Pigs claim they're just about to fly...

[MiaCulpa]

Didn't see this posted, but it's from Thursday, so...

Confronted with a sharp change of priorities in Washington, international oil executives are expressing an eagerness to work with President Obama to fashion new policies to tackle global warming.

At an industry conference here this week, the executives struck a conciliatory tone on how to limit the emissions that are contributing to climate change, with many of them sounding like budding conservationists as they stressed energy efficiency and the need to develop renewable fuels.

At the same time, they declared that the country would still need oil for a long time, and sought to persuade the new administration of the need for more drilling off the nation's coasts.

On tackling global warming, a subject that has long divided the industry, some executives said they supported a tax on carbon, while others favored a trading system like the one adopted by Europe. Almost all of them seemed reconciled to the United States' adopting some kind of climate policy, and said they were eager to work with the new administration to devise an effective energy strategy.

"President Obama comes to office with a strong commitment to tackle climate change," said Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP. "Suddenly the challenges many of us have been wrestling with for a long time — the importance of energy security in providing economic security, and tackling the issue of climate change in a way that is commercially viable — are center stage."

During his election campaign, Mr. Obama frequently criticized big oil companies, expressed skepticism about offshore drilling, and pledged to try to replace hydrocarbons with more renewable fuels. He has made energy and environmental policy a cornerstone of both his national security and economic efforts.

The executives strongly urged the administration to open up the continental shelf for offshore drilling at the very time that the interior secretary, Ken Salazar, announced that the government would review and probably scale back the Bush administration's plan to give oil and gas drillers new rights.

Exxon Mobil, which had long been skeptical of global warming, offered its own suggestions. One of the company's top executives, Michael J. Dolan, said that Exxon would back a tax on carbon, while criticizing a so-called cap-and-trade approach.

Full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/science/earth/12oil.html?_r=1

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. I guess now that pig cheney is not in control they aren't quite sure how to manipulate

our country's laws and rules to get mass profits

[wtmusic]

2. Tackling the issue of climate change "in a way that is commercially viable"?

No, tackling climate change at any cost.

[annabanana]

3. duly filed. . . under

"believe it when you see it"

[NYC_SKP]

4. BP and others were on this more than a year ago. Challenged Bush and Congress:

They were among 10 corporations which joined NRDC in addressing congress the day before Bush's 2007 State of the Union adress.

snip:
January 22, 2007

The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to you in our capacity as members of U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a diverse group of major U.S.-based businesses and leading environmental organizations. After a year of collaboration and dialogue, USCAP today issued a set of principles and policy recommendations to address global warming. In our report, entitled A Call for Action, we urge Congress to enact legislation to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This unprecedented alliance consists of leading American corporations – Alcoa, BP America, Caterpillar, Duke Energy, DuPont, FPL Group, General Electric, Lehman Brothers, PG&E Corporation and PNM Resources– and four major non-governmental organizations – World Resources Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Environmental Defense. Ours is a unique and diverse group, which is united in the belief that we can, and must, take prompt action to establish a coordinated, economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection..."

http://www.us-cap.org/media/letter.asp

[Arctic Dave]

5. a coordinated, economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection..."

aka. Drilling for gas with nice government subsidies for them.

[Cirque du So-What]

6. After reaping record profits

despite the recent fallback in the price of crude oil, Big Oil is cutting back on refinery production to drive up the price of gasoline once again. Perhaps they're trying to placate the Obama administration and Congress in order to preclude something on the order of a Windfall Profits Tax.