Hence, if you want to change directions, you have to influence the politics — you have to work to prevent the Koch Brothers from destroying California renewable energy initiatives, you have to work to eliminate federal subsidies and liability caps for fossil fuel projects (which would mean that oil drillers would have to
post $ 10 billion bonds for every deepwater project they initiated), and — for
academic scientists — you have to lobby your
academic administrators to cut their ties with shady fossil fuel interests like BP and Exxon, and work to open renewable energy research
institutes at America's leading universities.