[adouglas]

The whole "evil company suppressing technology in the name of profit" line has always rung hollow for me.

Corporations are not evil. They are amoral (not the same thing as immoral). They exist to do one thing:

Make profits. Anything that increases profit is good. That can be done by increasing sales, cutting costs or both.

Does anyone seriously believe that the ENORMOUS costs and vast risk of oil exploration, extraction, refining and distribution are seen as a benefit by the energy companies?

If you were the CEO of ShellExMobPetronLukoil and you had the opportunity to make profits in the energy sector without those costs and risks.... you'd be all over that like ugly on an ape, right?

It is therefore in the oil companies' best interests to incorporate alternatives into their mix of products, in order to position themselves for the future. Worry not... if it exists, they'll figure out a way to make it profitable.

Example: Say the technology for algae-produced biodiesel achieves commercially viable scale, and the net cost is lower than extraction and refining of petroleum for an equivalent product. It would be flat-out stupid for an oil company not to buy into that tech rather than suppressing it. Why? Not because it's greener. Because it's more profitable.

The second alternative energy (seen as a whole system) is able to generate profits comparable to petroleum, you can bet your last dime that the energy companies will change their business models. We'll still be buying fuel/energy from the same people, just in a different form.

Suppressing technology in the short term doesn't ring true, either. They know full well that over time, the cost and risk of exploration and production increase. Stalling tactics only increase their costs.

The age-old axiom of TANSTAAFL applies. There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. There are no miracle technologies stashed away in some oil exec's drawer.