Lifting the mporatoriums on some drilling areas?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070109/ap_on_go_pr_wh/alaska_oil

I know what my opinions are on this, (I approve), but my first reaction was a tiny bit helps, but this is not enough of an effort to supply our own needs.

I have a source that has suggested that due to the heat and pressure in the earth's mantle and core, more petroleum is created each day than we as a planet could ever use up, ergo a potential endless supply, IF the stuff is retrieved correctly. I believe this is true, based on the heat factors of the sun and other stars that burn for millenia. (The fact that hes a physicist doesnt hurt either). I would like to gather some INFORMED feedback, doesnt matter pro or con. What gets you points with me is, have a message to send about the topic, but dont suck or tear down. Thanks!

Answer 1

Although it is true that there is continuous creation of petroleum, as a former physicist myself, I find it highly suspect that the rate remotely matches that of our consumption. The reserves we are tapping into were built over millions of years, and there is no way the earth is keeping up with our fast drain.

In any case, I don't want to get into a long dissertation of why the creation/extraction equation doesn’t balance. Instead I want to focus on a more important point. To me, the most important question here isn't whether our supply would run out (let's for the sake of argument say that it won't), but whether petroleum is worth the price we pay.

Economists & Wall Street, when calculating cost, often overlook the environmental impact from our consumption of petroleum products. The processes of extraction, refinement, and combustion all have detrimental effects on wildlife habitat, fisheries, air quality (just to name a few) and overall makes the world a terrible place to live.

Instead of taking the status quo and figuring out ways to continue to support our oil habits, it would be better served for us to look for a path that will both reduce our consumption and increase our investment in alternatives. Although all energy sources has it issues, hydro, solar, wind, nuclear are just a few alternatives that are "greener," not to mention geo-politically better for the United States in the long run.

It would be a terrible shame if we damage the fisheries and kill off wildlife in Bristol Bay for the want of a few million barrels of oil. From a practical standpoint, I would rather live without fossil fuel than live without salmon because there is an easy substitute for gasoline, but there is not really an easy substitute for Alaskan seafood. I know I'm over simplying here, but I think it gets the point across.

Answer 2

I live on the Mississippi Gulf coast. Where is the best fishing? Around the oil riggs. Go figure. Real environmentalist's should consider this..... The oil is being drilled either way, we buy 70% of what we use from other countries. Are these countries as enviormentaly consience as we are. No. The modern day enviormentalist movement is so far off base on this one. If they really want the enviorment protected they would support drilling our own oil where we can do it in the enviormentally consience way that we already do. As well as the benefit of these terrorists not having as much oil money to build bombs to kill us. Think for yourselves and stop drinking the green Koolaid.

Answer 3

Yeah, I'm with you. I took my natural science classes and know what the earth is capable of doing. However, there are some places where it would be impossible to go too deep. If you log onto the U.S.G.S. (US Geological Survey) you can get daily updates of where the most earthquakes are.

I know there is still lots of oil in Alaska, but finding a place to drill where it isn't going to be disrupted by earthquakes is a major issue.

2007/01/09 15:49:33 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 5.7
Latitude: 59.33 Longitude: -137.015
Location: 60 miles/97 Km W of Haines, Alaska
498817 1

2007/01/07 15:33:46 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 5.3
Latitude: 54.887 Longitude: -156.985
Location: 110 miles/177 Km SE of Chignik, Alaska
613 1

