Use Profits To Find Fossil Fuel Alternatives

The stock market is a truly democratic institution. The last time we checked, anyone who wanted to could purchase a share in any publicly held company and become a shareholder. Shareholders are the people who really own a company, and it is they who determine its policies and practices, if not directly, then through the directors they democratically elect and the executives named by those directors.

One such publicly held company, ExxonMobil Corporation, recently released its financial statement for fourth quarter 2006. The oil company made a profit in the billions of dollars- a figure that probably exceeded the gross national product of many small countries. It's fashionable in some quarters to view that much money as obscene and to denounce all corporations as run by greedy people who are the equivalent of the robber barons of the late 19th century. We cannot share this view. Corporations are run to make a profit for their shareholders, and, as we outlined, shareholders have the power to determine the direction a company takes.

By the directives of its shareholders, ExxonMobil has already demonstrated a willingness to contribute to the public good in many ways. We congratulate the company and the people who run it for making invaluable contributions to our daily lives. The shareholders and those who do their bidding give every indication of their willingness to continue the corporation's philanthropic practices.

We would suggest that ExxonMobil continue to do good while making good by using some of the billions it counted as free and clear profit to investigate alternatives to fossil fuels. Whether or not any credence can be placed in scenarios of impending doom wrought by fossil fuels that emanate from some quarters, it is readily apparent that in order to continue to lead the world, America must end its dependence on fossil fuels, especially oil imported from countries that support our enemies even while they sell us oil at prices they set. On the day we no longer need to import oil, some countries and the people who run them will find themselves bereft of the good life that oil profits showered upon them. They will have to look for other ways to settle their disputes besides open warfare or terrorist acts.

America's oil companies, led by ExxonMobil, have it in their power to put this nation permanently ahead of other countries, especially those who would do us harm, by joining in a major push to eliminate fossil fuels. The shareholders who are their owners should call for research into alternative fuel sources immediately and should direct companies such as ExxonMobil to use some of their profits to spur the effort. It can't happen too soon.