Exxon Mobil "Misunderstood"

Saying that "the appropriate debate isn't on whether the climate is changing but rather should be on what we should be doing about it," Exxon Mobil VP Kenneth Cohen claims the oil monster has been misunderstood all these years. The Post reports that the statement is an "evolution" of Exxon's former position that global warming is not affected by human activities. Former Exxon CEO and unrepenant climate foe, Lee Raymond, considers GW a hoax. According to the Economist (12/24/05), Raymond's view of GW is "heartfelt and extreme scepticism about climate science." This would require that the man has a heart--he is after all the force behind the paltry sum of $300,000 paid out to Alaska citizens affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. And 17 years later, Exxon is still trying to avoid paying out $4 billion in punitive damages to Alaska fishermen.
Back to the poor, misundestood corporate behemoth. Post staff writer Steven Mufson writes that Exxon is no longer funding the Competitive Enterprise Institute, cynical base of GW obfuscation. And Exxon has given $100 million to Stanford University's Global Climate and Energy Project.
So is Exxon doing an about face? Between the rock of dwindling oil supplies and the hard facts of climate change, one might expect Exxon and the other oils companies to throw themselves and their enormous resources into finding alternative energy sources. Wouldn't they rather be known as Exxon Mobil Energy Corp? (Yes, I'm an optimist!)