Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
All in all though, I would say there's alot of agreement between you and I on this issue. I'm just much more concerned with the long game and the environment which is the basis for all our wealth generation.
|
Thing is we're doing pretty well on environmental issues where it's within our capablities. Acid rain is pretty much gone thanks to our sulphur recovery regulations. Land disturbances are vastly smaller with SAGD compared to mining... and frankly, land disturbance isn't unique to the oilsands. Everything from building houses to industrial activity disturbs land. The key is reclamation, and we do that too.
The big environmental issue right now is carbon emissions. The thing about carbon is it does not matter where the emissions come from. Unilateral action on carbon in Alberta will do nothing for Alberta's environment, and would be pretty negligible globally as well (0.1% of global emissions).
One thing to realize is that if the future of energy is a global carbon tax, our economy is already somewhat future-proofed. Carbon capture technology works, and implementing it will keep the engineers and constructors busy. Plus unlike most places, for us the carbon isn't just a waste stream that needs to be disposed of - we can use it to get more oil!
