<p>“Also offshore drilling in Cali and Florida could be donme within the 10 year window.”</p>
<p>good luck with NIMBY crowd.</p>
<p>If you want true energy independence then let oil hit $200. It will change life style towards lower consumption - reduce addiction. Ween us off the gas guzzlers and Encourage exploitation of newer cleaner energy sources.</p>
<p>“Educate yourself: does the wind blow continuously anywhere on earth?”</p>
<p>You are looking at glass half full. Think of wind and solar as supplements rather than replacements.</p>
<p>Also since nuclear was on a decline and baby boomers retiring, there will a shortage of people run those new plants.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You are mixing up the concepts of availability and dependability. Not every source of energy that enters a grid is baseload power. Intermittent sources of power DO play a role. Fwiw, the issues of lack of storage and dispatching are only a matter of economics. Just as the availability of a grid which you seem to think is ubiquitous around the world. </p>
<p>Your overly simplistic arguments were in vogue … a couple of generations ago.</p>
<p>
No, what you get is depression and rationing. The airlines system will collapse. Cost push inflation will destroy the lives of lower income families. Unemployment will be double or more from what it is today. What you get is a material reduction in the wealth of our society. Not a good thing.</p>
<p>
Drilling platforms can be placed far enough away from Florida’s shores that people either will not be able to see them or they will be sufficiencly small in appearance so as not to destroy tourism.</p>
<p>They are very attractive at night when all the small lights are on. Sort of a Christmas Tree floating in the ocean.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A very good idea, although some analysts think the floor should be higher than $80.</p>
<p>“No, what you get is depression and rationing. The airlines system will collapse. Cost push inflation will destroy the lives of lower income families. Unemployment will be double or more from what it is today. What you get is a material reduction in the wealth of our society. Not a good thing.”</p>
<p>People were predicting the same if oil hit 100. It did hit close to 150 and nothing of the sort you are describing happened. Last week I paid about 4.40 in your home town. I did not see gas stations deserted and freeways being empty. It took us 2 hrs to crawl just south of Olympia to Just north of Tacoma on a Sunday.</p>
<p>“Drilling platforms can be placed far enough away from Florida’s shores that people either will not be able to see them or they will be sufficiencly small in appearance so as not to destroy tourism.”</p>
<p>It added 4-5 (increased cost) years in MA just to have wind farm in the ocean.</p>
<p>Refiners in WA, CA, OR have hardest time to increase their capacity.</p>
<p>“does the wind blow continuously anywhere on earth? No.”</p>
<p>Ah, so that explains why the sailing ships disappeared from the oceans – they got becalmed and couldn’t make it to shore.</p>
<p>“Your overly simplistic arguments were in vogue … a couple of generations ago.”</p>
<p>No Xiggi, I’m sad to report that simplistic arguments persist. My idea, for example, is to forego investing in expensive sources of oil – instead we should simply increase production in cheap sources! That would drive down the cost, right?</p>
<p>
Sailing ships disappeared because fossil fuels appeared. :)</p>
<p>1973, 1979, 2008. How many warnings will it take before we begin taking energy independence seriously? Ten ANWR-sized fields won’t accomplish that.</p>
<p>“My idea, for example, is to forego investing in expensive sources of oil …”</p>
<p>That is not an idea. It is a wish list.</p>
<p>
Expensive relative to other oil. Cheap relative to other forms of energy.</p>