US Gov selling off US National Forest lands to cover budget shortfall

[Shari]

Of Major Concern - US Gov selling off US National Forest lands to cover budget shortfall including in Ocala National Forest

Here is a very interesting article about a recent invitation-only

meeting in Ocala with Ric Keller, R-Orlando, a member of the Congressional Horse Caucus.

A very interesting mention is the recent decision by the US Government

(without going through Congress) via the USDA to begin selling off

sections of US National Forests. Nearly 1,000 acres of environmentally

sensitive watershed lands in the Ocala National Forest is slated for

sale - land which is necessary to protect our water system.

Those in other states may want to check on the Government's plans to

sell off portions of the National Forests in your states, to cover the

budget shortfalls producing by the Administration's questionable

priorities of tax cuts for those who don't need them while selling off

US assets and cutting back on services to those who need those services

now more than ever before.

Read the entire article for more details:

http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article.../20060228/NEWS/

202280345&SearchID=73238471445953

Then contact the USDA and your Congressional Representatives to make

your views on these important issues known. And please pass the word

Other topics covered in the article include

The Thoroughbred Industry says there isn't sufficient alternatives

(such as OTTB adoption) and retraining facilities in place to handle

the 65,000 horses a year that they produce which aren't suitable for

the race track, which is why they want the slaughter to continue so the

meat can be sold for consumption in Europe and Asia.

It also covers their concerns about needing illegal immigrants to

provide "affordable labor" on their horse farms. They say they

wouldn't be able to stay in business without being able to rely on the

work of illegal immigrants.

 

[Pepipony]

If they do , kinda would think that to be slightly illegal. Not that anything being ILLEGAL stops this administration :no: We are all just 'ignorant pawns' to their massive egos and intellect. So sad there is no shred of oversight right now. Pray GOD that changes. We cannot survive if it doesnt.

Love that old saying, Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. Kinda fits dontcha think?

 

[shminifancier]

About time. 80% of the State of AZ. is owned by the feds.. Not a good thing at all.. About time some land was opened up.. Maybe now to some oil refineries can be put up.. We sure need them~! As gas prices just shot up again this week~! :no:

 

[Pepipony]

I highly doubt that any new refineries or any new drilling on our part will lower prices. Not at all. There is massive new drilling going on here, has been for about 7 years and still prices are going up. Its rather foolish, no thats too strong, maybe shortsighted to think that anything we , as a country, can do to lower prices. They are fixed, there are reasons that while prices are their highest and fuel companies are complaining about costs, yet are posting record profits. Hmmm whats the common denomination? An administration that is backed by said fuel companiesand by the SAUDI royal family. Oh, anyone forget that Bush flew to his initial inauguration on an ENRON Jet? Or that the Saudi royal family and the Bin Laden familys were BOTH here on 9/11? Anyone forget that? We have an administration that feels it can do anything, is above the law, so its not a far reach to even think that they have something to do with these fuel prices. Maybe not, but there sure is enough circumstantial evidence to make one truly wonder.

Ever wonder why back in the 70's/80's after our 'fuel shortage' , drilling was STOPPED in the states? Then came back online in the 90's and then prices shot up?

We dont need more drilling, more pollutants, we need alternatives for fuel. Green fuels, Hydrogen cells etc.

Who is to say that any land sell off would benifit us anyhow? Is it stipulated to only go for business? Actually, its rather terrifying to think that anyone would even think about drilling or putting in refineries in a watershed.

:

 

[Happy Valley]

They are selling off part of Bienville National Forest here in Mississippi, as well. Shockaloe horse trail may or may not be affected, and it is a beautiful riding place.

 

[mininik]

"About time. 80% of the State of AZ. is owned by the feds.. Not a good thing at all.. About time some land was opened up.. Maybe now to some oil refineries can be put up.. We sure need them~! As gas prices just shot up again this week~!" -shminifancier

Well, I'm an Arizona native and as far as I'm concerned you can just GO DRILL IN YOUR OWN **** STATE! YOU deal with the ugly views and environmental problems drilling will create. Hey, while you're at it your family can stop making babies and CONSUMING so much and maybe that will help. Trade in your GAS GUZZLING SUV (or big rig, truck or whatever) for an ECONOMY CAR or a BIKE or just QUIT SNIVELING.

