I can’t blame people for tuning out messages that continually say “no, no, no” to tar sands and pipelines. I think the reason might be that they are not hearing the alternative solutions and think people who oppose the tar sands are not for Canada’s prosperity. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The belief that we can only have prosperity and jobs from the oil industry is ridiculous. Canada can create a national solution to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing our economy and creating jobs by integrating clean technology of solar, wind, and water power, geothermal energy and more. It is possible, but will take the time and will of Canadians to try something new and innovative.
The largest source of emissions comes from tar sands so it makes sense that to reduce emissions we would need to slow down the tar sands process. We could then begin to add alternative sustainable renewable clean energy sources and offer new jobs, too.
Canada’s oil and gas sector makes up six per cent of the country’s GDP. If it were to disappear, the hit to the Canadian economy would be profound. Canada needs to wean itself off of oil and gas. Clean technology offers tremendous potential to help.
Diane Matier, Surrey