Elon is positioning himself as the provider of plentiful, clean energy generation and storage to the world (not to mention the provider of mobility and space transport). Is it too early to compare him to Rockefeller?
That presupposes nothing can ever be done about the CO2 offset.
>Is it too early to compare him to Rockefeller?
That would be an insult to him. Standard Oil did some of the shadiest anti-competitive stuff that resulted in many of the laws to protect against monopolies today. I assume you've seen the famous octopus drawing[1]? That didn't become popular because people thought Standard Oil was giving a warm hug to society.
The patent release alone shows his intentions are much difference from Rockefeller's.
1. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Standard_oil_octopus_...
a) Move carbon-based energy use to renewables
b) If possible, remove CO2 in the atmosphere and storing it in a stable state underground.
Elon is definitely working really fucking hard on the first item. The second item is what I would class as planet-level terraforming, and is going to take more than just Elon (without some sort of additional technological breakthrough).
Also, I was not insulting him by calling him Rockefeller. I was simply saying he's become a titan of industry. You might have a better comparison than I off the cuff.
We already have nanomachines that work in harmony to do this: tree-and-mushroom networks (among other organisms) known as forests. I wish there was something like http://www.treesforthefuture.org/ but commercial that I could invest in.
That was my first thought as well. I went to Wikipedia to make sure I wasn't missing something, and they paint him in a much more neutral light. I suspect the man, company and time period are complex enough that without a very comprehensive book (or a good professor), that simple statements about how good or bad he was will fail to capture the nuance of it all.
Right now companies like Uber and Lyft are breaking the law providing their services. If the cabbies win their fight, should the founders of both companies be demonized? You could call what they do shady, and the same goes for Airbnb.
Further, if the daughter of a medallion owner that was put out of business by Uber came to write the definitive biography of Garrett Camp, do you think it would be unbiased?
That's what happened with Rockefeller.
He is credited with creating modern medicinal research (though he detested it himself), and all around, was a highly unique character in history.
Not withstanding him destroying his competition and consolidating the market, with the goal of lowering kerosene (I may have the wrong oil-type here) by 95% as a goal for "giving to the masses."
Still many, many, many despicable acts, but a multi-dimensional man of course.
http://www.amazon.com/Titan-The-Life-John-Rockefeller/dp/140... * While providing abundant new evidence of Rockefeller's misdeeds, Chernow discards the stereotype of the cold-blooded monster to sketch an unforgettably human portrait of a quirky, eccentric original. A devout Baptist and temperance advocate, Rockefeller gave money more generously--his chosen philanthropies included the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of Chicago, and what is today Rockefeller University--than anyone before him. Titan presents a finely nuanced portrait of a fascinating, complex man, synthesizing his public and private lives and disclosing numerous family scandals, tragedies, and misfortunes that have never before come to light.
Therefore, SpaceX.
(I can imagine Elon in a spice tank, with orange vapours).
(I include the British spelling since he's South African (he's also American and Canadian--do they say vapours in Canada?) Am I off-context enough yet?)