We've heard a lot of talk in the media about decreasing our dependence on foreign oil. For one reason or another our dependency continues. Here is a link to what GE is doing to help: http://www.ge.com/news/audio_video/index.html
Questions: Do you think that biofuel is something that can completely replace oil? Why aren't companies doing more research in this area? How come we don't hear about the work that many companies are doing already? What do you think about the concept of biofuel?
GE seems to be taking the lead in this area. We would assume that in the five stage process of social responsibility that they are at least at the "strategy" stage and may even be at the "civil" stage. How would you classify their level of involvement in CSR and why?
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11 comments:
I think bio fuel is something that can replace oil in aproximatley 10 years. I think Fuel company's are still very into exploiding crude oil and make a lot of money still. They probably have places where they havent explored. Bio fuel probably can be the best next resource for the U.S. since we have alot of farm land. GE is definitely more into this than the startagy level. I believe the civil stage is right where they are.
to me, the most important part of biofuel is that it is self-repleshinable. that way we are not robbing the earth of precious recourses that we cannot replace. eventually oil will disappear, and alternative energy will be our only option. unlike oil companies, i think GE has a genuine (monetary) interest in biofuel. if Shell, BP, or Exxon would invest in biofuel, they would be ruining their own business.
Like Juan mentioned, I dont think it is reasonable for us to consider bio-fuel to be used heavily across the nation for at least 10 years. It is not quite as easy as it sounds... It is basically veggie oil that has to go through a lot of processing, which takes up a lot of energy and time. I have read articles about bio-diesel fuel that is being used in California right now, but all that mean is 20% of bio-fuel mixed with 80% of diesel fuel. It is definately cleaner for the environment and I am all for it, but I have read that there have been flow issues and at colder temperatures the bio-fuel tends to gel up. I am positive that with time, we are going to be able to use it, but it may not be for quite some time and it will have to go through a lot of testing. We also have to keep in mind a few questions like, "Will luxury vehicles be able to use bio-diesel? How about our military air and ground vehicles?"
There are several different types of bio fuels, and I think it is important to understand the difference between them. There is biogas, which is what powers the Jenbacher engine; and liquid bio fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, that are used in vehicles. Liquid bio fuels are produced from vegetable oils from food crops. I don’t think that liquid bio fuel is cost effective for use in our vehicles. There are many other long-term effects that need to be taken into consideration as well. If it is more profitable to sell crops to make bio fuels, how will the rising prices of crops affect the cost of food in developing countries? Brazil has cleared parts of the rainforest to make more room to grow sugar cane for the use of bio fuel production. If we produce bio fuels on a scale large enough to completely replace oil, what impact will the deforestation of all that land have on the environment? On the other hand biogas is created from waste products. Using biogas to produce electricity on a large scale to power cities seems more efficient and cost effective because it uses waste and not food crops.
I believe that biofuel will replace our dependency for oil someday. Companies aren't doing a lot of research in this area due to the fact that they're still raking in millions on present day technology, and also due to lack of funding of some sort. The reason why we don't hear about the work that some of the companies are doing is because the people at the top don't want to enlighten us just yest, if they would let us in on their thoughts and ideas a lot of people would be pressuring their politicians to implement a new law. I think that biofuel is the answer to a lot of our problems as well as to the well being of our planet. GE's level of involvement is at the civil stage right now.
It might all sound good and and better for the world but we all know that none of this stuff is gonna rise up in this country. Just like hybrids. Its a good try but people wont conform. There is too much money backing all the oil tycoons around the world. They are like an empire by themselves and it will take more than we know to do away with oil.
I think bio fuel is something we can use in the future but for now we can still maintain using regular oil,personally I feel weird running waste through my engine no matter how clean and filtered GE says it is, also we are going to need to take up lots of farm land which could become a issue with our expanding population, anyways I think scientists will come up with a even better alternative within the next ten years since technology moves about 25 years ahead of where the u.s. population is at currently.
i think that the whole concept of bio fuel is good. but then yet again i don't think it will be accepted right away because there are so many gas running cars out there right now. it would take converting these cars in order for them to run and unless that process is not that expensive no one will want to use bio-fuel until they buy a new car. i also think that the reason that no companies are really talking about there new steps towards bio fuel is because they want it to be secret until they do decide to finally release it.
I think that biofuel can replace oil but the answer at least for now – no. This process is not so easy because today’s world is inundated with different types of machinery which can’t work without the fuel. On the other hand, many companies have started to make hybrid cars, as well as to do research in this area. However, companies don’t aspire to produce a lot of hybrids because their cost is more than the cost of regular cars and consumers are not willing to pay more. That’s why, I think, biofuel can greatly supplement oil, and is an important part of energy solutions, but, unfortunately, that’s as far as it goes.
Bio fuel could potentially replace oil, but I believe more research and discovery is necessary to capture the full benefit. Companies do not do more research in this area because the oil industry is ridiculously profitable. There is little monetary incentive for companies to develop new kinds of fuel. The little research that is done by some companies usually is wasted because the development of new fuels requires the development of different fuel systems and engine components. The manufacturing of these parts is costly because they are not mass produced. Therefore the consumer would be paying more in the long run. I think that the bio fuel alternative is a great idea, but it will require a number of years for the process of making the fuel and components to become streamlined and less costly. I would classify GE in the strategy stage of corporate social responsibility because they are still developing a concept and figuring ways of applying there ideas on a large scale.
I think that biofuel is a good idea and will start to come around when it can be produced correctly and easily. i thnk that companies are keeping their research under wraps because they want to get everything right before they bring it out into the market. but once again companies are all out to make a profit, and what better industry than the oil industry? why would a company stop making milions and millions of dollars of off of something that everybody in the world needs everyday? they would be stupid to.
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