deviant art

Deviant Login Shop  Join deviantART for FREE Take the Tour
[x]
more ▶

Featured in Groups:

Details

September 5, 2008
Link
Thumb

Statistics

Comments: 101
Favourites: 0
Views: 424 (0 today)
[x]

Drill This.

Journal Entry: Fri Sep 5, 2008, 8:29 AM
:wave:
hey y'all!

I'm back! ... well ... sort of.  The fires around here are over for the most part, so I'll be home more often and have a bit more time for online stuff.  From now on in I'll be turning my comments back on and have more time to converse with friends here in the art world.

Unfortunately, photography is taking a back-seat to other more pressing issues in my life at this time.  I'll be packing up for a move in October, which is going to make life very hectic for the next few months.  Right now, in the calm before the storm, I'm still working 8-hour days at the fire-base until the end of September.

I'm looking forward to my annual lay-off and settling in to my new place, (which is going to be my studio also) so I can start peddling my prints on a full-time basis around the local galleries again.  Although my job takes me away and into the great outdoors, fire fighting is all business with very little time for play.  During my winters, however, my time with nature is MY time. :)

Changing the subject to dA:  I've noticed in my brief visits to the site lately that photography ...in particular nature photography... is making a come-back at this site.  A resurgence of quality photographers seems to be giving new life to what was once being over-run by crappy popularity-driven fridge-scribblings.

.

I want to just say a few words about a subject I brought up in one of my recent deviations, If River Could Speak.  About offshore drilling, which has become a campaign issue for my southern neighbors.  A friend and I were debating the issue and he said to me "nobody has a reason why they shouldn't drill"

I told him to give this a read: Offshore Drilling – It's NOT the Answer to High Gas Prices at the Pump

Then he came back the next day and found this to support his argument: Drill Here, Drill Now.

What struck me as odd is how the drilling advocates are confusing wind power and electricity creation with oil-burning.  This is confusing because both have to do with energy creation, but in different ways.  We don't burn oil to create electricity... we burn it to power various modes of transportation and heat our homes.  Electricity is a whole different ball game.  Comparing oil-burning and wind-farms is ridiculous.   Instead, we should be comparing oil to hydrogen and other cleaner fuels.  How about comparing wind power to coal power?  

Why has the issue of global warming has been re-labeled 'Energy Independence' by the political world?  Is it to muddle public opinion and avoid the REAL issue?

And why... please tell me why... do politicians want to drill in an Alaskan game preserve? :roll:

Skinner


~~~~~

Featured Artist

~YagaK
an inspiring artistic talent from Canada.



~~~~

*zeldis
an incredible illustrator from Mexico.



~~~~

~henroben
very nice nature photography from the UK.



~~~~

~Brettc
quality nature photography from the USA



~~~~

*alexandre-deschaumes
new to dA! .. nature photographer from France.



~~~~

*eswendel
a talented Finnish nature photographer



~~~~

`Paula-Rosa
a brilliant digital artist and dear friend.



~~~~

~Nullermanden
very cool portraiture - a must watch.



~~~~

~hilmanfajar
very nice photography from Indonesia.



~~~~

~4420
A great conceptual and abstract talent.



~~~~

~Latefor
A very talented nature photog from the USA.
...brand new to dA too!



~~~~

~tredowski
Digital painter brand new to dA!



~~~~

~elementality
This nature photog has it goin' on!



~~~~

*StephanusEmbricanus
An indescribable mixed-media artist.  My jaw hit the floor!



~~~~

~tomaskaspar
incredible American nature photography.



~~~~

*Alcove
amazing photog... astounding gallery!



~~~~

~ZeEnigMa
an inspiration to me..



~~~~

~Slawekgruca
a fantastic conceptualist and illustrator from Poland.

:thumb71345687:

~~~~

~FrodoK
an amazing painter ... his gallery is a fantasy land!






Latest Prints
Latest Prints
Latest Prints
Latest Prints
Latest Prints



Featured Print



'Sunrise in a Bottle'



:iconhdr-club:
..


Add a Comment:
 
:iconbillsabub:
Glad to see you're still kickin', John. Good luck with the move and getting set up in the new digs.
Reply
:iconicenectar:
*icenectar Sep 17, 2008   General Artist
You know I remember having a debate in college once about using wood as a energy resource. Apparently there is a way to burn wood and convert it into electricity or something like that. It's been awhile since college. Anyways the first argument against this was deforestation but apparently all you need to make this work is a tree farm. There's a certain type of tree that matures in about two years that is perfect for this energy concept because the tree burns clean and it is a renewable resource.

The problem with this and so many other alternative solutions is that no one wants to get off the gravy train. There's a lot of other solutions but we've been dependent on oil for so long (and that's partially because the oil companies seem to have a habit of squashing anyone that might pose a threat to their empire) that no one wants to move away from that comfort zone. I guess the mentality of "If it's not broke, don't fix it" is alive and well.
Reply
:iconkuroinusama69:
~KuroInuSama69 Sep 15, 2008  Hobbyist General Artist
Skinner. It is simple. Big Oil Is big business, just Like Big Coal was big business once upon a time. Cleaner burning fuels, Smarter fuels These would put the 1% of those who control the worlds economies out on their asses - Although I can't see how half these money grubbing asses would ever be poor again, but meh.

What Do I Know, I am just a basic working stiff.

Glad to know you're back buddy
Reply
:iconwenchy:
Yeh! glad you'll be off for a while looking forward to learning more from the master. :bow: :sarcasticclap:
Reply
:iconthatiam:
Always glad to have you back hun ... the move sounds exciting ... and the politics - well i don't have enough time for that at the moment except to say Yes it is precisely to muddy opinions: it's campaign time & our only choice is to decide on the lesser of the three evils!
Reply
:icongrammoo:
~GramMoo Sep 11, 2008  Hobbyist Photographer
:hug: welcome back !!
Reply
:iconmnesomeye:
Have fun moving, mister! :heart:
Reply
:iconmagpie-poet:
I'm afraid I've no good answers for you.

I can say that it's because politicians see it as a shortcut/quick fix and too many people don't think. If they're told it'll bring cheaper gas, they'll belive it. Or I can say too many people don't care... Conserving or mixing fuels requires change and effort...

Look, where I work I have trouble getting people to recycle their damn soda cans. And they make fun of me for shopping with canvas bags...

Ultimately I don't know what to say.

I'm sorry.
Reply
:iconimaeko:
=imaeko Sep 9, 2008  Hobbyist Digital Artist
Just a note... I thought oil/gas WAS burnt to produce electricity... at least I'm sure thats what I got taught in school! I thought it was burnt to provide heat to boil water, to create steam. The pressure of the steam drives turbines, and the turbines motion generate electricity. In standard UK power station (I dont know about the rest of the world), there are giant cooling towers to cool the steam back into water at the other end.

...At least thats how I thought it worked, and if thats right then oil and electricity ARE connected.. ^^; I mean, if they werent, there would be no need for all the panic. If we were just using fossil fuels for cars.. well, we'd have plenty left! The whole trying to switch to renewable energy is because theres not enough oil for all of the forseeable future to create the electricity to meet current / escalating future demands.

Anyway. Depressing future energy crisis aside, hope you have a fantastic winter, and I look forward to seeing more work! :giggle:
Reply
Add a Comment: