Where's the people's cut?
Bankruptcies, loans, grants, etc - Where's my cut?Just finished a story about a Dow Chemical venture into a pilot-scale algae-based integrated biorefinery. Interesting piece. Algae still has hurdles, but the upside is HUGE.
Yet, Dow is seeking a Department of Energy grant to "demonstrate the technology at a level to sufficiently prove that it can be implemented on a commercial scale". Read: Profitable.
Fine. I can handle the fact that Dow, a company that has made billions in profit over the years, needs my help to investigate the next big green development. Still, why is it that whenever Dow hits the next big breakthrough - using my money - the politicians get rewarded, Dow stock holders get paid, but I don't?
What investor would ever agree to such an investment?
And it's not just Dow. It's many major companies. It's certainly GM, GMAC, Citi, Chrysler, AIG, etc, etc, etc. Aren't such companies forever indebted to the tax payers, to the people? Is it not we, the people, that are the real investors, not the government?
Labels: biofuels
posted by Dahcredyns at
2:26 PM
2 Comments:
I don't claim to understand all of this but how many pounds of plant material did it take to make a ton of coal or a barrel of oil?
If we'd want to replace/substitute "green" plant "stuff" for oil or coal ..how many pounds of it would we have to grow to get the equivalent of a ton of coal or a barrel or oil?
I'm sure someone knows that.
Then we also have the issue that coal & oil do not "occupy" existing landscapes... that currently do "other things" than produce green fuel.. and we'd have to trade those "other things" to use it for green fuel - right?
I'm not raining on the parade here.. only trying to gain a better understanding of the tradeoffs.
no rain on my parade.
algae and other enzymatic green fuels have some barriers to overcome. still, if i had to make a bet, i'd bet there are going to be some huge profits in this area of development.
nonetheless, i wasn't really promoting algae fuels, I was just ranting against how corporations - some of them extremely profitable at the time - use tax payer money to make massive profits.
yet, do we the taxpayers really get our fair share?
not long ago i came across a study demonstrating the increase in wealth attained by those that get elected to congress. Congresspeople get richer spending our tax money, as do the companies - no collusion there i'm sure - yet we the people funding both congress and tax incentives for these companies get what in return?
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