My neo-con neighbor thinks he's an environmentalist

[Johnny B. Goode]

He thinks that drilling in Alaska will help the environment.
He said to me, "Drilling in the reserve will help the environment. The oil drilling will cause the snow to melt and let plants grow.
It's been proven, do you want me to send you facts?"

I usually just roll my eyes at the guy, but this crap is starting to bug me.

(No "facts" ever came)

[bahrbearian]

1. And the Dessert's will become Rain Forests

[shadu]

4. I want strawberry rat cobbler!

for my dessert

[bahrbearian]

9. Is that desert Rat or wharf Rat ?

Never mind your server is bringing you a fresh Norwegian Rat.

[bluestateguy]

2. No, I would ask him for the "facts"

I'm sure you'll get a nice looking press release from MobilExxon and Chevron.

[salinen]

3. Ask him if Man has

improved the environment on Earth for all living creatures. If he says yes, avoid him.

[CornField]

5. And the burning of our Nat'l Forests helps the trees grow.

He's been listening to El Bimbo too much.

[NMDemDist2]

13. actually forest fires do help the forests as long as they don't

become "crown" fires like we have now. If the fires went thru every few years and burnt out all the downed wood and shrubs, the mature trees would not be impacted and the fire is necessary to "activate" the pine cones to grow new trees

[Gman]

6. I'd have said

Yes, please do. I'm very interested in just who would say this and why they think melting permafrost is a good thing.

[Beaverhausen]

7. yeah, seaweed will grow plenty!

[DaveSZ]

10. Healthy forests!!!

Clear Skies I tells ya

[NMDemDist2]

8. the Alaska fields they want to drill aren't buried in ice

they are a healthy tundra forest teaming with wild life


if we drill there, it will take at least 5 years to get the oil flowing and the amount would cover the USA's oil needs for about 8 months and permanently ruin the wild life preserve

take a look for yourself

[DaveSZ]

12. Good point

Show this dumbass photos of the refuge:

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/anwr/anwr_photo1.html

[da_chimperor]

14. Beautiful photo

the idea of some oil company idots cutting a road through that little forest pisses me off.

[Webster Green]

15. Interesting statistic I heard today on KPFA........

it was an interview with an oil expert, I think on Democracy Now.

He said that an increase of .5 mpg in overall fuel efficiency of our vehicles would save the equivalent of the total ANWR oil deposit every year.

Remember Cheney's statement from a few years ago: Something along the lines of...Conservation is OK, but not really important.

What a Dick!

Not only that, but there is a six month waiting list for Japanese manufactured hybrid vehicles, but the US companies can't find the fucking cheese.

Idiots!

[demwing]

21. You forgot to mention this -

8 months os US oil consumption = apx 4.5 billion barrels of oil.

Multiply that by $40; and you get a $180 billion price tag on ANWR oil.

Somebody has a very big interest in pulling that oil out.

Think of that when you hear all the "facts" about ANWR drilling.

[Green Lantern]

22. Hey

Doesn't virtually all our Alaskan oil go to the Pacific Rim anyway? ANWR oil would just be shipped to the Far East also. What the hell-we don't need it anyway-let's let some poor oil company make a little profit on public lands.

[NMDemDist2]

27. in this case "pacific rim" = California and Washington state

what do you have against caribou anyway?

[Green Lantern]

28. Nothing against caribou

but so far virtually all Alaskan oil is exported to Japan and China.

[NMDemDist2]

29. link ? n/t

[punpirate]

11. The American public has...

... so little real understanding of the sciences that I'm sure this remark sounds perfectly plausible to the fellow. Without an active knowledge of environmental sciences, a little curiosity about how things work, and some healthy skepticism, one can't distinguish good from bad, bullshit from roses. Sounds as if that's the case with your neighbor.

Cheers.

[DaveSZ]

16. Here's what Kerry could do:

Give tax incentives to automakers and tax refunds to consumers to make and buy hybrid vehicles.

Raise MPG fuel standards for cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Invest in alternative energy research and development that could create the next "dot com" stock boom.

This will also create many new American jobs.

I'm sure he's way ahead of me though.

[DaveSZ]

17. Prudhoe Bay:

This is what the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge will look like if Mr. Bush is reselected:

[punpirate]

20. I'm not in favor of giving tax incentives...

... to mega-corporations for research and development that they can afford to fund themselves--that's the free market at work that they're touting so frequently (GM is sitting on about $8 billion in cash right now, for example).

Heavy investment in alternative energy will provide some gains, but not in the near-term (with the exception of wind energy, which is fast becoming a mature industry).

Raising CAFE standards is the first and most obvious thing which needs to be done, as well as eliminating ridiculous tax breaks for gas-guzzlers (such as the +6000 lb GVW 100% credit recently enacted).

And, yes, a return to environmental concerns in general will generate jobs. That's been proven ever since the inception of the EPA.

Don't expect much of this to happen, though, if there's still a Republican House after this election, with DeLay around.

edit for syntax

[hatrack]

18. Inform your neighbor of this simple fact:

The United States has about 3% of the world's oil reserves. All countries that are NOT the United States have about 97%.

And he thinks tearing up the Arctic to obtain about 2% of the estimated 3% of the global total will help us become "self-sufficient" how?

[LTR]

19. Pro-global warming, huh?

This guy's as much of an environmental expert as James Watt.

And that's probably where he got his 'facts'.

[0rganism]

23. Oooh, I want to see those facts

You say the "facts" didn't show up, but don't let up on him. Have him send the "facts" ASAP! Tell him you can't sleep until you see his "facts".

I'm lookin' forward to debunking them as soon as they materialize.

[bushwakker]

24. And weakening emissions standards will promote "clear skies"

and cutting down old growth will promote "healthy forests".

[DaveSZ]

25. I once argued with a neocon over this issue

He gave me a link to www.techcentralstation.com to support his side, which features ads for ExxonMobil in the column adjacent to the story, and prominently throughout the site.

[lagniappe]

26. No trees means no forest fires. You are against forest fires aren't you?

Typical conservative logic.