Skip to main content

I agree with Weaver

Personality politics emerge as pipeline dispute pits Alberta against B.C.
"For Ms. Notley to tell British Columbia that somehow chasing the 20th century is the way for our future is not a good sign for her and her economy in Alberta," Weaver said.
"Frankly, I think she should get with the program and embrace the 21st century as well."
I've gotta agree with this. The tar sands have become a money pit, an economic black hole from which Canada needs to try escaping before they take down the entire economy. Back in 2009, Canada was spending $30 billion a year in subsidies so that the tar sands could generate a mere $10 billion in profit. That's, frankly, insane. That was when the price of crude was well over $100 per barrel. With prices falling dramatically to below $50 per barrel, that $10 billion in profit dried up rather quickly. And whatever profit was being generated fell just as much as the price of oil, which means Canada's now probably spending at a four to one (if not five to one) ratio by now, and if spending at a three to one ratio was insane, what do we call ourselves, now?
And we haven't even gotten into exploring how the US dollar effects oil prices, and how anytime it rises, it craters the price of oil even further, which means any economy that's dependent upon the price of crude is caught in a vicious boom and bust cycle. And the booms don't last very long anymore, and the busts become more and more despairing.
At some point, Alberta, and Canada as a whole, need to stop. It's over. Oil dreams are over. It's time to start retiring the drills, and shift Alberta's economy to something more viable over the long term.
There's so little economic benefit to the Kinder Morgan pipeline that now it stinks of an act of desperation by both the province of Alberta and its tar sands surrogates to drive that pipeline through. And the risks of the pipeline far outweigh any benefits BC would ever see from it. There's no reason for BC to accept this monstrosity running through its lands, endangering its waters, both fresh and salt.
And for BC to win this damned argument, it doesn't even need to work to win. All BC has to do is halt progress on it. Tie it up in the courts. Alberta can probably wait out any siege, but not its surrogates. And BC doesn't have any such liability placing its own coffers at risk. Just put up the barricades, and wait this out.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The human 'superpredator' is unique -- and unsustainable, study says

Los Angeles Times I can't imagine the world in ten years time. Twenty years. It'll be different. As different as the world was even in my own childhood. As different as the world was from my parents' childhoods. My elders speak of our role on this Earth as caretakers. However, we've abandoned this role in favor of materialistic pursuits. Of finite beliefs that will quickly degrade into ash when stressed, as heated glass touching cold water. All cultures historically warn us away from over-indulgence, and yet our own modern society celebrates this behavior as exemplary. This self-interest is our fatal flaw. We take what we want, and we give nothing. This cannot last. There are limits on this Earth we cannot comprehend in full. It is simply too vast. However, what little we do know should terrify us into acting more responsibly, even if only marginally. However we do not even do that. Our leaders urge us on to continue on as we have done. This cannot last. Eventuall...

Highway of Tears gets $3M for transportation safety plan

CBC News Realistically, there's only so much can be done The long term goal should be to be helping these remote communities become more and more self-sufficient so there's less need for a community member to have to travel to and fro their home to a neighbouring town for particular needs, or to strengthen the presence of civilization along side those roads and highways. However, three million dollars? Honestly, it seems quite a bit low. This is over 700 kms, altogether, with many communities, in-between. And the winter conditions alone are harsh and demanding. Three million dollars will be used up, very quickly. The most helpful part of this would probably be the $1.6 million allocated toward BC Transit. An extra bus per community with an extra diver should help, although it's a question if the funding will stretch to cover all the communities, in-between. Considering this is the provincial government, they can only do so much, and only indirectly. Now it's up to ...

Justin Trudeau A 'Stunning Hypocrite,' Top Environmentalist Says

The Huffington Post Canada Some pretty harsh words. And accurate, too. What is the point of more pipelines? Their effect on the Canadian economy seems negligible, at best. At worst, they're sinkholes, employing some, but draining time, money, and manpower from other industries that'd be of more benefit to the Canadian economy as a whole. At some point, the Canadian government's simply going to have to give up on the tar sands. They're a money pit. Canada's days as an oil-producing nation are long over. There's more money being spent on the tar sands then Canada's recouping, now. And the days when barrels of oil were selling at or over $100 per barrel are never coming back.