Pepipony said it all when she said, "We dont need more drilling, more pollutants, we need alternatives for fuel. Green fuels, Hydrogen cells etc."

 

[shminifancier]

I have already 3 years ago I have a 30mpg car now I don't work anymore so I do very little driving. And Cutting Back in this Country Will Not Work because of ALL those other countries that have or are now getting on line with fuel. You sure don't think China will be cutting back on using petro do you? The ONLY way to get this economy going at a nice pace is for the oil companies to Drill for more oil Open up Anwar, open up the Southern Florida, .. This is the only way we are going to get back to a good round of prosperity again. Oh sure we can do all these things that make a person feel Warm And Fussy inside, But that is only a stop gap measure.. And this comes from a economy annalist.. It just won't work in the Long Term and that is what has to take place NOW.. More Nuke Plants , More Coal Fired Power stations, and Start using that BIG oil shale that is in the western States There could be 5 TIMES More oil there then there is in the Saudi reserves~! It has been tested to show AT LEAST 2 times more and could be as high as 5 times more oil~!! Lets get this country Back on the roll again//

 

[Pepipony]

Most people dont have a clue, not the foggiest notion how loud, filthy and horrible drilling is. Not one iota of a clue. You want drilling? Please, come live with me when they put the drill in, IN MY BACK YARD!!!! Literally feet from my house. Come try and sleep with all the pounding and shaking going on 24/7. I have a nice spare bedroom suite that faces the site, it will just make your day. I DARE YOU to come stay and deal with it.

Shminifancier, where did you get your facts? All I have heard is that there isnt 5 times more oil in NAmerica than there is in the Middle East, not even close to the same amount, let alone more. You havent yet realized how much drilling we are doing and that it isnt effecting our fuel prices AT ALL. Sorry to say ( well, no I am not actually) but the best thing we need to do is get Shrub out. Its just entirely too coincidental that our fuel prices skyrocketed when he came into office. And yes, I will be the first to admit it if prices stay high after he is gone. I DO NOT vote party lines so I am willing to see the bad and good in everyone. I dont hide behind a party skirt and make excuses.

 

[shminifancier]

[quote Shminifancier, where did you get your facts? All I have heard is that there isnt 5 times more oil in NAmerica than there is in the Middle East, not even close to the same amount, let alone more. .

Well here is just one of many articles that talk about how much shale oil reservers there are in the western States.

Shale Oil Reserves

 

[Pepipony]

Oh btw thought it cute the 'budget shortfall' , sounds as if we are just running near bancruptcy for no apparent reason. Should read 'massive overspending' instead. This nation doesnt have a bottomless wallet, contrary to what some politicians think :no:

 

[Cathy_H]

They say theywouldn't be able to stay in business without being able to rely on the

work of illegal immigrants

.
There's plenty of able bodied people on welfare that can do this work.

 

[shminifancier]

Blast the forest lands. They sell many thousands of acres every year. Nothing new. You can even check to see how may will be offered in 2010. Nothing new.

I wish they would cut loose of some of the good land. Like some areas of Nevada I have my eye on. There are hundreds of gold mines that are not on operation anymore. They are on government land and not available for market.

Sell that dang stuff. There are also many area that are not investigated for minerals yet. Sell them off.

I am a firm believer that temp and climate will change. The earth spins in more then a circle. In time Arizona and Nevada will be as fertile as Iowa and Iowa as dry as New Mexico.

There is no reason for these lands to be tied up. They operate more then 90% of Nevada lands. WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I understand needing land for test, bombing practice and such, just almost a entire HUGE state? Utah, Arizona and New Mexico all the same

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Shmini, if you truly believe what you are saying, and are not just winding us up, as I know you do sometimes, then I can see exactly why the world is in the state it is in.

