!

Insulate your homes better!: Compared to vehicle fuel, home heating oil is a drop in the petroleum bucket. But every little bit helps.

Alternative Home Energy: Can anyone give us some information on owning your own wind turbine? I hear that'll pay for itself the first 5 years, then pay you the rest of your life (by selling the grid what you don't use). Solar panels too if you can.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Oh yeah and use bamboo for as much as possible!!

Care to elaborate on the wonders of bamboo? Can we eat it or something?

Oil Savings through diet: Eat less beef and drink more wine. Cattle, both feeding and processing uses lots of gasoline. Far more than any vegetable. So if you cut back your dinner beef consumption from main course to side dish, you'll help save the world and reduce your waistline at the same time.

And if you drink wine you can't drive anywhere! Salute!

 

[masak_aer]

Are we going to start again?

Like the war on terror thread? Politics discussion will always be steamy...brace yourself.

 

[sts9fan]

BioDiesel: Basically regular diesel fuel combined with fermented compost juice.

This is not really acurate. Biodiesel is actually crude veggie oil which is turned into an ethyl ester or CH3CH2COOCH2CH3. Mostly you can buy a mixture of Biodiesel with conventiel diesel. This will be called B then the percentage such as B85 which would be 85% biodiesel.

Care to elaborate on the wonders of bamboo? Can we eat it or something?

bamboo is a completly green renewable resource. It can be used as flooring(it looks amazing) and as a building material. It is cheap and it grows like crazy so it is a building material that can be harvested yearly. Plus it required almost no ferts. Its pressed together to form boards

 

[Matt34]

This is not really acurate. Biodiesel is actually crude veggie oil which is turned into an ethyl ester or CH3CH2COOCH2CH3. Mostly you can buy a mixture of Biodiesel with conventiel diesel. This will be called B then the percentage such as B85 which would be 85% biodiesel.

Isn't Biodiesel veggie oil mixed with Methanol? I heard you can make some nice body soap with the left over nitroglycerin.

 

[Matt34]

There are many things that can lead us into a better place but people don't like to give up their toys.

1) Don't drive a car that gets under 30mpg. Its a start and if you say just you not driving an SUV does not make a difference you are dead wrong.

2) Buy solar panels. They can at least supplement your hot water, heat and electricity. Where is the government subsidy for using less electricity? Why not have a prorated tax on how much juice you use from the grid?

3) Mother-Bleepin BioDeisel/E85!!!! Why not start grassroots biodeisel manufacturing in the midwest. Farmers could get goot money for soybeans and also get fuel for the farm equiptment of free or next to it. Do you know how much a farmer spends on fuel?? Quite a bit.

4) thermodepolymerization!! Imagine all the waste from a farm turning into oil. How bout raw sewage?? This is something like 90% energy efficient!!Why is nobody telling you about this!!
http://www.whizkid.com/stuff/thermo.html
http://www.changingworldtech.com/

1.) I do but the wife drives an Xterra, it's needed to haul around my dogs though.

2.) Really looking into this through a program offered my the local electric company and why not when you have sun for 360 days a year.

3.) I agree, the U.S is dragging there feet on the smaller diesel engines compared to the rest of the world.

4.) I can see it now, "Hey Fred, did you see they raised the price at the **** pumps today?"