wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:44:58 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:


I'll bet you aren't even aware that US oil companies are EXPORTING oil.
That's
right. Regardless of where they get their oil, they are always ready
willing and
able to re-sell it to whomever will pay the highest price for it. US Oil
companies regularly sell oil to places such as China who will pay more
than they
can get for it domestically. That's why drilling in Anwar won't do
anything at
all for U.S. energy needs. They want that oil so they can sell it to
China
for
big bucks, not to make the US more "energy independent".

Realistically, it will be difficult to be truly energy independent. What
we
need to do is make the painful transition to non-oil-based personal
transportation. I think it's a mis-statement to say we should reduce our
dependence on "foreign" oil. Rather, we should reduce our dependence on
oil,
period. We can't eliminate it, but increasing CAFE standards
significantly,
will reduce our demand. Much like some western Euro countries, we should
be
moving much more aggressively in the direction of alternative energy.

Oh well... this isn't really about sailing, so.....

Don't overlook the rest of the picture. Oil isn't just for powering
transportataion and heating. Every bit of plastic, including Neal's plaid
polyester leisure suit, is made from petroleum, as are many other things.

I was hoping to overlook that particular application.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com