[S-99]

More drilling is more drilling is more drilling up here in alaska as far as i see it. Which should be a good thing as far as i'm concerned. There's so much land and hardly any people that more infrastructure probably won't **** it up anymore than the long ass pipeline up here (which pretty much didn't **** with anything). Animals just learned how to walk underneath it and act like it's not there. It's not a terribly complicated obstacle for the wild critters

[Luis Dias]

4$ per gallon.

Seriously?

Around here in Euroland, (specifically, Germany) petrol goes for close to double that amount. I do not know what you are complaining about.

Same. The whining amuses me.

[jr2]

Has the ratio on this changed much since 2005?  :

[MP-Ryan]

Animals just learned how to walk underneath it and act like it's not there. It's not a terribly complicated obstacle for the wild critters

*tosses bull**** flag*

There is an abundance of evidence from reputed biologists that show woodland caribou in particular do not cross roads and cutlines, but will follow them until the natural vegetation connects the areas again.  This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem here in Alberta and Alaska has the Rangifer tarandus granti subspecies which spends a chunk of its time in Alaska's boreal forests.

Not to mention, ground disturbance in the North takes decades to centuries for recovery, which is why more and more drilling operations are building their lease pads with compacted snow and ice over top of existing vegetation while the drilling or service rigs are on site, then trying to install infrastructure well above ground level to minimize local ground-level disturbance.

North of 60° is a very ecologically-sensitive area.  Saying there isn't much impact just because there aren't a lot of people around is a pretty ignorant statement.  The environmental impact of any northern development is potentially huge.

[MP-Ryan]

Has the ratio on this changed much since 2005?  :

Probably.  Gasoline prices are partially-dependent on the prices of the crude used to make them, and (in North America) a larger proportion of gasoline is derived from Canadian crude oils.  There are a few different reference standards of crude oils, and their prices have converged more in the past few years.

[Dragon]

Yup, it did change. I wish we could pay for the gas as much as we did in 2005. Prices rose, diplomatic situation changed, etc. For example, in 2005, nobody heard of Arab Spring.

[S-99]

*tosses bull**** flag*

There is an abundance of evidence from reputed biologists that show woodland caribou in particular do not cross roads and cutlines, but will follow them until the natural vegetation connects the areas again.  This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem here in Alberta and Alaska has the Rangifer tarandus granti subspecies which spends a chunk of its time in Alaska's boreal forests.

420 miles of the pipeline is above ground. The other what is just barely under half for the rest of the length is underground. Permafrost had to **** with the design of course for why the pipeline is funky. And depends on what you mean by natural vegetation.

[BengalTiger]

If 95% of your drive-time is spent going between your home and an office, with three or fewer passengers, and little to no cargo, why would you buy anything but a compact hatchback or sedan?

I used to be a fan of smaller cars like you, but then I took a Mercedes 817L in my rear end.

Luckily a few years earlier, when I was on vacation in the US I noticed that police Crown Vics have dual exhausts and rather wide tires, which were giveaways that those cars aren't archaic stereotypical US boats that can neither accelerate or handle.
After some reading I ended up buying one and importing it to Poland.

Poor truck had its front bumper broken in half when it hit me.

Accidents happen. You don't have to cause them, in my case it was waiting at a red light and getting hit by a truck that couldn't stop on an icy road.
No matter how idiot proof your driving is, there's always a better idiot, so having a few 100 kg more of life insurance is always a good idea.

Other than that people tend to drive a bit more politely when next to a large car. I never get people cutting me off, which is pretty common in Poland, and if there is anyone who absolutely needs to change to my lane, they either yield or signal for a couple seconds before getting in front of me.

This, along with the car being quiet enough to talk whispering at 80 km/h, roomy enough for me to stretch my hands fully before I touch the ceiling, the comfortable seats and the general ease of driving it means that when I get in the car tired, I arrive at the destination rested.

Not to mention the fact that, as I said before, you're not going to be able to cram six adults into any sedan I know of.

