What's so terrible about making money? Do you work for free?
While the oil industry makes the most money in absolute dollars because energy is big business, it's hardly the most profitable. In fact, if you look at the top 50 most profitable companies (see
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/performers/companies/profits/revenues.html ) you'll find no major oil company and only a few niche energy companies. Instead, among the top 50 most profitable companies are the likes of Visa, Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's. Why single out the evil oil companies for their profits when they aren't even the "worst" culprits?
As for the auto industry, they've provided more energy efficient cars for decades. Of course, by today's standards an '80s "energy efficient" car is not much because the technology has improved, but buyers always had the option since the first oil shocks in the '70s. The problem is that whenever gas prices eased, buyers always made their preferences for larger and more powerful cars known. Is this the auto manufacturers' fault?
