Having read recent letters in the Cochrane Eagle, I feel that I must respond to the continuous messages from the corporate whine cellar. Writers seem to be entirely unaware of events in the world around them. A few updates are required:
1. Climate change is real and it is here. There is no remaining excuse for inaction. The cost of changing our ways of supplying energy pale in comparison to the cost of dealing with the effects of climate change.
2. The boom times in the oil and gas industry are not returning. Companies are unemploying people and employing technology for the sake of increased efficiency.
3. Government is not to blame for the fact that investors are leaving the oil patch. They see the writing on the wall and are investing in renewable energy.
4. The Alberta Government has done everything the oil patch has asked for: a one-stop shop for approvals, continued subsidies in the form of embarrassingly low royalties and taxes on industry, and the purchase of old pipelines no one else wants along with rail cars which will increase the glut of traffic on our rail lines and further impede the movement of agricultural products.
5. The lifeblood of our province is not the oil and gas industry. This industry is leaving hundreds of billions of dollars in liabilities for us to try to pay, including rising costs of health care for those affected by the toxins spread into our environment through industry activities. The lifeblood of our province is and always will be the agriculture industry, which is being seriously affected by the use of fracking in our most productive agricultural areas. The devastation left behind by this activity has led to its banning in a growing number of countries, states and provinces worldwide. The governor of New York State referred to its “extreme risks to public health at all stages of operations” and the Government of Victoria in Australia referred to its reasons for a ban as: “Protection of public health and the reputation of the agriculture industry.” Growing concern over the earthquakes triggered by fracking is just the tip of the iceberg.
6. Socialism is not the great evil that it is portrayed to be. The most successful nations in the world in terms of human health and happiness as well as wealth are the socialist Scandinavian countries. In contrast, the U.S. has unsolved problems related to its determined capitalism: widespread violence, social unrest and pollution.
We need to join with the young people who see their future as dark, and demand the change we all must embrace to ensure that they have a future in our province and our world.