Mercury Grand Marquis.
Gas mileage in the high 20's (about 8-9 l/100 km for the metric people) when driving down a highway at a constant 70 MPH. It will lack the trunk space of a Suburban though, so it might not be good for long trips with 6 people.

I encourage everyone to go find the Fifth Gear vehicle safety video on YouTube or look up the GM crash testing where they take an old Malibu (1960s or 1970s era I can't remember) and crash it into a new Malibu. Despite the loss of a classic car in the test... I think the video is illuminating. Mass plays a role but where the energy from the mass goes is the important bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g

That's Bel Air, and it was a 1959 which had an X frame, like this one:

The design was pretty flawed in terms of safety even when it was new. There were simply no crash tests back then, and people liked being seated a bit lower than having a frame rail near the seat would allow for.
Then came the '60s and '70s. People started caring about safety and cars got seat belts, padded interiors, bumpers that actually absorbed energy rather than just being a shiny ornament and early implementations of crumple zones.
The late '70s introduced airbags and a big car from this time would be safer than a small one built today.

This is what a modern full size car looks like when rammed by a semi, when parked behind another semi:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/kelly.asp

I have some doubts a driver of a compact or even mid size, however modern and well equipped, would survive this, let alone be able to call for help himself.

As for getting oil from the US, IIRC the current president vetoed off shore drilling some time ago. This, along with a bunch of crazy norms that keep the US from building a bunch of new refineries is a significant reason why gas is getting so expensive.

[FlamingCobra]

Wait are you saying that in the process of drilling for and extracting new oil, we consume more oil than we get out of it?

[redsniper]

No, but the net oil gained is way less nowadays than it used to be.

[lostllama]

Not sure if anyone here knows of Idleworm's blog and his recently finished animated film about peak oil, but I thought it would be relevent to bring it up. It raises some points discussed here already, but I haven't watched it entirely.

http://www.idleworm.com/blog/2012/02/13/theres-no-tomorrow/

[BengalTiger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35TbGjt-weA

Time to build that starship, while the resources are still available...

[FlamingCobra]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35TbGjt-weA

Time to build that starship, while the resources are still available...

O'Neill was right, you know.

[Flaser]

I have two younger brothers in college several hours away, and they need that space to haul stuff back and forth.

Clearly, you are correct.  There is no solution to this problem besides owning an SUV.

How often are they moving back and forth anyway?  The only time at university that I ever had to carry more crap home than could fit in the boot of a compact sedan, was when I was moving in/out of the residence halls, and that was once per semester.  Again, you're basing the decision to buy a four-wheel-drive, three-ton, V8-powered brick on a trip that will be made three or four times a year.  What's it doing the rest of the time?  If you're like most Ford Explorer owners and leasees, it's transporting one person and little to no cargo over well-maintained roads, while drinking two to three times the fuel that a smaller, equally-capable vehicle would use.

Furthermore, I invite you to pay attention to what I wrote:

D)  Buy a more appropriate car for your needs.  (Emphasis added.)

If you live on top of a mountain and can only reach civilization via a single-track dirt road that turns to mud six months out of the year, then by all means, drive an SUV (or a half-track for that matter).  If you have nine children to ferry to daycare on a daily basis, first, figure out how condoms work, and then by all means, use that minivan.  If your job requires that you haul 1,200 pounds of lumber from site to site, drive that otherwise obnoxious F-450.  If 95% of your drive-time is spent going between your home and an office, with three or fewer passengers, and little to no cargo, why would you buy anything but a compact hatchback or sedan?  If your answer is anything but "marketing" or "a sales pitch," then you are a damn liar.  And if those are the conditions under which you drive, and you're complaining how much it costs to fill your SUV/pick-up/muscle car at $4.00 per gallon, then you're a damn idiot.

Here is the reason people buy these monsters:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2011/04/08/how-to-take-a-tax-write-off-for-a-new-porsche-bmw-or-cadillac/

They're subsidized! Until 2004 you could do this even if the vehicle in question wasn't used exclusively for business.

[IceFire]

I have two younger brothers in college several hours away, and they need that space to haul stuff back and forth.

Clearly, you are correct.  There is no solution to this problem besides owning an SUV.

How often are they moving back and forth anyway?  The only time at university that I ever had to carry more crap home than could fit in the boot of a compact sedan, was when I was moving in/out of the residence halls, and that was once per semester.  Again, you're basing the decision to buy a four-wheel-drive, three-ton, V8-powered brick on a trip that will be made three or four times a year.  What's it doing the rest of the time?  If you're like most Ford Explorer owners and leasees, it's transporting one person and little to no cargo over well-maintained roads, while drinking two to three times the fuel that a smaller, equally-capable vehicle would use.

Furthermore, I invite you to pay attention to what I wrote:

D)  Buy a more appropriate car for your needs.  (Emphasis added.)

If you live on top of a mountain and can only reach civilization via a single-track dirt road that turns to mud six months out of the year, then by all means, drive an SUV (or a half-track for that matter).  If you have nine children to ferry to daycare on a daily basis, first, figure out how condoms work, and then by all means, use that minivan.  If your job requires that you haul 1,200 pounds of lumber from site to site, drive that otherwise obnoxious F-450.  If 95% of your drive-time is spent going between your home and an office, with three or fewer passengers, and little to no cargo, why would you buy anything but a compact hatchback or sedan?  If your answer is anything but "marketing" or "a sales pitch," then you are a damn liar.  And if those are the conditions under which you drive, and you're complaining how much it costs to fill your SUV/pick-up/muscle car at $4.00 per gallon, then you're a damn idiot.

Here is the reason people buy these monsters:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2011/04/08/how-to-take-a-tax-write-off-for-a-new-porsche-bmw-or-cadillac/

They're subsidized! Until 2004 you could do this even if the vehicle in question wasn't used exclusively for business.

Wow... sounds like a nutty tax law. Like nobody could have foreseen this? Crazy.

[Klaustrophobia]

tax laws are horrible.  more on this tonight at 9.  stay tuned.

[Dragon]

And now I want your tax laws. 

[MP-Ryan]

*tosses bull**** flag*

There is an abundance of evidence from reputed biologists that show woodland caribou in particular do not cross roads and cutlines, but will follow them until the natural vegetation connects the areas again.  This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem here in Alberta and Alaska has the Rangifer tarandus granti subspecies which spends a chunk of its time in Alaska's boreal forests.

420 miles of the pipeline is above ground. The other what is just barely under half for the rest of the length is underground. Permafrost had to **** with the design of course for why the pipeline is funky. And depends on what you mean by natural vegetation.

It's not whether it's above or below-ground that matters; it's what it's done to the surrounding vegetation (if any).  If any of the pipeline runs through boreal forest or even partially-forested areas, you can pretty much guarantee it's affecting wildlife dispersion and migration - specifically the aforementioned caribou.

Nevermind that pipeline's all eventually break and leak.

[Klaustrophobia]

Nevermind that pipeline's all eventually break and leak.

 

no.  all pipes have the POSSIBILITY to break, but that doesn't mean all of them WILL. 

[sigtau]

The only pros to living in South Carolina: Good university, mother****ing Charleston is awesome, and one of the lowest nonzero gas taxes in the world.

But yeah, **** gas prices with a rake, regardless of where you live.  If someone has the know-how to shed some light on this: If the majority if the United States oil supply is piped in from Alaska (or rather, in our general vicinity), and not OPEC, why is all of the Iran bull**** I'm hearing about having such an impact on gas prices?  Eight months ago, we dropped down into the mid to low $2.00 per gallon range, and only after this uranium enrichment thing started to become headline news, prices went up.  What the hell kind of correlation is there if it's not even a big enough chunk to warrant that kind of price jump?

forgive my ignorant American self if I missed the entire point of the topic, I've just always wondered this