Can An Oil Company Help Our Environmental Crisis? Unlikely Alliances Working Together For Change

The planets current ecological crisis is without precedent. As we look toward the future, new environmental challenges loom before us. Despite the seemingly endless stream of bad news, progress is being made and you may be surprised at some of the unlikely partners who are working together to better the earth.

(PRWEB) June 29, 2005 -- The planets current ecological crisis is without precedent. As we look toward the future, new environmental challenges loom before us. Despite the seemingly endless stream of bad news, progress is being made and you may be surprised at some of the unlikely partners who are working together to better the earth.

Our current energy difficulties have created some strange bedfellows. Alliances desperate to improve some aspect of the environment have formed partnerships you would have never thought possible. General Motors is in advanced discussion with Toyota about jointly building a factory to make hydrogen-powered car engines in order to share the heavy cost of developing hydrogen power. This historic partnership between the worlds two largest carmakers will help speed up the adoption of environmentally-friendly technology.
        
You would think that an oil company would be the last business to back hydrogen fuel technology, but that is exactly what is happening in Iceland, where an oil company, a gas-powered combustion engine auto company, and an isolated nation have joined forces to develop hydrogen fuel cells. The revolutionary and unlikely partnership between Shell Oil and Daimler-Benz could end up bringing about the next major shift in the worlds energy sources.

As awareness of the fragility of our ecosystem grows, even some corporate and government hard-liners begin to realize the importance of concepts like alternative energy research, land trusts, public transportation, and slow-growth," says Karen Roberts, author of Passions and Patience: Fostering Earths Future through Unlikely Partnerships. In addition to detailing the situation in Iceland, Roberts cites examples of unlikely partnerships from familiar locations like Oregon to faraway locales like Nepal and Antarctica. Illustrated by the skilled photography of Tim Hauf, Roberts takes readers on a world tour of earth-saving efforts in diverse cultures.

What I found surprising was that many of the environmental crusaders are usually cast as villains on the environmental battlefield," says Roberts. She highlights the surprising efforts of hunters, ranchers, developers, and even oil companies. Her book details a situation where hunters and artists worked together with farmers to save ducks. Both sides had nothing in common, yet both worked successfully for the survival of the ducks.
            
I truly believe that partnerships, especially between unlikely collaborators, are the solution to discovering innovative, creative plans for the future," says Roberts. These unique partnerships serve as models for future collaborations and create vital awareness of the environmental challenges we face in our near future.

For a review copy of the book or to set up an interview with Karen Roberts for a story, please contact Jay Wilke at 727-443-7115, ext. 223.

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