Topic: California Gold

[Pandora]

Utilities are also up and everyone knows that we are running out of oil!

Everyone also agrees that we need to stop drilling for oil in order to preserve the environment.

What if everybody is wrong?

Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful places in America. Swimmers will tell you that the water can be really oily. When you get out of the water, you had better shower well, or it can burn your skin.

Surfers will tell you where the most awesome breaks are. They will also tell you to bring a bottle of rubbing alcohol and rag to clean the tar off of your board after your done catching waves.

Why? Because there is so much oil and methane gas under Santa Barbara Bay that it seeps to the surface on a huge scale. If that weren’t bad enough, when it rains the runoff from the oil seeps in the Santa Susana mountains makes it even worse.

The bigger the rainstorm, the more dead wildlife.

The Middle East is literally on fire. Japan is battling a nuclear disaster. Is it possible that the United States of America has such an energy abundance that oil and gas are leaking from the earth?

Yep.

I have lived in California for 26 years. I always thought that all the tar balls on the beach were from leaking oil platforms in the bay.

I was wrong.

[Pandora]

Interestingly, a commenter makes the same point as IDP and I did a few days ago:

Look at the factors needed to sustain life, moderate temperatures, oxygen levels, sea currents, the gulf stream, salinity levels in the ocean, soil components that actually replenish with crop rotations.

Natural Gas, Oil, Coal, thermal springs are all other examples of the resources truly unique to planet we have.
I don't think it would be that far fetched that an intelligent designer could have intended us to use these resources as we evolve our technologies. Oil, in fact has probably done more to save lives and further our growth in technology than any other planetary attribute. So... Drill baby, drill.

Something new creeping into the debate; it's a good thing.

[Libertas]

Gotta drill is to save the environment?  I doubt even that would work for eco-nut leftists!  Enjoy your tar balls and high energy prices, dumbasses!

[John Florida]

I think those turds should light matches to get the oil film off their bodies.

[Libertas]

Heh.

In the service we called people on fire a "screaming alpha"!  (Based upon fire classifications - A = most combustible (wood, people etc)  B = chemical & C = metal)

[IronDioPriest]

Interesting. Outdoorsmen long ago won the debate against anti-hunting/anti-fishing by stressing the obvious - that intelligent and wise management of species financed by license dollars and supported by people with a self-interest in the perpetuation of species is the best and only way to steward over resources. The notion that hunters and fishermen harm or deplete animal resources is a non-starter. The facts and commonly accepted understanding of the issue don't support it, and do support managed harvesting of animals.

Perhaps the same argument can be made for energy resources. Responsibly managing and harvesting energy resources supported and financed by people with a self-interest in perpetuating the resource is the only responsible and earth-friendly way to steward over them. Capitalism, in other words. Makes perfect sense to me. Therefore expect resistance from Leftists.

[Libertas]

Yes, that is the proper definition and application of stewardship.  But it is not one that the left shares.  They are Luddites, pacifists, appeasers and favor nature over man...that latter part being contradictory to you and me...the left can reconcile the irreconcilable into whatever gibberish they desire...making sense has not and will never be in their list of attributes.