Alternative fuel research is a top priority, but if there were someone who would discover this alternative method wouldn’t it be stamped out by Big Oil? Don’t the major oils companies have enough influence to say, we’re going to lose too much money on this, don’t produce it yet to the government? What do you think? Is there an answer, but it is just being held up by poitics?
Originally posted 2009-04-14 16:01:39.
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I think probably to some extent. However, the oil companies will be at the forefront of developing any alternative.
This means that they could simply buy out the little men who come up with any viable alternatives they have not already thought of themselves.
There are already alternatives on the market. For example, all my local Petrol (Gas) stations are selling hybrid fuel at a fraction of the cost of regular petrol. The only problem is it cost a fortune to convert your car to run on it, and the conversion gear practically fills the boot of your car.
Yes. It will be like the cigarette companies who paid scientists tons of money to classify cigarettes as ok for health!! Oil makes so much money no one wants to change. But we have to. There are in fact alternative fuels, but they’re hard to come by.
there are alternatives, and they are not being chocked out, and in fact are subsidized by the government
- ethanol
- biodiezel
- natural gas
- hybrid/electric cars
Who do you think it is that is coming up with all of this new technology? Who has the infrastructure and ability to handle it all? Farmers? No, it’s the oil companies. We are the ones leading the charge. Besides, the use of alternative energy in the future is inevitable, and an astute business person would want to be there on the ground when it takes off.
Yes, we also buy gasoline, and have kids, so we’re also concerned about gas prices, and the environment. But the fact is that at the rate it’s going, along with reasonable expections, experts say that oil will still make up 80% of the energy we use in 30 to 40 years. This stuff takes time. People need to be patient and try to figure out what they can do to help, rather than point fingers.
The price of oil is set on the world market, not by oil companies.
The answer to your question is no, oil companies do not have the power or influence to somehow choke out alternative fuels (which after all, means they would somehow have to conceal information already in the public domain, and erase a lot of peoples’ memories). Should be clear by the fact that several are available to you right now, as mentioned above, and all are subsidized by the government.
I for one have an ethanol pump about 2 miles form my house, and if I bought a flex-fuel car from some crappy American auto company, I could use it to my heart’s content.
Big oil has serious money vested in alternative energy sources. They want to be in control of it to control pricing just like they have done with oil. Most companies don’t have the kind of money that big oil has to buy up machinery in making solar cells.