Some have objected to the deal BP signed last semester to grant $500 million to UC Berkeley for the study of alternative fuels. With the generous grant of the BP company, the Energy Biosciences Institute will be created. The institute will help usher in substantial growth in the research of cleaner energy sources — specifically biofuels from plant and bacteria sources — on the Cal campus, at the local Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The EBI will be headed by a UC Berkeley faculty member, and a BP representative will be second in the chain of command. Furthermore, new projects will be promoted by an eight-member council with representatives from the company, the two Berkeley institutions, and the University of Illinois. The institute is being touted by many as “the world’s first research lab dedicated to long-term production of renewable fuels.”
Critics of the deal between BP and Berkeley argue against the ambitious partnership based on a number of fears, but none of these fears have a basis in the reality of the deal. One concern, expressed in a Sacramento Bee editorial last year, is that BP would “retain exclusive licensing rights over products developed at the institute.” However, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau makes it clear that is not the case, asserting that: “The University of California will retain intellectual property ownership rights in all research conducted by Berkeley personnel under the auspices of the EBI.”
In addition, the editorial complains that “UC officials have been ... secretive about their negotiations with BP.” Once again, Birgeneau categorically puts this myth to rest. He states that: “From the start of the process, UC Berkeley’s senior administrators have continuously consulted with our faculty leadership. The extensive nature of that engagement has been publicly documented by the independent chair of our Academic Senate.”
Critics also claim that the “corporate sponsorship” of the funding — especially from an energy company traditionally invested in fossil-fuel technologies such as oil — will compromise the integrity of the research and the integrity of the university. Some also claim that the university cannot tolerate any form of association with an “environmentally destructive and profit-seeking” oil company. Even though the history of the company may not be wholly desirable or environmentally friendly in critics’ eyes, they should understand that the research undertaken by the BP deal will pursue potential renewable energy sources, a goal which is centered in concerns for bettering the environment, and which we should all support. Clean, renewable energy sources will not only help our economy to grow and stay competitive in the global market by creating millions of jobs and sparking investment from around the world, it will also help lead to cleaner air, cleaner water, and a cleaner, more sustainable future, a goal those on the left claim to be behind.
Perhaps the research may even help usher in a new paradigm of how we view our energy sources. Our economy is far too dependent on foreign sources of oil and fossil fuels. Regardless of whether or not, or to what degree, the use of fossil fuels contributes to climate change, the science is crystal clear in showing that the burning of fossil fuels does have an adverse effect on our environment and on our health. Though we are not on the brink of some sort of pending environmental collapse as some disingenuous activists would have us believe, it is paramount that we continue to pursue market-based efforts to increase research, production, and use of alternative fuel sources so that we can leave our children and our grandchildren a cleaner world.
This is especially important since our whole way of life is utterly dependent on our usage of energy, with the vast majority of our energy production coming from oil and other fossil fuels. Unfortunately, these fuels are in limited supply and one day the oil wells will run dry. Biofuels, on the other hand, are renewable, since they can be harvested from plants, which can be re-grown, or taken from bacteria, which reproduce via cell division. Though certain renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and nuclear would be preferable from a zero-emissions standpoint, researching the prospects of the relatively clean biofuels is a key step in the “greening” of our technology, which will shape our economy, our country, and our world in the coming decades.
In addition, much of the oil we import and use comes from nations that are unstable, conflict-torn, corrupt, undemocratic, anti-American, or ridden with terrorists — such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Iran, and Libya. It is well-known that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudis. Saudi Arabia is flush with oil money as it is the world’s largest exporter of oil, and yet we continue to buy Saudi oil and thus indirectly fund anti-American extremists in the country. In addition, the leaders of Iran and Venezuela consistently criticize the U.S. government and push dangerously toward stripping away any semblance of democracy and human rights in their countries. When we import oil from these nations we help finance rogue states, and more indirectly terrorist organizations that seek to imperil our interests, our values, and our people. Thus, ending our dependence on foreign sources of oil is crucial from not only an environmental perspective, but from a national-security standpoint as well.
The BP-Berkeley deal is good for all involved. It benefits the university by bringing in needed funds and by ensuring UC Berkeley’s status as the leader in science and as a top-flight research university. It benefits our country and our world by working to end our dangerous addiction to foreign oil. It may well benefit our economy and our environment, as we move toward cleaner technologies that are both environmentally friendly and profitable. The $500 million deal between BP and UC Berkeley is an incontrovertible win-win proposal, and we should all support it.
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