Image via WikipediaThe sky erupts. Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses.
End-of-the-world novel? A video game? Or could such a scenario loom in America's future?There is talk of catastrophe ahead, depending on whom you believe, because of the threat of an electromagnetic pulse triggered by either a supersized solar storm or terrorist A-bomb, both capable of disabling the electric grid that powers modern life.
The Energy and Commerce Committee will resume its markup of healthcare legislation Wednesday afternoon under a deal between Blue Dogs and House leaders, but there will be no floor vote on the legislation before August.
Delaying a vote until after August was a key demand of the Blue Dogs, along with reducing the cost of the bill by $100 billion and allowing states to create health "co-ops" that would compete with the government-run "public option" and private insurers.
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Immediately after Biden's comment, his campaign had tried to backpedal, saying Biden was attempting to draw a distinction between the U.S. and China's outdated technology and that the U.S. should lead by developing better clean-coal methods.
The misstep, however, has caused headaches for the campaign in a number of battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Virginia, where the western part of the state is dominated by coal production.
Should Members of Congress return to Washington immediately and vote on offshore drilling? | |
|---|---|
Yes | 61% |
No | 30% |
Not Sure | 10% |
The majority of Americans (59%) regard Russia’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Georgia as a threat to U.S. national security, but less than a third (31%) believe the United States should take any diplomatic action against Russia.
A similar number (33%) say the United States should not take diplomatic action against Russia, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken Monday night. A plurality (36%) remain undecided.
Just over half (51%) also believe that John McCain is the best equipped of the two major presidential candidates to handle a similar crisis in the future, while 36% (WTF?) believe Barack Obama is the better of the two to deal with this kind of situation.
—Rasmussen Reports
Which of the following do you think is primarily responsible for the current high price of fuel? (Two answers allowed)
| The government | 45% |
| Oil producing countries | 22% |
| Oil companies | 20% |
| Stock market traders | 11% |
| Consumers | 2% |
| Petrol stations | 1% |
| None of these | 2% |
| Don’t know | 4% |
Source: ICM Research
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,021 British voters, conducted on Jul. 23 and Jul. 24, 2008. No margin of error was provided.
ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y. -- The republican candidate for Congress in the 25th district wants Washington to release oil from the nation's strategic reserves.
Dale Sweetland says releasing a third of the reserve would drop oil prices by as much as $50 a barrel, bringing a substantial cut in gas prices. He also wants a go ahead for new domestic oil drilling. Those steps, he says, would give consumers and the economy breathing room to work on new energy sources.
—News 10
But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts as well to lift its own drilling ban. There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by the first President Bush in 1990.
—MSNBC
If the maximum highway speed limit was dropped to 55 miles per hour, would that reduce the price of gas and oil? | |
|---|---|
Yes | 26% |
No | 61% |
Not sure | 13% |
Does relying on coal for energy make us sick? | |
|---|---|
Yes | 22% |
No | 52% |
Not Sure Source: Rasmussen Reports | 26% |
Should the government nationalize all the oil companies and run them on a non-profit basis?
| Yes | 29% |
| No | 47% |
| Not sure | 24% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 likely American voters, conducted on Jun. 14, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Should drilling be allowed in offshore oil wells? | |
|---|---|
Yes | 62% |
No | 27% |
Not Sure | 12% |
Should the government nationalize all the oil companies and run them on a non-profit basis? | |
|---|---|
Yes | 29% |
No | 47% |
Not Sure | 24% |
