Who remembers project S.O.A.R?

Question

When I lived in New England in Portsmouth NH in the early 1970's scouts were involved in a massive environment clean-up called project SOAR it stood for "SAVE OUR AIR & RESOURCES" so ironic we are at the door of 1973 again and I blame not the American people but our government staying dependent on "gas & oil" from overseas. Maybe this could have been fixed after the horrible gas lines of 1973 and so on. Give me your thots "PRO" and "Con" .

Answer 1

Well as an American I'm not quite familiar with that project. Also as an American I don't believe everything can be blamed on US though we certainly do have our faults.

It seems Europe though is more environmentally minded with smaller cars, windmills, tankless water heats, more efficient homes, etc. They are as you have so wisely pointed out still pretty much dependent on oil. The oil industry is quite powerful but not as powerful as the apathy of the majority of society.

I truly believe in the saying, "If the people will lead the leaders will follow." I understand this is what you are attempting to do and commend you whole heartedly. You have my support and best wishes.

Peace

Answer 2

Sure, we can all get off oil and gas as long as everyone doesn't object to paying 10 times as much for energy.

Where are you going to put all your solar panels and wind farms anyway.  The number of square kilometers required would cause huge loss of natural habitat.  

I don't think the environmentalists have thought that one through.

Answer 3

I fail to see how this relates to global warming.

I too blame the government for attempting to manage what should be a free market.  Centrally controlled markets ALWAYS lead to a disconnect between supply and demand, causing shortages and disruptions across the board.

I fail to see how current issues mirror the shortages of the 70s.  There are no gas lines.  There is no gas rationing in place.  The current spike in crude oil prices is a direct result of a weak dollar...a dollar intentionally weakened to boost US competitiveness overseas in order to stem off a major recession.  Look at the earnings reports coming out this week.  All of the major, international companies are reporting better than expected results due in large part to sales overseas and a favorable exchange rate (when reporting sales in dollars versus the local currencies).

I fail to see how a childhood involvement in a private organization (one I was a member of as well) has any bearing on the shortfalls of our government, our country, or our people.

These are my thoughts, most of which are neither pro nor con.

Answer 4

Moving away from fossil fuels, including oil will not increase the price ten fold. In fact at present oil prices quite a few technology's are beginning to sound competitive. In this country several areas are moving to bio-fuel for purely economic reasons, imported fuel costs more way more than locally produced bio fuel in these parts.

There is a myth out in the community that all alternatives to fossil oil and gas are super expensive, not viable etc. these are myths with no substance.

Do the sums and you will find that not very much land needs to be set aside for solar panels and wind farms. A few square km, a very tiny fraction is all that is needed. (try using currently wasted 'space' like roof tops in urban areas for starters )

But those aren't the only options anyway.

Both UK and American governments are supposedly elected by the people for the people so I imagine that they do vaguely what the people want them to do. This suggests that it is the people that are to blame. Unless you are telling me that these 'democracies' are not as democratic as they say they are?

Australia recently dumped its long standing government partly because the consensus amongst the people was that climate change was an issue for them and the previous government did not think it was (that govt did not listen to much of what people were saying).

So why blame the government when the government follows pretty much what people want. Blame the ignorance of the people. Remember democratic government is rarely good at long term solutions and pro active interventions. They tend to react and always have an eye on the next election.

If you like the idea of long gas lines, wait a bit, they are coming as the demand for oil (despite global warming)is well outstripping the supply. The supply is now decreasing year by year, currently it is more than enough to meet current demand, but prices are climbing partly because of concerns about supply. Every year demand increases and now supplies can only go down, we have used up more than half of all oil available already. So sooner rather than later the lines will return, only this time they are terminal! Better start thinking of alternatives now.

I'm making arrangements with local restaurants to collect their waste fats n oils for use in my diesel bus.