Shell Oil CEO - US Needs National Greenhouse Gas Policy - AP

[hatrack]

ST. LOUIS - Touting the importance of a "culture of conservation" and investment in alternative fuels, John Hofmeister sounded less the leader of the world's third-largest oil company as much as a speaker at an Earth Day celebration. The Shell Oil Co. president, addressing a group in St. Louis Thursday, said as far as the company was concerned, the debate over the science of global climate change is over.

"It's a waste of time to debate it," he said. "Policy-makers have a responsibility to address it. The nation needs a public policy. We'll adjust." He said it is a perfect time for policy-makers to keep fuel prices high and force market changes. In Europe, where fuel prices are higher, less fuel is used, he said.

Hofmeister shared his thoughts on U.S. energy security with a group at Washington University's Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy. As early as the 1920s, St. Louis was North American headquarters for Shell Oil, which is now based in Houston. He said conventional oil and gas resources are no longer enough for the nation's energy security. The energy future, he said, will include fuel derived from oil shale, gasified coal and other unconventional sources; biofuels such as ethanol from grasses, straw, corn stalks and other plant matter; wind and solar energy; hydrogen fuel cells; and conservation.

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He also said the U.S. represents 8 percent of the world's population but is using 25 percent of the energy supply. "It's not a sustainable formula," he said, noting that the rest of the world wants its "fair share," too. "The world produces 85 million barrels of oil a day and consumes 84 million barrels, with no available extra supply anywhere." Hofmeister said world oil selling for as little as $10 a barrel in 1998 made investment in alternative fuels not economical. But he said with oil prices upward of $60 a barrel, solar, wind and unconventional fuel projects are doable.

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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/business/15462862.htm

[9119495]

1. hmmmm.

I wonder if he sees a change in government on the horizon.

[unhappycamper]

2. One sentence jumped out at me:

He said it is a perfect time for policy-makers to keep fuel prices high and force market changes.

[RonHack]

3. I think he means......

....that more taxes on our gasoline consumption should be slapped on, vis-a-vis Europe.

Still, it sounds like a CYA speech. Motorists are furious over sky-high gas prices, and his compensation package. Why not redirect the anger towards the government, "where it belongs"?

Besides, Shell, among other oil companies, is trying to become an "energy company", but without their money involved in the investments needed. Let government, using taxpayer's money, find the new energy source, and then the corporations can make money off of it.

Sounds like the pharmaceutical companies. Double taxation, anyone?