Sunday, May 6, 2012

Another Oil Firm Bets on Global Warming

On one hand the fossil fuel industry is engaged in a campaign to deny global warming. But, on the other hand they are making huge investments that only make sense if they believe in global warming. Norways' Statoil is the third oil company to make a deal with Russian oil company Rosneft to invest in Arctic Ocean drilling. This follows deals made by the U.S. company ExxonMobil and the Italian company Eni.

Ice in the Arctic Ocean would prohibit drilling in this region, so it first appears the oil companies have lost their minds. However, sea ice is being greatly reduced by global climate change and the Arctic Ocean is becoming less and less ice bound. This reduction in ice is opening up the Arctic region to development and shipping. But, if you don't believe in global warming then you wouldn't believe that the ice will continue to get thinner. The very fact that these four giant companies are willing to pony-up billions of dollars to develop oil deposits shows they are very confident the sea ice will be a manageable problem.

Follow the money. And, it seems the money is making a very definitive statement about global warming.

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