COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS if you’re in Alberta.
Imagine what it’s like living in Europe and elsewhere, worrying about where you can secure a reliable and readily available source of energy in the near future, in a marketplace upended by Russia’s war with Ukraine.
We unequivocally endorse the move to so-called greener energy, but we cannot ignore the facts…and the realpolitik of the moment is definitely a head-spinner.
Think of it: Angela Merkel’s Germany became the flag-bearer for renewables, especially after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. Germans turned their backs on ‘clean’ nukes and invested big in a green dream. What remained hidden — until Putin threatened to turn off the hydrocarbon taps — was Germany’s ambitious plan for their country’s energy future was built atop a scaffold of Russian oil & natural gas. With Putin’s hand on the trap door now self-evident, what’s the plan now?
PLAN B = CHAOS ?
Even though there’s inflation and war abroad and the plague of other plagues (monkeypox, for one), Canada is the best place in the world to live (Calgary, in particular, according to recent surveys). It’s a fact we have energy security, food security, and water security — in Alberta — despite the machinations of a clueless federal governance that seems bent on making the same errors Ms. Merkel has trouble accepting, the folly of her green gambit now self-evident.
Yes, there’s climate change. There’s also clear & present dangers in the world, such as they are in Ukraine. Can Canada and Alberta afford to be naive about the aspirations of global actors who have demonstrated their ill intent?
This is where you come in.
Over the last month, Donna has written op-ed pieces for a range of mainstream media publications in Canada. Here are some ideas for you to ponder as we prepare for the fall:
Demonizing the Oil and Gas Sector is Counter Productive Globe & Mail, 18 June 2022
As a former government minister responsible for electricity, Donna was also an executive in an oil and gas company. She knows from experience what happens when aspirations are disrupted by reality.”Let me assure you,” says Donna, “finger pointing is a colossal waste of energy in a crisis.”
Canadian Gas can Help Germany Wherever It’s Exported To Financial Post, 14 July 2022
Justin Trudeau faces a conundrum. He’s assured his activist-cum-minister, Steven Guilbeault, that Canada’s commitment to the climate is unwavering. At the same time, he wants to be seen as a G7 team player supportive of Ukraine, promising German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Canada will deliver energy to Europe. So is he serious about this promise to deliver natural gas to Germany or is it all just posturing and photo-ops?
Canada Needs to Re-examine and Secure its own Energy Self-Sufficiency Calgary Herald, 15 July 2022
For three decades, Donna worked alongside Charlie Fischer, an energy leader devoted to values-based decision-making. Charlie didn’t have much patience for political actors. But if he was alive today—attuned to the crisis in Europe and its implications—he likely would be leaning into Alberta’s elected—across all parties—demanding that they do their job and quit the games. To do otherwise is to court disaster.
As we’ve warned before, in the popular parlance, winter is coming…
What do you think?
This column is the consensus opinion of the writers Donna Kennedy-Glans & Don Hill. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to BEYOND POLARITY — scroll down on your phone or tablet, or look to the right in the panel beside this post. Enter your email to FOLLOW, a wheel spins, hamsters get fed.