Summary
The facts are laid out, the big oil companies are not green, who of us thought they were? The facts are they have record profits, but who of us can point the finger as we drive our cars to places we could walk or use public transit. The facts are the executives and board members of big oil companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders and employees to maximize profits within the confines of the law. The facts are the employees as well have a fiduciary duty to supply their product to the marketplace at the best possible price. The facts are that the current economic system we live under, work under and retire under is the based on the above noted facts. The facts are change will be challenging. The facts are change will be even more challenging if we continue to point fingers, continue to be adversarial and continue to not look for collaborative solutions. Who of us is not guilty of an error in our life time?
Analysis
Now I want to make something very clear I am not a bleeding heart liberal, nor a staunch conservative. So when companies error and consequences are due they should pay the consequences. Law and order is important for society. At the same time taking an adversarial approach to problems rarely achieves a good long term solution. I like to think of myself as a pragmatist.
I often have had to say I am not an environmentalist because the environmental movement has been so far to one side that they fail to portray reality. I as well have often had to struggle against industry because I have been viewed as just another hair-brained environmentalist. Someone one said if you have both sides of an adversarial position crossing their arms and waving their fingers at you then you likely are doing the right things. Lets hope.
The fact is (I can prove it) that there are ways to reduce GHG's as well as other pollutants while increasing the bottom line for such companies as Exxon, Chevron, BP and other industries from oil sands production to coal fired power generation to steel manufacturing.
The fact is that I can show big oil, the investment community and even the government an economic opportunity to reduce GHG's from lets say oil sands production by 50% or more within 5 years, increase conventional oil recovery by 15% to 25% and do so at a combined energy/carbon risk cost less than what oil sands producers are doing now.
Since we are on the oil band wagon and that the Senate hearings are into big oil are all over the news right now. The fact is peak oil is a relative term. The relativity come in because in reality is that there is more than enough oil in the ground to meet demand. The issue is getting the oil out of the ground. The fact is if oil companies were to get 5% more oil out of the ground on average we would clearly not have $130.00 a barrel oil prices, it would be an order of magnitude less.
The fact is in order for big oil and industry for that matter to meet the public, investment community and governmental demand to clean up there is going to have to be a collaborative approach.
The fact is if the investment community and the government began throwing their support behind the companies and ideas that or collaborative in nature with big oil and other industries then we would solve the problem and increase our financial security as well as our national security. I apologize in advance if this sound or comes across as being arrogant, but I dare anyone to dispute those facts with sound logic.
