I disagree

Monday 14 June 2010 - Filed under Economy + Environment

Deborah Gordon and Daniel Sperling in The Washington Post on why major oil corporations are ill suited to lead us to clean, alternative energy:

Big Oil is fundamentally mismatched to the project of developing alternative fuels. The corporate culture and core competence of oil companies favor large, centralized investments; these conglomerates are skilled at building massive structures and investing enormous amounts of capital in pursuit of oil.

I disagree.

Big Oil is fundamentally mismatched to the project of developing alternative fuels. The corporate culture and core competence of oil companies favor large, centralized investments; these conglomerates are skilled at building massive structures and investing enormous amounts of capital in pursuit of oil making a shit load of money.

FIFY.

The one factor this duo never takes in to account is that companies of all kinds have one singular goal: to do what is best for those that own it (shareholders).  When fossil fuels no longer represent the overwhelming majority of our means to fuel our society, Big Oil will undoubtedly move towards green energies or it will cease to exist (which would be a bad thing for the shareholders of big oil companies).  Though they are specifically set up to find, gather, process and sell fossil fuels right now, what is more important is to see the forest through the trees in that what Big Oil specializes is not in providing oil, but in provoiding those who need to power something with the means to power that something.  It simply happens to be oil right now.  When it makes financial sense for shareholders, you will see Big Oil companies start to move their resources and assets over at a rapid pace.

2010-06-14  »  madlibertarianguy