How anyone can deny global warming is a human problem is beyond me.

There are too many people using too much gas (of all kinds) and saying "It's Not My Problems"!!

Along with the NIMBY's I think we now have a big population of "INMP"'s as well.

Thus the Rain Forest continues to fall, the minerals continue to be raped out of th eland.

They do NOT grow back!!

Had you noticed??

Do you even care??

No, the problems can all be solved by our great grandchildren.

Oh, No, wait, there will not be any, as the world will have dried up by then, so- No Problem!!!

 

[shminifancier]

Shmini, if you truly believe what you are saying, and are not just winding us up, as I know you do sometimes, then I can see exactly why the world is in the state it is in.

How anyone can deny global warming is a human problem is beyond me.

No I don't think that global warmer is a Human thing, not at all. or very Little if it does.

Oceans getting warmer Yes I agree, But just many of the under ocean volcanic activity has been taken into consideration when "These" people that have grants running out and just want to "get" more funding, I wonder how many of those people know that the volcanic activity around the "ring of Fire" has gotten much more active in the last 30 years?? And where does all that heat go then from volcanic activity even from Alaska to Hawaii, when all that lava spews into the ocean, guess what it Warms up the waters. and all that activity Under the oceans also has a drastic change on the oceans temp..

And the results are so wide spread that Nobody has been able to say for Curtain that Man has caused what is now being called Global Warmer" and Yes I believe it IS happening. But has MAN done it all by himself. I doubt it very very much and Here is another Scientists that is Now saying since the start of the industrial revolution. Shaidurov, however, suggests that the rise, which began between 1906 and 1909, could have had a very different cause, which he believes was the massive Tunguska Event, which rocked a remote part of Siberia, northwest of Lake Baikal on the 30th June 1908.

So the jury is still out on whether man has caused this global warmer or not.

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/15/tunguska.shtml

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

The expansion of drilling is the US is a moot point. It doesn't matter how much or how little is accessible the real issue is an economic one and always will be. As long as it is cheaper to buy oil from the mid east we will buy it and so will every other country on this earth. Green fuels, transportation alternatives, etc. will only be a tiny percentage of the world's consumption until either the mid east supply is gone or it becomes cost prohibitive for everyone.

Right now alternative fuels cannot compete in the global market, or guess what folks, we'd be USING them and so would everyone else.

Whether you folks in other countries like it or not the US is a stablizing force in the world. That is not meant to be arrogant, it's just the way it is at this point in history. The US has a huge responsibililty to other countries and without our economy being and remaining strong by using the same cheap oil every other country does it would be disasterous on a global scale.

While I love the idea of clean burning or alternative fuels and an end to raping the environment for our own selfish needs, I also understand that it is not as simple as more drilling, using fuel efficent vehicles or recyling.

And Nikki do you have any idea how exhausting it is to pull my three horse slant with my moped? :bgrin

 

[rabbitsfizz]

It certainly is not that simple, but it also, most certainly would be a start!!

On the other hand, whilst people like shmini have their heads stuck firmly in the sand we could hitch up the power grids to them and run on natural gas- or pull their heads out of the sand and run on hot air

:lol:

 

[shminifancier]

It certainly is not that simple, but it also, most certainly would be a start!!

On the other hand, whilst people like shmini have their heads stuck firmly in the sand we could hitch up the power grids to them and run on natural gas- or pull their heads out of the sand and run on hot air

:lol:

Well that is what opinions are everybody has a different one. And for every study is done there is another study that shows just the opposite And that is what makes the world go round. Just like this Russian scientist about the Asteroid way back in 1908 may have caused what is now called global warmer.. Just his opinion just the same Nobody has agreed on this global warmer thing 100% because of the Earth being so Dynamic and all. Oh well.. Such is life. And the computer programs out there showing global warming is no better then the person that put that data in there and Their own interpreting that data.