Also electric cars and such could have been developed with much more enthusiasm but the oil companies bought up all the patents on the batteries. I saw in a documentary that the same principle that shoots the canister to the bank teller can be used for high speed travel such as a long lunch break from LA to NYC but again there's obviously too much strong arming for non oil based ideas and technology. Solar powered homes, I'm glad are getting more practical and affordable.
Please, Matt...what you're saying is partially true and partially not true. What's wrong with oil companies investing in future technologies? Nothing. You're referring to Chevron buying the patents to NiMh batteries, which a. gave them tons of research opportunities, and b. the patents expire in two years.
Chevron, believe it or not, is at the forefront of alternative energy research:
