This thread is predominately an Americans-only thread. Euros, feel free to voice your opinion.
"Drilling our way to freedom and $2/gal at the gas pump" is not a viable solution. Even if we decided to open up all US coastlines for drilling, the US Govt estimates that we won't see any "new oil" for 17 years. Drilling for oil doesn't mean this "new oil" stays in America, either, people, all it means is that this new oil goes "on the market" to be bought by China/India/whomever...this is not an "American First" solution. Too bad the Republicans and Big Oil CEOs don't bother mentioning that little fact. They will sell the oil "on the market" anyway, so what good is it to put our coastline at risk? (See Santa Barbara California 1969 and Exxon Valdez for info about the risks)
Here are solutions a president could mandate NOW to help American families. We don't need to wait 17 years for "speculative" help.
1) Mandate a 55MPH Speed Limit on all Interstate Highways. MPG is calculated by this standard anyway...so we might as well use it. Driving 55MPH actually REDUCES STRESS too because it is more relaxing than driving 75+MPH. Try it and see for yourself.
A)--Our cities could use the additional revenue from speeding tickets. If you Republicans **** taxes so much yet don't like driving on potholed and broken down roads...than either raise taxes or raise revenue this way.
2) Mandate that all SUVs are to be removed from possession, traded into GM/FORD/Chrysler--whichever brand you choose--in exchange for either a $5000 incentive off of a more fuel efficient ****** sedan today or a $1000 incentive today and a $5000 incentive off of a new purchase 2 years from now, when the Big 3 have had time to ramp up their car production and are able to offer newer, even more fuel efficient models. The Big 3 can scrap all these SUVs for spare steel parts or can, in turn, sell them to foreigners (like Middle Easterners who seem to love American SUVs).
3) Remove several Federally-mandated "safety" features from cars since they were put in place with the advent of the hulking SUV terrorizing the highways and since, they add too much weight and don't offer much benefit over simply wearing a seatbelt.
4) Mandate that the Big 3 American Auto companies "revisit" designs from the late 70s and 80s when they routinely offered smaller cars that got ATLEAST 35-50 MPG. We don't need to wait 20 years to get to a CAFE standard of 35MPG per Fleet/per Manufacturer. That is insulting to Americans' "alleged" superior "intelligence" and "work ethic." We can do better and we don't need to build in so much time. A car from the 80s with an update on styling and driving features (like iPod hookups, GPS, Satellite Radio etc.) is the market winning approach to ease the fuel consumption per ****** and not give up tech conveniences in cabin. The Big 3 can actually do this but it goes against the "luxury" and "Big American Appetite" social conditioning we've undergone for the last 30 years. Cadillac, for example, can differentiate itself from Chevy with richer fabrics and colors, sunroofs, nicer wheel packages than Chevy, etc. I'm not saying that Luxury has to "go away," it just needs to work with Efficiency and Reality more than it has in the past/present.
We can do a lot more as a nation if we adopt conservation smarts NOW with moderation. We can also turn our Big 3 Auto Companies "around" from their dismal present day and future outlooks...(Bankruptcy)...we can do this because there is a national need for 35+ cars and the Auto companies are either too stupid or too stubborn to seize this desire.
Why aren't Republicans preaching "conservation" measures like the national highway speed reduction? What's wrong with conservation--especially if you're a "christian conservative"? Aren't conservation and moderation values Jesus preached? Why not practice what he preached? President Richard Nixon instituted the 55MPH standard in the goddamn 70s. The Republican Congress overturned it in 1995 (shame on them).
There you go. Solutions which actually save fuel consumption NOW while we figure out what Alternative Fuel we go with by the time 17 years rolls around.
We need to BE OFF OIL in 17 years...not merely to the point of bringing Coastal fuel "to the market" for China and India to buy....
"Drilling our way to freedom and $2/gal at the gas pump" is not a viable solution. Even if we decided to open up all US coastlines for drilling, the US Govt estimates that we won't see any "new oil" for 17 years. Drilling for oil doesn't mean this "new oil" stays in America, either, people, all it means is that this new oil goes "on the market" to be bought by China/India/whomever...this is not an "American First" solution. Too bad the Republicans and Big Oil CEOs don't bother mentioning that little fact. They will sell the oil "on the market" anyway, so what good is it to put our coastline at risk? (See Santa Barbara California 1969 and Exxon Valdez for info about the risks)
Here are solutions a president could mandate NOW to help American families. We don't need to wait 17 years for "speculative" help.
1) Mandate a 55MPH Speed Limit on all Interstate Highways. MPG is calculated by this standard anyway...so we might as well use it. Driving 55MPH actually REDUCES STRESS too because it is more relaxing than driving 75+MPH. Try it and see for yourself.
A)--Our cities could use the additional revenue from speeding tickets. If you Republicans **** taxes so much yet don't like driving on potholed and broken down roads...than either raise taxes or raise revenue this way.
2) Mandate that all SUVs are to be removed from possession, traded into GM/FORD/Chrysler--whichever brand you choose--in exchange for either a $5000 incentive off of a more fuel efficient ****** sedan today or a $1000 incentive today and a $5000 incentive off of a new purchase 2 years from now, when the Big 3 have had time to ramp up their car production and are able to offer newer, even more fuel efficient models. The Big 3 can scrap all these SUVs for spare steel parts or can, in turn, sell them to foreigners (like Middle Easterners who seem to love American SUVs).
3) Remove several Federally-mandated "safety" features from cars since they were put in place with the advent of the hulking SUV terrorizing the highways and since, they add too much weight and don't offer much benefit over simply wearing a seatbelt.
4) Mandate that the Big 3 American Auto companies "revisit" designs from the late 70s and 80s when they routinely offered smaller cars that got ATLEAST 35-50 MPG. We don't need to wait 20 years to get to a CAFE standard of 35MPG per Fleet/per Manufacturer. That is insulting to Americans' "alleged" superior "intelligence" and "work ethic." We can do better and we don't need to build in so much time. A car from the 80s with an update on styling and driving features (like iPod hookups, GPS, Satellite Radio etc.) is the market winning approach to ease the fuel consumption per ****** and not give up tech conveniences in cabin. The Big 3 can actually do this but it goes against the "luxury" and "Big American Appetite" social conditioning we've undergone for the last 30 years. Cadillac, for example, can differentiate itself from Chevy with richer fabrics and colors, sunroofs, nicer wheel packages than Chevy, etc. I'm not saying that Luxury has to "go away," it just needs to work with Efficiency and Reality more than it has in the past/present.
We can do a lot more as a nation if we adopt conservation smarts NOW with moderation. We can also turn our Big 3 Auto Companies "around" from their dismal present day and future outlooks...(Bankruptcy)...we can do this because there is a national need for 35+ cars and the Auto companies are either too stupid or too stubborn to seize this desire.
Why aren't Republicans preaching "conservation" measures like the national highway speed reduction? What's wrong with conservation--especially if you're a "christian conservative"? Aren't conservation and moderation values Jesus preached? Why not practice what he preached? President Richard Nixon instituted the 55MPH standard in the goddamn 70s. The Republican Congress overturned it in 1995 (shame on them).
There you go. Solutions which actually save fuel consumption NOW while we figure out what Alternative Fuel we go with by the time 17 years rolls around.
We need to BE OFF OIL in 17 years...not merely to the point of bringing Coastal fuel "to the market" for China and India to buy....
