Hence, the idea of keeping a low profile. Let others deny reality, and we will keep mum and let the profits roll in as long as they can. But they've always known there would be a day of reckoning because they have always known the science was true. They have long been working quietly acquiring major stakes in renewable energy and developing policy they can present to the public that protects their interest while appearing generous when compared to the stances taken by their right wing surrogates in congress. These people are smart and have learned from the past mistakes of others like big tobacco which made the mistake of taking a stand against science directly, rather than putting money in the pockets of others to do it for them. Had tobacco simply passed money to "smoker's rights" organizations, tobacco retailer organizations and directly to political campaigns and let them spread doubt about the science and kept their own hands clean then they could have gotten ahead of the game by diversifying into other areas while growth and profits were high, rather than scrambling to do so after regulations were in place and profits were declining rapidly.
The big oil companies (Exxon/Mobil Shell, BP, Chevron, Conoco/Phillips) think differently than most people believe they do. They don't really care about Keystone, or drilling in the arctic or opening up more offshore drilling. They sometimes lend their names to promotes these, but the real support for these controversial programs comes from lower down in the food chain in the oil industry: the exploration, geophysical, well completion, construction and transport sectors who have the most to loose. Big oil will profit, regardless, but if a well doesn't get dug, no one in the lower tiers makes money. For them the money isn't in the oil, but in the finding, drilling and transporting. The big guys know none of this will increase the availability of oil significantly. Most of these projects are so expensive, the only way they can be profitable is for the price of oil to be very high. Big oil therefore makes money raising the price of oil, which they will do whether the well is drilled or not. Big oil's main support for these programs comes from the opposition to the restrictive regulations used to stop these programs and how those regulations might effect future business concerns. They know that none of these programs will delay the inevitable or result in significant profits for them. They know oil prices will continue to rise, reserves will be depleted and climate change will be addressed and they are positioning themselves to come through it just as big and just as rich. The rest of the oil sector, will not be so lucky.
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