Oil Giant BP to Give $500 Million to UC Berkeley for Biofuels Research

A controversy is brewing at the University of California in Berkeley where petroleum giant BP, formerly British Petroleum, is planning to give $500 million in funds to the university for research. The deal would fund the development of "sustainable, commercially viable, and environmentally friendly" sources of energy. The newly created Energy Biosciences Institute claims to promote research into biofuels, as well as bacteria that would increase energy production from oil and coal.

Critics at UC Berkeley point to the corporatization of academic research, the ecological dangers of biofuels, and BP's long history of environmental irresponsibility. They call this an act of greenwashing by BP and have been protesting the deal since it was announced in February of this year.

But supporters claim that the corporate-academic partnership allows the university to realize its renewable energy research agenda and provides the most effective and economical means of addressing the looming environmental crisis.

To discuss and debate this issue, I am joined by two professors from UC Berkeley. Miguel Altieri is Professor of Entomology and a renowned expert in agroecology, or sustainable agriculture. He is opposed to the deal between BP and UC Berkeley. He joins me here in the Link TV studio in San Francisco.

Daniel Kammen is a professor in the Energy and Resources Group, as well as professor of public policy and nuclear engineering. He directs the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory and is on the executive committee of the Energy Biosciences Institute, which will carry out much of the research under the deal. Kammen is generally supportive of the deal. He joins us now on the phone from Berkeley.

• Miguel Altieri, Professor of Entomology at the University of California in Berkeley. He is a renowned expert in agroecology, or sustainable agriculture. He is opposed to the deal between BP and UC Berkeley.

• Daniel Kammen, Professor in the Energy and Resources Group and the School of Public Policy at the University of California in Berkeley. He is also a professor of Nuclear Engineering and the director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. Kammen is a member of the executive committee of the Energy Biosciences Institute or the EBI.

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