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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12 comments:
-I do believe that biofuel can, one day, replace petroleum. However, due to the increased rate of technology progression, I do not believe that biofuels will be depended upon like oil is today. Companies have lagged behind in biofuels because many have started to look for "the" new source of sustainable energy, but it will be a long time until that source is realized; so, companies like GE have invested in the transitional fuels like ethanol and bio-diesel. Many people have not heard much about biofuels because one has to look for the information themselves. The industry of biofuels is in the state of its infancy because the research that has been showing results started about twenty years ago. Today, we have engines that run on the biofuels, but the efficiency of the processing/manufacturing and power outputs are ineffective.
-As I mentioned earlier, the technology only needs to catch up in order for petroleum fuels, another form of biofuel, to be discontinued fully. GE has realized this and started to research sustainable fuels, as well as biofuels. This shows me that they are not only thinking about how to solve the problem for good; they are also providing the community with a means to help the environment today. Thus, increasing their social responsibility standards. hopefully the rest of the industry will follow suit.
I don’t think that biofuels can one day completely replace oil. I do think that they will be used greatly throughout the world but because of the already dependency and comfort level on it, it would be impossible to stop using them completely. Companies might not be doing more research on this because it can be very expensive and they might not know where to begin doing the research in an effective way as to save money and are waiting for the one company to come up with an innovative idea as to what to do and build off of that. I think we don’t hear about the research being done simply because the companies aren’t making public because they are not sure of their impact yet. I think that if we found an alternate source of energy it would be great for everyone, it’d be a lot cheaper to live an everyday live and a lot healthier for everyone. The fact that GE is at least taking the time to research it and start to plan what can be done gives them a great advantage over everyone else.
Yes, I do believe that one day biofuel can completely replace oil. There is not too much buzz here in the United States regarding the topic because the concept is still pretty much in its preliminary stages. I feel as though many companies in the industry will not take initiative in changing the resources and the process by which fuel in produced simply because they are not willing to take the risk. Such a change will cost billions of dollars for the industry to follow, but the use of biofuel can possibly stick around decades if successful. Conversely, some companies may be interested in the idea, however would rather let their competition do the dirty work as to not waste their own time and funds on developing the use of biofuels. As more and more research is completed and the technology becomes more refined, I’m certain that more companies will jump on the bandwagon; the key is just finding the best time to do so. Companies that are entertaining the use biofuels right now may not want to reveal their possible ideas and/or work with biofuel until it is more polished. By keeping such things temporarily confidential, they preserve the confidence their stakeholders have in them. I, personally, am for the use of biofuel since it will potentially save our earth from a great deal of pollution if produced properly.
As one of the world’s leading providers of energy, GE is highly involved in Corporate Social Responsibility because they are looking to make use of renewable waste as a source of energy. In the process, they are helping to preserve the habitat of India and maintain a clean environment by reducing greenhouse effects. Also, since biofuel is the much cheaper alternative, residents of India that struggle financially will finally be able to afford electricity.
I think the fact that countries like india are using biofuel. I also think that replacing oil with biofuel would help the world greatly. But the real question is will it happen? Most likely not. I don't think America is ready for an upgrade such as biofuel, I say this because so many people are getting rich from using oil I don't think they'd be willing to give up the money to make the world better.
i don't think biofuel is something that can completely replace oil because as first of all so many people got so use of this oil. I agree what Debin said that people are getting rich by using oil by and don't want to see to world getting better. but just getting richer everyday. I think the companies aren't doing any research on this is because they maybe i don't want to show to the public right now. they want to wait and see what happens. maybe to more research on it and more experiments on it. i think in the new future it will be cool having this biofuel. but not right now. Because so many will have problems and fights.
The technology of bio-fuel has emerged over a hundred years ago. Not only has the concern arise for bio-fuel due to environmental issues but also attributes to the increasingly high prices of oil. The possibility of replacing oil with bio-fuel exists and the land is readily available to accommodate the planting of crops (corn, soy and wood). Nowadays the focus is shift from costly methods of creating this bio-fuel to less costly, natural and waste materials. Companies think that it’s too costly to create bio-fuel and that it takes too much energy to produce. They think that they can only meet 10% of the national transportation gasoline and diesel demand. There are less diesel cars on the American roads and companies are not stimulating the effort and the public is not being educated about the facts. The reason behind this is, crops that are used to produce bio-fuel are also used to feed the populace and animals. Companies do not talk big about the bio-compatibility because of their own interests. Bio-fuel is considered cheaper than gasoline and therefore companies would want to boost their sales margin, increasing their profits. Automakers only approve 5% bio-diesel (B5) blends and if customers used blends above, this would threaten their warranties – “disguised protection”. GM is considered one of the top automakers and probably would not want to disclose its secrets to rivals to retain its position in the business environment. The focus is mainly on trying to decrease inflation so as to enjoy lower oil prices.
