I've said before that support for environmental causes is a mile wide but less than an inch deep. Everyone likes the idea of clean air, clean water, and cute animals. But when it hits their pocketbooks, people start singing a different tune.

Any serious attempt to address global warming (or, to use the new all emcompasing term, "climate change") would result in gas prices far in excess of the $4/gallon we're seeing right now. Yet what has this spike in gas prices done to support for environmental causes?
Contrary to claims by Al Gore and others that global warming is the greatest challenge of our time, Americans by better than 3-to-1 say the price of gasoline is a bigger problem now, according to the latest IBD/TIPP Poll. Moreover, they stand willing to do something about it, including and especially drilling for oil in the Outer Continental Shelf and in federal shale reserves in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.Even drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is backed by a plurality of Americans.

The poll of 920 adults taken last week shows that 73% think “fuel prices at the pump” are a bigger problem for the country than climate change, the new term for global warming. Only 23% say climate change is more important.

The sentiment prevails across the board - among men and women, old and young, rich and poor, and Republicans, independents and Democrats, two-thirds of whom say gas prices are more important.

Support for offshore drilling and oil shale development is also broad-based, with the former favored by 64% of respondents and the latter by 65%.

The results suggest President Bush has strong public support as he puts pressure on Congress to back more exploration for oil. http://solutionstn.com/?p=65
Only 23% now rate global warming (the most critical threat to our civilization has ever faced according to Al Gore) as more important than gas prices. 2/3 of Democrats feel the same way! How can a Green agenda survive in such a climate?

Given that the US has incredibly cheap oil compared to most other nations, maybe it's time the American people got an education.

Given that the US has incredibly cheap oil compared to most other nations, maybe it's time the American people got an education.
Americans don't give a shit about how much gas costs in the rest of the world. That's the old world, the old rules don't apply in the New World. Ever hear of American exceptionalism? Or Manifest Destiny?

Regarding education, don't forget that we define educatoin as the three "r"'s. Reading, Writing, and Arithmatic. The fact that 2 of the 3 "r's" don't even start with "r" should tell you something.

We do things our own way. And part of our way is cars. We love them. Probably almost as much as we love guns. I'd bet that we love them a hell of a lot more than we care about global warming, the snail darter, or the polar bear.

Mark my words. Congress will not extend the moratorium on drilling this October, and the ban in ANWR will also be lifted. Any politician that stands between Americans and their cars will be drummed out of office. You think we had "angry white males" back in 1994? Let congress keep sitting on it's ass doing nothing about these oil prices, and you'll see all the bastards thrown out of office.

As a doctor, I interact with a broad swath of the population. One thing they all have in common irght now is that they're all seriously pissed off about gas prices. This isn't just the typical "they're all crooks" type feeling. This is a visceral rage building in the population. It sort of reminds me of a line from the Declaration of Independence:
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury.
Americans are angry. They feel that government is doing absolutely nothing to address any of the issues we are concerned about. And until those issues are addressed, we don't have the patience to be berated about our CO2 output by some jet-setting celeb rity who emits more carbon in a weekend than most of us do in a lifetime.

To give you an example, where I live, in Australia, petrol is currently at approximately US$6.24 per gallon.

james petrol is surposed to fall in the next few weeks:)

$1.30 YAY!!!!!!

they better do it to or there will be a revolution.

By the way, for Americans reading, that's Aus$1.30 per litre.

To convert, 1 litre = 0.26 US gallons and Aus$1.00 = US$0.97.

$1.30 per litre is still US$5.15 per gallon.

Here in the UK we are currently paying the equivalent of US $ 2.80 per litre for unleaded petrol. Diesel costs quite a bit more.

Only 23% now rate global warming (the most critical threat to our civilization has ever faced according to Al Gore) as more important than gas prices. 2/3 of Democrats feel the same way! How can a Green agenda survive in such a climate? You seem to have a very low opinion of the average American's ability to handle even very simple situations.

Or, to put it another way, how can the Greens persuade the shit-for-brains that it isn't really in their interest to foul their own nests, poison their own children, and destroy the wealth of their surroundings, to save a dime a gallon on gas for their four-wheeler ?

Or maybe you meant: how can the Greens make their agenda clear to people who can't hold more than one issue in their heads at a time, and so once confused about CO2 accumulation and distracted by the flashing numbers on the gas pump remain permanently oblivious to any other item on that agenda ?

Or what exactly are you talking about ?

Americans don't give a shit about how much gas costs in the rest of the world. That's the old world, the old rules don't apply in the New World. Ever hear of American exceptionalism? Or Manifest Destiny?

Uhm.. lol

I'm just going to sit and watch...

Holy shit Madant. for a doctor, you've got the brains of a chimneysweep!

A local surgeon( here where I live in S.E Australia is a tireless campaigner for alternative energies)
He puts his money where his mouth is and rides his bike to work and raises awareness and funding for alternative energy.
The target here is for 50/50 by 2020; 50 percent of alternative energy( wind, solar, and other, no, not nuclear!)by 2020.
We are well on the way, community buildings such as sporting clubs and surf lifesaving clubs etc are being powered by wind turbines.
I know this does not directly relate to more efficient automotive transportation but there is a big push to source produce locally to reduce the carbon footprint of food.We also have very impressive and diverse organic and biodynamic growing movement.

You and your cronies can resist change and say "we don't give a damn(or was it a flying fuck?) about the environment, the rest of the world won't tell US what not to do!" or you could take positive steps towards leading by example.
Come on guys wake up!

Solutions please, not thumbing your noses.

The target here is for 50/50 by 2020; 50 percent of alternative energy( wind, solar, and other, no, not nuclear!)by 2020.I find it amazing that the US prides itself on "We can stand alone!" when it's dependent on countries which harbour terrorists or who have sworn ideological differences with the West because the US gorges itself on oil.

They'll spend hundreds of billions a year on terrorist protection when if they invested that much in getting off oil they'd remove the single largest fund for terrorist organisations. If we weren't paying the Saudis a couple of trillion dollars a year, where would groups like the Bin Ladens have got their money from initially? Iran would have practically no income. Saudi Arabia wouldn't be a huge economy while simultaneously being one of the most extreme Islamic countries in the world. It'd be just another back water patch of desert, like it was 100 years ago.

I read a lot about how the major refineries in S.A. having the protection of small armies, to prevent terrorist attacks, but why should the Islamic terrorists blow up the means by which the West funds the largest Islamic power in the world? It's the terrorists legal cash cow.

If politicians thought more about the long distance future and less about getting reelected in 4 years we could get off oil easily. But what government wants to spend $100 billion on perfectly fusion, producing a hydrogen energy network and getting off foreign oil in 20 years when such a 'waste' of money will prevent them being reelected in 4 years?