2007/01/05 16:52:25 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 5.8
Latitude: 55.794 Longitude: -156.037
Location: 100 miles/161 Km SE of Chignik, Alaska
611 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/26 12:26:28 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 7.2
Latitude: 21.8 Longitude: 120.6
Location: Taiwan Region
610 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/24 14:26:17 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 5.4
Latitude: 51.54 Longitude: 178.776
Location: 10 miles/16 Km NW of Amchitka, Alaska
609 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/15 02:15:10 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 4.0
Latitude: 61.56 Longitude: -150.943
Location: 45 miles/72 Km NW of Anchorage, Alaska
607 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/09 18:41:23 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 4.1
Latitude: 60.144 Longitude: -153.256
Location: 60 miles NE of Iliamna, Alaska
605 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/07 19:10:26 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 6.5
Latitude: 46.6 Longitude: 154.2
Location: east of the Kuril Islands, Russia
602 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/05 11:25:27 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 4.2
Latitude: 59.739 Longitude: -151.983
Location: 20 miles NW of Homer, Alaska
601 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/12/02 22:55:02 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 3.5
Latitude: 60.001 Longitude: -151.762
Location: 30 miles NW of Homer, Alaska
600 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/11/27 16:56:02 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 5.0
Latitude: 53.97 Longitude: -164.087
Location: 100 miles E of Dutch Harbor, Alaska
599 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/11/25 12:10:26 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 5.0
Latitude: 53.664 Longitude: -163.912
Location: 105 miles E of Dutch Harbor, Alaska
598 1
- Tsunami Information Statement
2006/11/23 08:33:07 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 4.1
Latitude: 58.417 Longitude: -152.846
Location: 45 miles NW of Kodiak City, Alaska
597 1
- Cancellation
2006/11/15 11:14:19 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 8.1
Latitude: 46.7 Longitude: 153.5
Location: near the Kuril Islands, Russia
596 6
- Watch/Warning
2006/11/15 11:14:19 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 8.1
Latitude: 46.7 Longitude: 153.5
Location: near the Kuril Islands, Russia
596 5
- Watch/Warning
2006/11/15 11:14:19 (UTC)
Preliminary Magnitude: 8.1
Latitude: 46.7 Longitude: 153.5
Location: near the Kuril Islands, Russia
596 4

And this kind of quake activity is happening all over the world. The only reason you don't hear about 90 percent is because they are fairly deep and it only gets reported IF there is a Tsumani warning with it.

Also, Alaska has been having Volcano issues and St. Augestine has been at status yellow since last winter and the ground is still shaking at low levels, but none the less, it's no place to drill. Alaska is lined with volcanos and since the pipeline isn't that strong anymore, it is getting old...it's not safe. Usually the best spots are the most dangerous right now.

Identifier: DOI-USGS-AVO-2007-01-09T11:54:35-09:00
Sender: [e-mail]
Sent: 2007-01-09T11:54:35-09:00
Status: Actual
Message Type: Update
Scope: Public

Additional Details:

Category: Geo
Event: Volcanic activity
Urgency: Unknown
Severity: Minor
Certainty: Unlikely
Sender Name: Alaska Volcano Observatory
Headline: ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Current Status Report
Description: Low-level earthquake activity continues at Fourpeaked volcano. Nothing unusual was observed in satellite images today. The age of the last eruption at Fourpeaked is not known. Because geological investigations have been limited and ice covers much of the area, the sizes and styles of past eruptions are not well-constrained. However, the composition of the volcano indicates that eruptions can be explosive, possibly producing plumes that reach in excess of 33,000 ft above sea level and local ashfall.
Web: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/
Contact: Tom Murray, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS [e-mail] [phone] or Steve McNutt, Coordinating Scientist, ADGGS [e-mail] [phone]
Parameter: Aviation Color Code=YELLOW
Parameter: Volcanic Activity Alert Level=Advisory
Area:
Description: FOURPEAKED VOLCANO ALASKA (CAVW#1102-26-), 58.77N 153.672W, Summit Elevation 6903 ft (2104 m)
Geocode: CAVW=1102-26-

Answer 4

Even if there were an infinite supply of petroleum, the fact that it pollutes horribly is a consideration which will determine the future of our planet. Also retrieving more oil would slow the development of other forms energy.

Answer 5

WELL I HATE BURST YOUR BUBBLE,HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A STRIKE ,WHEN OIL IS FOUND,THE PRESSURE IT RELEASES.HOW DO YOU REPLACE THE AMOUNT OF PRESSURE LOST WITH EVERY STRIKE.ITS LIKE A HOT AIR BALLOON WITH PIN HOLES ALL OVER IT,EVENTUALLY ALL THE HOT AIR ESCAPES AND IS NO LONGER A FLOATING BALLOON ,BALLOONING IN THE WIND.