In the winter of 2009, I worked with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana to plant mangroves on a small island in Venice, Louisiana. I believe it was an artificial island created by diverting sedimentary waters from the Mississippi River. It was probably about 2,000 feet long by 1,000 feet wide. Anyway, we were transported to the new strip of land by airboat. We spent 3 days going back and forth from the launch to the island to transport the seedlings. The next 4 days were spent planting these seedlings on the mosquito-laden island. After a lot of work, we are finally finished! Months passed and it was April 2010 when the Deep Water Horizon oil disaster occurred. The oil spill has wreaked havoc on this small island. The factories were just beginning to flourish and now they are subjected to massive amounts of crude oil and dispersants. You can imagine my frustration when I went to visit the same island in July 2010 and saw all our hard work disappearing. Most of the plants were dead. The few survivors were bent over by the weight of the heavy crude oil clinging to them. All our exhausting work was in vain. This is the dark side of the oil industry. The oil industry doesn't have many incidents, but when they do, it's best to be careful. Oil industry accidents are generally fatal and long-lasting. For example, during the Exxon Valdez oil spill, even after 25 years, the effects of the oil spill are still visible. These sporadic accidents lead environmentalists to believe that the oil industry poses a major threat to ecological health. They believe that until we stop production, the oil industry will continue to bear the brunt of environmental damage. However, oil...... middle of paper...... money as we had hoped. In 2010, the top five oil giants spent less than 1.2% of their profits on research and development of alternative fuels. Asked about the huge difference in funding that alternative energy sources seem to be receiving, the oil industry is quick to respond that its business will be dominated by fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. At least the oil industry is consistent. It is companies like Green Peace and the World Wildlife Fund that operate solely because of the naivety of their donors. They found that as long as pessimism is popularized, money will continue to flow. Many nonprofit corporations use this method to increase their funding. The question that arises from this operating principle is: does the Earth benefit significantly from green organizations? Are they running a charity when they are actually a business?