KaskadskyjKozak

There was an article in Backpacker magazine a couple of years ago about how most (all?) major backpack manufacturing had moved to Vietnam. The workers had no clue what they were making! (or how much they went for in the US retail). And when the author of the piece told them, they were horrified - apparently city folk in Vietnam are terrified of the forest and would never go hiking/backpacking there. The article was enlightening. I don't care if I have to pay more, I'd rather have gear made in the US, and minimize transportation costs and fuel usage. People in China/Vietnam/etc can manufacture stuff for their own markets. The trade balance is so ridiculously skewed right now.

1. passenger vehicles seem to average 16-24 mpg. No improvement in 20 years. Yes that sucks. 2. what proportion of US fuel consumption is caused by passenger vehicles? we move a lot of shit around... there are inefficiencies there. and whatever happened to *seasonal* availability of produce? do we really need to ship stuff in from all around the world 12 months a year for the sake of instant gratification and variety?

I recommend you get some animal protein into your diet. Your brain has been addled.

Amen. I grew up in a well-planned suburb, where I could walk (and later bike) to elementary school, Jr. High, and even High school. The grocery store was within walking/biking distance, as was the library, parks, etc. Our family could get anywhere we needed to for 90% of what we needed within a 1-2 mile radius AND the streets were safe for kids to play/get around on. It just isn't like that up here. We can't even let the kids walk/bike to school 0.6 miles away because they'd have to cross a busy, steep road with speeding cars. I used to eat 16+ oz steaks, etc. It's true that if we cut portions to a normal size, and daily intake to reasonable levels we'd be fitter and it would have a positive impact on farming. But sorry, the extreme of "go vegan" just ain't gonna happen.

Beef, chicken, pork, lamb - they are all yummy. All you vegans can starve yourselves and look all week and sickly, and I'll have a steak on your behalf.

and getting the government to release there grip on fuel profits..... Yes, absolutely...mebbe w/o a BUSH in office that can actually happen! Yes, oil companies will seek lower profits once Bush leaves office. Also, malaria, cancer, and world-hunger will end. There will be no more rapes, murder, or torture anywhere. Utopia will be achieved.

wrong- brilliant bush economics and strategy. a lot has to do with level of dollar. oddly enough in canada the gas did not go up all that much. cool! Then in 8 months prices will all go back down.

WRONG. Europe relies on mideast fuel, NOT the US. I thought you were some kind of (self-professed) expert on these matters who "knows what you are talking about".

Yeah, if we left Iraq, well gee, the fuel prices would go down and never go up again, and everything would be swell.

eh? animal production and consumption isn't inherently inefficient Ever watch Andrew Zimmern's show? Maybe we all need to start eating bugs, grubs, and all the weird animal body parts.

seems to me YOU are just looking at the articles you want. food prices are already rising because of biofuels. The US gov't and businesses are "encouraging" 3rd world countries to provide biofuels at the expense of the environment, and their own people (e.g. Brazil). It's all over the place. But I guess it's easier to hum a simplistic mantra "biofuels are the answer". there is no silver bullet There is nothing in biodiesel that would otherwise be a food crop (well, soy, but it's not the most efficient source of oil - mostly biodiesel is derived from canola and rapeseed oil - you wanna eat that?). You're thinking of ethanol which is derived from corn and wheat. And, yeah, I do think biofuels are the answer to our fuel situation. It's still a crop. There is a limit to the arable land available on this earth. Either less food is grown, and starvation is increased, or you destroy more forested areas to grow the plants needed. Water/irrigation will also be a problem. What?! What do you think is going on with our current source of fuel....seriously. Do you think our current fuel source is sustainable? GMFB! And don't get me started on the state of agriculture in America...unless you actually know what you're talking about. you are fucking obtuse

vegetarians are weird.

Umm, actually what we're NOT doing is what isn't working. More efficient cars, people being less wasteful, better city planning/development, better mass transit options, etc.

seems to me YOU are just looking at the articles you want. food prices are already rising because of biofuels. The US gov't and businesses are "encouraging" 3rd world countries to provide biofuels at the expense of the environment, and their own people (e.g. Brazil). It's all over the place. But I guess it's easier to hum a simplistic mantra "biofuels are the answer". there is no silver bullet There is nothing in biodiesel that would otherwise be a food crop (well, soy, but it's not the most efficient source of oil - mostly biodiesel is derived from canola and rapeseed oil - you wanna eat that?). You're thinking of ethanol which is derived from corn and wheat. And, yeah, I do think biofuels are the answer to our fuel situation. It's still a crop. There is a limit to the arable land available on this earth. Either less food is grown, and starvation is increased, or you destroy more forested areas to grow the plants needed. Water/irrigation will also be a problem.

Gay.....just like you my friend. Oh well. Being that you're the connoisseur of all things gay, who am I to argue? Kevbone and Seacocks: enantiomers of idiocy

and deforestation/destruction of what little remains of undeveloped land (e.g. rainforests)

seems to me YOU are just looking at the articles you want. food prices are already rising because of biofuels. The US gov't and businesses are "encouraging" 3rd world countries to provide biofuels at the expense of the environment, and their own people (e.g. Brazil). It's all over the place. But I guess it's easier to hum a simplistic mantra "biofuels are the answer". there is no silver bullet

About $200k a year in unpaid taxes. "unlocking the payscale" only makes the problems disappear in a Cato Institute paper. If you want to sustain skilled employment you need to be willing to pay for people when times are poor. Sweet! Time for a career change.

I've had some experience w/ public sector jobs in IT. Basically the folks in those positions are paid less to do FAR less. Expectations are extremely low as is the output. The caliber of the applicant is lower than in the private sector, and even good folks stagnate in the public sector. Those jobs pay less, but the ROI is much worse on balance than in the private sector (of course YMMV). And there is little oversight, and nobody ever gets fired. Some large companies are very similar to public sector jobs (except for better pay).

use Google: http://un-environmental-initiatives.suite101.com/article.cfm/potential_biofuel_problems

biofuels suck ass

increased worldwide usage and a peaked production output. it ain't gonna get better. And no, Hillary or Obamalamadingdong ain't gonna fix shit. So who will? Old man McCain? Nobody can fix it. Prices will continue to go up. We'll all be driving less, but it will be difficult to not spend more even cutting back. People making less will suffer the most.

Every time I see a single-occupancy Hummer or big ass SUV I want to puke.

increased worldwide usage and a peaked production output. it ain't gonna get better. And no, Hillary or Obamalamadingdong ain't gonna fix shit.

Eco-fascists? What do they have to do with gas prices? My understanding is the recent increases were due to OPEC. The people who think it's "good" for prices to go up. Way up. They should be happy. I didn't say there are to blame, but are certainly creaming their pants with delight. Yeah, this will show America! This is what America needs! F-k yeah!