The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years.

"We must rapidly wean ourselves off our dependence on coal and fossil fuels," Sir Richard said.

The funds will be invested in schemes to develop new renewable energy technologies, through an investment unit called Virgin Fuels.

One of the UK's best known entrepreneurs, Sir Richard made the announcement in New York on the second day of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual conference hosted by former US President Bill Clinton.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5368194.stm

All Profits?

well hes certainly not starving, so why not

In his lifesyle, I wonder how much he depends on coal and fossil fuels? How many cars does he own? Houses? How much electricty does he use?

The money is a fine gesture, but a hippo-crit is still a hippo-crit.

Baron Max

hypocritical fuck, if he cared he would cut out flights which really would make a difference. what an ass he is just trying to make himself popular, and would these fossil fuels like oil be the ones used to make planes fly?? dont make me laugh

If he cut out flights, another company would take his place and he'd lose money.

Nothing would change, apart from the fact someone wasn't putting $3bn into alternative fuel research.

If money to combat global warming came instead from a federal fund, could you also say that since our economy is based on cheap easily obtained fuel, that it would be hypocritical to use it to fight the effects of that economy?

In a way, yes.

Something has to change though, regardless. There's no point protecting the US economy until the last minute and then letting the shit hit the fan all in one go.

Peak oil is coming or here already. Things have to change. The US can fight and scratch 'til the end, but when the end comes they're done.

I say we use the last cheap oil to transcend oil. After it's gone in many ways it will be too late. Tax gasoline to rebuild our railroad system, for instance.

I say we use the last cheap oil to transcend oil. After it's gone in many ways it will be too late. Tax gasoline to rebuild our railroad system, for instance.

Hmm, don't railroads run on oil?

And have you considered the vast amount of oil it would take to build a well-functioning rail system for the US? Geez, it might run into ...well, $2, maybe $3!!! :)

Baron Max

railroads dont run on anything. trains on the railroads however can be run on hydrogen, electricity, nuclear power... pretty much any power source you can throw a stick at.

if we have railroads in place for mass transit then it means the government paying a few hundred thousand for a new train, rather than a few hundred thousand people paying $20,000 for a new car, which would be near impossible with the worldwide income disparity.

The problem is that hydrogen and electricity need fossil fuels to make them. Nuclear would be a good idea, but public opposition/investment costs and slow returns put people off.

Solar, wind and wave generation are fairly shit. Most of the main hydro dam opportunities have been used.

Ethanol from crops uses petro-chemicals to make the stuff and in the end it costs more petrol to make it than just using petrol.

There's no proper alternative yet.

there still hasnt been any major exploitation of geothermal electricity generation. if we set up steam turbine electricity generators on volcanic faults then we could extract a fair deal of free energy from that.

I don't think he's being hypocritical....

I mean... he gotta make a living. He can get the money and then use it to change his business practices. He can't do that right away. You gotta have money to invest first, right? That's better then most businesses, who keep expenses down by destroying the environment, even though they could change their business practices to protect the environment.... :bugeye:

I applaud the initiative to covert to biomass fuels. The best source of biomass fuel would be hemp. Hemp can meet nearly all our energy needs. Hemp can generate its own fuel to run processing facilities. Hemp can be made into sulfur-free charcoal to replace coal.

Not only is hemp the best source for bio-fuels, it is also a good source for food. Hemp contains all the amino and Essential Fatty Acids that body needs in ideal proportions. Hemp foods can end world malnutrition and hunger.

Hemp can be used for clothing and shelter. Whole houses can be made from hemp. Over 50,000 products can be made from hemp. Cars, vans and trucks can be made from hemp.

Hemp can be made into medicines. THC and other cannabinoids have a variety of uses that seem espcially beneficial for the human brain.

The recreation use of legal hemp would render the illicit drug market of little or no value. Corrently the sale of illicit drugs amounts to about $500 billion a year.

The sale of illicit drugs is the primary source of funding for terrorists. This is due to the U.S. government's $69 billion a year failed war on drugs policy that is the corner stone of US foreign policy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5368194.stm

All Profits?

Damn, that motherfucker is RICH RICH RICH!

$3 billion, is the biggest donation I've ever heard of, he might win the peace prize for this.

However, when looking at the big picture, $3 billion is actually chump change. $300 billion on the otherhand would make a huge difference, it all depends on how many billions. Don't get me wrong., $3 billion will be alright.

I applaud the initiative to covert to biomass fuels. The best source of biomass fuel would be hemp. Hemp can meet nearly all our energy needs. Hemp can generate its own fuel to run processing facilities. Hemp can be made into sulfur-free charcoal to replace coal.

Not only is hemp the best source for bio-fuels, it is also a good source for food. Hemp contains all the amino and Essential Fatty Acids that body needs in ideal proportions. Hemp foods can end world malnutrition and hunger.

Hemp can be used for clothing and shelter. Whole houses can be made from hemp. Over 50,000 products can be made from hemp. Cars, vans and trucks can be made from hemp.

Hemp can be made into medicines. THC and other cannabinoids have a variety of uses that seem espcially beneficial for the human brain.

The recreation use of legal hemp would render the illicit drug market of little or no value. Corrently the sale of illicit drugs amounts to about $500 billion a year.

The sale of illicit drugs is the primary source of funding for terrorists. This is due to the U.S. government's $69 billion a year failed war on drugs policy that is the corner stone of US foreign policy.


I know what you are trying to say, and you might be accurate, but hemp is perhaps the most contraversal item you could have picked.

I applaud the initiative to covert to biomass fuels. The best source of biomass fuel would be hemp. Hemp can meet nearly all our energy needs. Hemp can generate its own fuel to run processing facilities. Hemp can be made into sulfur-free charcoal to replace coal.

Not only is hemp the best source for bio-fuels, it is also a good source for food. Hemp contains all the amino and Essential Fatty Acids that body needs in ideal proportions. Hemp foods can end world malnutrition and hunger.

Hemp can be used for clothing and shelter. Whole houses can be made from hemp. Over 50,000 products can be made from hemp. Cars, vans and trucks can be made from hemp.

Hemp can be made into medicines. THC and other cannabinoids have a variety of uses that seem espcially beneficial for the human brain.

The recreation use of legal hemp would render the illicit drug market of little or no value. Corrently the sale of illicit drugs amounts to about $500 billion a year.

The sale of illicit drugs is the primary source of funding for terrorists. This is due to the U.S. government's $69 billion a year failed war on drugs policy that is the corner stone of US foreign policy.
Hail to Hemp! :D

:m:

Hmm, don't railroads run on oil?

And have you considered the vast amount of oil it would take to build a well-functioning rail system for the US? Geez, it might run into ...well, $2, maybe $3!!! :)

Baron Max

They do run on oil, but far more efficiently than when everyone drives their individual cars.

Go Nuclear
Plant trees

Namibia is having power shortage. So an UK company came in and proposed their business plan which requires to cut down the remaining trees to run a Boiler to generate Electricity!

Most of the Africans are cutting the trees for fuel which produces additional double load in CO2.