America's third largest oil company, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), came out today with a stark confession. The company's chairman and chief executive, James Mulva, acknowledged that his company's main product, fossil fuels, are permanently warming the Earth's atmosphere.According to Mulva, the company has been studying its impact on global warming for several years now and it has become obvious that the science speaks for itself. The oil industry as a whole has become more willing to fess up to its impact on global warming, but still have not completely embraced the concept that the burning of fossil fuels is indeed leading to global warming.
As recently as this February, the CEO of the nation's largest oil company, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), stated that he was still not 100% convinced of the impact that the burning of fossil fuels is having on climate changes. "There's clearly a change in the climate," Tillerson, XOM's chairman and chief executive said. "It's getting warmer. How that all interrelates with industrial activity is not 100% clear." Come on Tillerson, I think it's about time to just admit what the rest of the world already knows to be true.
While other companies are seemingly turning a blind eye to global warming, ConocoPhillips is definitely on the forefront of trying to make a change. On the 10th of this month, the company announced it was pledging $22 million to Iowa State to aid in the development of fuels from switchgrass. A week later, it announced a joint venture with Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to begin producing diesel fuel out of animal fat.
Times are definitely changing. It wasn't that long ago that all the major oil companies insisted they were not part of the global warming problem. Now we are definitely seeing some changes, and hopefully more good news to come.
Only last week I blogged on how another oil company, Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), is looking to develop alternative fuel sources, and is researching into biofuels made from cellulose.
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-19-2007 @ 3:07PM
Michael Schneider said...
British Petroleum seems to have been ahead on some of these things but it is important that COP and CVX are willing to do something on this. Even if you don't believe in global warming, pollution has bad effects on people's health. I suspect conservation has to be part of the solution, though most people don't want to do that much- if people wait for Exxon and other corporations any efforts could fall short.
4-20-2007 @ 7:08PM
gary harrison said...
hey fowlkes....where were you a few days ago...i couldve used some help shoveling the 7 inches of global warming out of my drive.