Quote:
Originally Posted by Table 5
If Alberta were smart, it would take a good chunk of the money it earns from the oilsands, and pump it into making the province a world-leader in alternative green energy. Make the current cashcow pay for the next one.
It's only a matter of time that somebody will step up. Might as well be us.
|
That's right. There is literally nothing about the operations in the oilsands that could be called 'sustainable', unless you take the royalties earned from it and put it towards figuring out the next big thing.
Quite honestly, 'the next big thing' (TNBT, not to be confused with TMNT) is very likely not going to exist on the same scale as 'oil' does. It will come down to local populaces solving their own energy needs by what they have available to them. There will not be a magic bullet, or one specific invention, that will change the current dependence on oil - it will be many small changes adding up to one large lifestyle change.
I fear that if Alberta is going to be the leaders in Green Technology (TM), we will need to drastically change the way we live, grow our cities, and develop our resources to say to the rest of the world "Hey, this can be done."
The US may be the 'closest' market for Alberta bitumen, but isn't there a lot of work being done to move the product overseas to China as well? I'd like to see how much of the production coming out of the Oilsands goes where.