Yeah, it would be nice to blame it all on "environmental organizations." But the truth is, Occidental Petroleum, British Petroleum, Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, Superior Oil, and Reliance Oil all reported record profits this last quarter.
This is not entirely the fault of enviro-wackjobs. This is untrammeled greed at its worst. And the best part is, the thieving bastids in oil company boardrooms have ready-made whipping boys: the environmental lunatic fringe.
/UN.....United Nazis?
/naw
Blame the Gov't owned oil companies...Saudi Aramco, Citgo/PDV
Do you not believe in the profit motive?
Is there a giant mattress somewhere for them to put that product of their greed? (I heard this is what Greenland is, under the snow is billions in oil profits just sitting there in a giant suitcase.)
If you were an oil baron would you: spend on developing more oil fields to reap more profits, spend on developing new technologies so you have a product or service to extend your going concern, or stash it with the high chance you will need it to comply with future regulatory costs or do nothing?
I would do the first three, as do all the companies you maentioned in your post. Profits are the solution, the oil companies don't make any money off of federal tax or environmental regulation, they lose money there. They only make money off of demand driven pressures. It is in their best interest to serve the demand. For if the margins grow to high someone else will decide they can enter the market and serve them. It is also in their best interest to develop alternatives. Any solution to any impending energy crisis will come from the energy companies... afterall some of those companies had a stake in selling Whale oil, and they solved that shortage didn't they?
-- lates
-- jrawk