In the future, local and regional tensions are likely to rise as solutions to energy issues and social needs continue to be caught in the sticky web of socio-political-economic context of government and business. Like the saying goes, ‘sometimes we can’t get out of the way of our own shoes’. Numerous energy interests from Washington D.C. to Wall Street impede the progress of smarter business responses to social needs, as their focus remains on looking good and making money, as opposed to doing so with the grace, force and care that is needed for addressing social interests and the near future.
As the most affluent society in the world it can be mind boggling that we still have social issues associated with energy availability, reliability and pricing. Solutions ranging from energy-efficient products, conservation education and strategies, distributed generation and smart electric grid technologies, and development of energy systems that recognize and value how we now use energy in our 21st century economy are available, but take a back seat to oil wars and the dinosaurs that feed from them.
The abundance of opportunities for energy independence in our own backyard are like the rivers of Maine and Alaska that once ran so full with salmon that you could reach out and grab them. We choose however to maintain our status quo of protectionism feeding the military industrial complex that has been created over decades of delusion to support our thirst of oil and damper our fears of the world.
This is changing, and its being led by global oil giants, real estate development firms, large industrial manufacturers and smaller local enterprises focused on searching for and delivering sustainable energy solutions. We see this in transformation underway at firms like Suncor Energy, British Land, Siemens AG, and 3 Phases Energy.
This transformation is not without debate. This past February the Venezuela-owned oil giant Citgo ran television commercials in the U.S. with some interesting news for lower-income Americans. The company, many whom believe is tied to closely to Venezuela President Hugo Chávez, has announced that it will provide a 40% discount on up to 100 million gallons of heating oil for 1.2 million Americans t
his winter. Citgo says its part of their “…very strong tradition of giving back to the community."Massachusetts congressman Joseph P. Kennedy and chairman of Citizens Energy said Citgo’s assistance to the U.S. is good business and begins to address social need. A Washington Post article ran this quote from Kennedy, "It's not only morally righteous, it's good business," he said, "when you're selling the world's largest market a gigantic percentage of your overall sales in crude oil, to take a little percentage and show that . . . you have concerns about how low-income people are going to keep up with the enormous price of keeping warm."
The trend we see from Citgo is likely to continue, politically palatable or not. Truth is - the underbelly of society wants change. They want their needs answered and are seeking for equitable solutions.
We are beyond the first-half in this energy game. In fact, we were granted several over-times years ago. Suffice it to say we are still in the game but losing and out of time-outs. Smart entrepreneurs, large corporations and savvy politicians are creating new rules to a new game: the economics are there, social expectation is there, the environmental need is there…will the dinosaurs holding onto the past die off or survive this new game?
By, Mark C. Coleman
March 8, 2007
1 comment:
Thanks for your blog URL submission at BUSINESS LEADS NETWORK
Post a Comment