Boy, this is a good thread, so I'll have to Chime in on a few things....
1. We are DEFINATELY getting gouged on gas prices, and the oil companies are making record profits. Alternative fuel motorcars, although coming fairly soon, will not be viable soon enough to keep the issue from effecting auto makers. Just how much cash are the big 3 making from SUVs? You can be sure that you'll see the big auto makers fighting the high gas prices as much as us.
If you've ever been to Europe, you'll realise just how lucky we've been for so long as far as petroleum prices go, as expensive as it is here, its even more expensive there....
Give this stuff about another 6 months, and you'll see that many of the tree-hugger soccer moms who drive SUVs won't give a diddly-doo about the endangered Alaskan spotted turtle-nosed ferret when they're paying 3 bucks a gallon for unleaded.
Refineries: We need em, let's get them (responsibly)
2. Electrical Energy:
Nuclear fusion is the future and more resources should be put into research toward this goal. We can use more Hydro-electric, solar, and wind power stations to get enviro friendly electricity for our MP3 players.
I would suggest fission power as a stop-gap measure until other sources become realistically viable\widespread.
Spent nuclear rods? Send them into the sun. A little cash from the power companies could certainly help the space program....
3. China:
Speaking as a pilot and veteran, anyone who thinks that a P-3 recon plane on autopilot could intentionally ram or accidentally clip even a 60's designed fighter aircraft is just plain high....
China has a right to be angry? For what?
For losing a pilot who was performing dangerous maneuvers next to a slow, cumbersome turboprop on autopilot in international airspace?
For having their "feelings" violated because of the presence of a recon aircraft in international airspace?
One more time... INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE...
Their territorial sovereignty was never threatened and their airspace was never crossed until AFTER the collision. By this time the crew just wanted to find an airfield ANYWHERE to land the stricken aircraft. If I were that commander, would I have made the same decision to land in communist China? Maybe not, but I wasn't there. So I'm not going to try to make a judgement.
Folks, unless you live under a rock, you must realize that everyone spies on everyone else..... Secrets are held and espionage is done every day even between FRIENDLY COUNTRIES! Do you really think that the Chinese government is not aggressively spying on the United States? I guarantee you that they are. The only reason they are not using a similar aircraft for the same use is that they don't have the capability.
Russia and the US have been doing these games for years and continue today. One country will fly a recon plane in international airspace, the other will send "escorts" to monitor the first plane.
99 percent of the time, that's all that happens. If you add an irresponsible butt-head who thinks he's Maverick from Top Gun into the mix.... Aircraft get messed up and people die.
China needs to figure out how to play well with others in the sandbox, including their own people...
maybe then there will be less of a need for intelligence\data from that part of the globe.
Rant over...
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"The Yellowjacket"
Ricer 1: What the heck was that!?
Ricer 2: I don't know. It looked kind of like a yellow SN95 Mustang.
Ricer 1: Nah, fast SN95 Mustangs don't exist... Must have been a mirage or something...