Time for Virginia to Drill, Baby, Drill

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I wonder if the Mr. Roff would write this same article today. It is so embarrassing. I am surprised he has not yanked it off the web. This mindset is so backward. Thomas Jefferson would have recommended developing some technology to create clean sustainable energy. Virginia legislators need to step up to the plate and create some mandates for clean energy. How about creating some clean energy related jobs instead of polluting the air and ocean? This states gluttonous approach of getting from point A to B is nauseating. I can feel the acid, created from bumper to bumper traffic on 95 in N. VA, burning my skin every time it rains. Our entire country needs to rethink how we use energy and what kinds of energy we will use in the future. Many other states in addition to VA (including MD, CA, IL, etc.) need to follow Thomas Jefferson's creative approach to life.

Fred Reardon of CA 3:10PM June 23, 2010

We can drill for oil in America and burn our own oil but If we do not keep developing an alternative fuel and energy system we will be back in the same situation or worse in the near future and if we start to drill all of this other work we have done on alternative energy will slow down to a crawl again.
How many oil wells do you see not operating in Texas or other states with oil?.
Many of these oil wells that is not pumping have plenty of oil but are stopped because they want to raise the price of oil.
supply in demand is not A honest business practice because business will Hide, bury or ship to other nations to reduce supply and raise the price to meet the demand And we the people of the united states accept this wasteful practice as good business.
I have to admit I enjoy the post by the readers more than the article that the politicians wrote
A politician or political leader (from Greek "polis") is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician
Don D. Brock

Don D. Brock of AZ 1:07PM September 02, 2009

The point is to Get OFF Oil altogther and to stimulate the economy with innovation, technology including green tech!!!!! I'll be one or the first to buy an all electric plug-in when they hit the market.
And I mean ALL Electric. GM and others can keep they gas running engines.

hopeforamerica of WA 3:17AM September 02, 2009

Try to stay on topic , this is about drilling offshore.. not drilling your brains.

VinceP1974 of IL 5:53PM September 01, 2009

I think growing industrial hemp in North America is one of many amazing solutions to our needs of: paper, building supplies, plastics, bio-fuels, textiles and food. The good news about industrial hemp is that it can be grown in every state, it's a sustainable crop that uses little water supply and no pesticides. A healthy food with Omega 3's and 6's. A healthy fabric as it is naturally anti-microbial, UV protectant, anti-fungal (keeps odors away), wicks moisture away from your body & is static free. Industrial hemp has a billion uses and should be grown in America. Industrial hemp cannot be smoked and gotten high from.
Growing industrial hemp would make it difficult for outdoor marijuana to be grown as the industrial hemp would pollenate, weaken and seed outdoor marijuana crops. Growing industrial hemp would create millions of jobs in America and hopefully end the useless economically draining "War on Drugs". The U.S. federal government spent over $19 billion dollars in 2003 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $600 per second. The budget has since been increased by over a billion dollars. http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
One of the main causes of global warming is the carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as petroleum and coal. Oil from hemp seeds and the cellulose of the hemp stem can produce methanol, ethanol and other kinds of fuel that have the same ignition temperature as diesel oil. Hemp fuel does not produce heavy metals or sulfur, so it does not cause acid rain or air pollution. As hemp is a plant, it reduces carbon dioxide to oxygen as it grows. It has three to four times the reducing power as a deciduous tree. If hemp is cultivated on only 6% of the North American landmass, it can meet all the fuel demand in the U.S.
Hemp is a human-friendly natural resource - it can adjust the temperature and humidity of houses because walls made of hemp can breathe. Hemp houses provide a comfortable atmosphere - cool in summer and warm in winter. It is an all-weather composite building material that can save energy for air-conditioning. Hemp board bends and curves easily, and has the same strength as concrete. It is very light and resistant to fire. As it is a natural resource, it is biodegradable. Hemp can totally change our views about housing and make us switch to environment-friendly houses, because it can be grown for a half a year and lasts for 100 years. Its use can result in the preservation of forests and the protection of living things, as well as the restroration of cyclical ecological system that includes human beings.
If hemp is cultivated on 12% of the European landmass, it can meet the entire world demand for paper, and thus eradicate the need to cut trees for paper. Hemp pulp, from which hemp paper is made, is as durable as wood pulp, and it needs only one quarter of the land required for producing wood pulp.
Grow hemp to capitalize on an American Natural Sustainable Resource.

Robert Jungmann of CA 5:50PM September 01, 2009

You're dead right "No Brainer"! Making marijuana illegal has been as ineffective and deadly as making candy illegal. Too many people see the prohibition as ridiculous and simply buy from "friends". And too many criminals see this unrelenting demand as an easy way to get rich quick.
After seventy years of prohibition we currently have 15 million regular marijuana users, and more than a third of our population have obtained and consumed marijuana *during the prohibition*. Currently more than 6,000 people smoke marijuana for the first time every single day. The prohibition does NOT prevent people from consuming marijuana!
Last year the cartels murdered more than 6,300 people in order to secure their marijuana routes in the U.S., this year they're on track to kill at least 7,000 more - many of their victims are children, police officers and politicians. Two-thirds of the cartel's incomes come solely from selling marijuana in the U.S. The ONLY way to end the brutal murders they're committing every day is by undercutting their prices, stripping them of their customers and eliminating two-thirds of their incomes.
We MUST demand the right to commercially produce and sell marijuana to adults! Being silent on this matter makes us as guilty of these murders as the hitmen themselves.

jway of VA 2:10PM September 01, 2009

... will be heralded by empty bellies, wallets and energy reserves - nothing less can stop it.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 12:04PM September 01, 2009

Legalize, regulate, and finally control marijuana. Legalize and allow American farmers to grow industrial hemp. Legalizing, not decriminalizing, marijuana is the only way to keep it out of teenager hands.
We Americans are ready to take our country back from the Corporations... Whether it be Big Pharma, private prisons who benefit from the failed Drug War, alcohol/tobacco, etc. We realize the lies behind marijuana and the truth is spreading... Be afraid corporate America... be afraid of free-thinking!

Intelligent American of WI 10:44PM August 31, 2009

Seems to me that 2011 is too far away to help anybody now.
Not something I would call "arriving at the right time" for the people. The recession may be a forgotten memory 2 years from now. Two years of car innovation (if used) might make this idea obselete. And, just because the area is open doesn't mean the oil companies will find it profitable to even go get it. We currently have 86 million acres of open that the oil companies lease and then do nothing with it. If you ask me, if Virginia or any other state needs immediate cash flow; why wouldn't you use Americas' biggest cash crop? Legalize marijuana, tax it, make money. This may even kill two birds with one bill. Lack of state money and less money used locking up non violent "criminals". Hell, you could probably legalize all recreational drugs, send the non violent criminals to rehab at their expense, undercut the cartels, and make money. OH NO, but we can't cut the biggest, bloated budget of the DEA! Talk about the democrats making the govt. big? Take a look at the DEA budget started by republicans. And then look what all that money spent has accomplished in the war on drugs, absolutely nothing. From 1972 at 65 mil to 2009 at 2.6 bil.

MIT of GA 8:47PM August 31, 2009