Due to environmental issues such as global warming, the argument is steaming about the development of bio-fuel, even more so since oil prices have skyrocketed. The rationale is slowly switching to one of cost and how best to meet the world’s growing demand for bio-fuels and also human and animal waste can be used as fertilizers. Research suggests that algae could supply enough fuel to meet all of America’s transportation needs (bio-diesel power) using a marginal 0.2% of the nations land. Automakers are now faced with legislations and regulations (tough new emission standards) to adhere to and now have to be going to the drawing board. With the advent of new technology and the inevitable depletion of oil, companies have to come up with new ideas of generating energy. Bio-fuel is the remedy for the change in consumers’ trends (wanting fuel-efficient cars) and will aid in easing global warming. This will provide jobs for people in lesser developed countries, affordable electricity, and will also in return benefit from trade with countries overseas increasing their wealth. Not only customers will benefit from the use of bio-fuel, but companies will also benefit too in terms of cutting their operational cost (industrial boiler fuels). It’s very simple, it is the same natural sources of energy that was formed hundreds of years ago that we are resorting to.
GM, one of America’s top automotive dealers, has realised the need for bio-fuel and has resorted to its production at the same time assisting people in India. These Indians benefit from the provision of jobs, able to have electricity at an affordable cost and enjoy living in a clean atmosphere. GM must join forces in collaboration with other automakers and continue encouraging other companies to invest in bio-fuels at the same time use marketing strategies to stimulate and educate customers.
Do you think that biofuel is something that can completely replace oil?
Yes, I think that one day biofuel can and will completely replace oil. However the transition from petroleum to biofuel will be very expensive and slow process.
Why aren't companies doing more research in this area?
I think that many companies are actually doing research in this area but don’t come with it to public yet. The reasons for not doing the research in this area are probably mostly finances and uncertain results.
How come we don't hear about the work that many companies are doing already?
I think that most of this research is in its early stages, so that there is not very much we could hear about already. Coming with such information on public needs clear and objective results, something that you can come to people with and say, “look this is what we found”.
What do you think about the concept of biofuel?
I think that the idea of biofuel is very exciting and great for the environment. I hope that in the soon future more and more companies will discover its advantages and convert to using just and only biofuel.
Biofuel is just like a "third choice" that people people created when they have no alternative. i think it can replace oil to a certain level, however, it's up to consumers if they really want to feed their car with a new type of "food". Technically, i do think that biofuel will reach the efficiency level that is required for different purpose.
There is always a opportunity cost of doing one thing. Some companies have the foresight the future of biofuel while others are still thinking about making profits from the surplus resources.
I think the consumer trends could be one of the reasons that people are not really caring that much about the work that many conpanies are doing. As the research is a time consuming project, which has already cost 20 years, it's not easy to see the achievements that specialists have maken.
Still, i think it's a creation of "no other choices".
the video wouldnt work for me and i dont know why. i dont knwo if you need the video to answer the questions but ill just wing it. I really hope biofuel replaces oil. Because i think it would be cheaper if we could make something rather than taking from a supply that will eventually run out. Im not sure why companies arent doing more research but if i had to guess it could be money. We dont hear much bout biofuels cause there isnt much of it going on. I dont know the exact concept of biofuels but i like to see them start being used becasue i dont like spending this much money on gas.
I believe bio fuel can one day replace oil in the future. I do not think we are very close to completely replacing oil just yet just because we have addicted ourselves to it for a century. Companies aren't doing more research in this area because of cost. It costs a lot of money and time to research renewable energy sources and while oil is still around and people are still making a profit off of it, it will be difficult to change to biofuels. We don't hear about the work that companies are doing already because it isn't a perfected product yet. Once alternate energy sources become proven and reliable then we will begin to hear more and more on the subject, but for now, we will always just hear that they are working on the concepts. The concept of biofuel is a great one. It will be less costly and in the end be more profitable than oil.
I believe that the biofuel energy may be able to replace oil, because in the video the fuel has endless potential to keep the air and water clean, and make things better to use. Companies aren't doing enough research in this area, because I think they believe that it's not going to work. Many companies are looking for different resources for energy. I think that many people have't heard about the biofuels, because they haven't did enough research on it yet, it's such a big thing that you have to look it up for yourself. The concept of biofuel maybe good in the future, it may no completely replace oil, but it will make the enviorment more cleaner.
In my opinion a biofuel can completely replace oil if we talk about gas which using to car and small machine. It will have to replace. Many sources is talking that supply of oil will done in 2050. Of course every week , a oil corporation find new deposit of oil but still a oil’s future as a main gas is going to end. We have to do everything what we can to completely replace oil by biofuel or by another renewable energy. People have to do this not because of enging of oil deposit but because of pollution .We have to do something to protect Earth. One of a answers for this is a completely replace oil by biofuel. Why aren't companies doing more research in this area ?! Because of oil business and the role as the important is oil for the world today ,is hard to completely replace oil. I cannot agree with opinion the companies do not research in this area. They do a lot but of oil companies and oil as world’s power they cannot introduce new biofuel technology very fast because of loss for oil companies.
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