Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakegeezer
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The oil industry is making more gross profit than any other, and they have a huge war chest to make sure their stockholders stay happy. They don't see the profit in alternate energies - so are not investing heavily there ...
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In just a short time poking around I found that:
Royal Dutch/Shell has invested $1 billion in a solar plant.
BP is investing $4 billion in a wind plant.
Exxon is spending over $400 million a year on alternate energy research.
Chevron is investing $330 million a year in alternate energy research.
Meanwhile it should be understood that these are private businesses. They are not required to spend on such things and may even be held liable for excess non profitable spending. Businesses are responsible to manage the assets of the company for the financial benefits of the shareholders, not to address society's problems. Reputable companies do dedicate funds for such uses in the public interest BUT IT IS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. Further, it's a little hard for me to mad at oil companies making 40 cents on a $4 gallon of gas when society thinks it's OK for Starbucks to make $$ on a $5
CUP of coffee (how much is that per gallon?). The difference is scale. Exxon sells A LOT of gas, making a modest profit profit per unit. Starbucks makes obscene profits on each unit sold. Most companies make a much better (less fair??) profit per unit than oil companies do. Oil companies are simply bigger; they need to be to carry out the huge exploration and development efforts that are required to deliver the oil we need.
Meanwhile the US government is spending about $770 million a year (in 2006)on alternate energy research which was less than 1% of all government research funds and much less than the oil companies. Govt spends over $20 billion a year on health care research. If energy management is truly the disastrous crisis that some say it is, maybe it's time to shift money from some other areas to beef up energy research?
And have you heard the old saying "If you want less of something, tax it"? Well the opposite applies. If the government is serious about getting more alternative energy research maybe they should quit their bitchin and offer better tax incentives to promote such activity. Either that or fund it themselves. It IS the government's responsibility. Maybe they should stop trying to pass the buck.