Bob It's too bad executives weren't exempt from bail out funds. The term golden handshake might be recoined as platinum or diamond in the near future. The parties that AIG had were just the tip of what probably is happening all over. Greed and the pursuit of thy self is an ugly problem, where morals and integrity have taken a back seat.
I agree this is just a momentary wrickle, until OPEC figures a way to get 147 a barrell again.
All those of you who have large gas tanks(500+ gallons at home, I guess now is the time to start filling them again.) A friend has a 200 and a 500 gallon setup he bought just before gas hit 3.00 a gallon. I told him to fill them, because it would get worse. He didn't believe me and they have set empty for over a year now.
I also worry about the total environmental impact for all of our current gas conservation choices. Nobody wants to answer what will happen when all of those hybrids need new batteries, and what recycling issues this will cause, or the silica production for solar cells, and the hazardous waste that is caused in the manufacturing process( China has already demonstrated that dumping it into their local farms has effectively killed all life and any future farming near these plants), so the answers are not easy, but I do believe funding for alternative energy sources that are availible to us, and will have lower environmental impacts is essential. We can't continue the way we have and expect our livestyles not to change, and our health to survive.
I also agree that we need to work on our infra structure in the interem. I don't know much about coal energy plants these day, just that nations that use coal for heat have a tremendous problem with their citizens health in the areas of asthma, emphysema, and mercury poisoning which is liberated into the air during the burning process. I don't know if nuclear is the answer, but for the short term these may be necessary evils.