World’s biggest industries hit by global wave of change

Our energy problems reflect the path of our top industries, writes James Woolsey

TODAY’S huge global energy problems in no small measure reflect the essentially 19th century business plans that three of the world’s largest industries are still pursuing.

Electric utilities still largely burn fossil fuels and sell the power to homes and businesses. Oil companies still drill for and refine petroleum and, principally, sell gasoline and diesel fuel. Automobile manufacturers still bend steel into vehicles that generally must be powered by petroleum-based fuels.