My latest Economy Lab Post: Emissions: Peter Kent’s 178 millon-ton challenge
It may be his most important task, and setting Canada’s GHG policy course for the next four years will not be an easy one for Environment Minister Peter Kent. By his own admission, meeting Canada’s GHG goals will be a daunting challenge and will require stringent regulations on oil and gas, electricity generation, transportation, and […]
Tory platform’s dirty secret – my latest Economy Lab post
There’s a hole in the Conservative platform…a hole so big, you could fit Canada’s oil and gas sector or every single one of our fossil-fuel power plants into it. The hole is projected to get bigger, and will be large enough to fit every single car, truck, SUV, train, bus, and ATV in Canada into […]
My top debate questions on energy and the environment
The debates are over, and not one question was asked about energy, greenhouse gas policy, or oil sands. If you want to read what I would have asked each of the leaders, read on…
An evening with Jack
Last night, I decided to head downtown to the NDP campaign launch to hear Jack Layton speak to local NDP candidates and their supporters. (I was also caught on tape by Gloria Galloway of the Globe and Mail) For those of you who know my politics, you will likely be surprised to hear that I […]
Time to come clean on CCS
By now, most people with any connection to the energy sector in Alberta are familiar with carbon capture and storage (CCS) – the proposed technological solution to Alberta’s growing greenhouse gas emissions. When the Government of Alberta tabled ts Climate Change Strategy in 2008, the goals (shown in the figure below) were to achieve 200 […]
Reflections of an oil sands visionary
Last night, I was given a wonderful opportunity by some of our students to present my views on the oil sands in front of an interested and engaged audience here at the University of Alberta as part of the Oil Sands Visionaries speaker series. Given the flack I have taken from some of my colleagues […]
Something remarkable happened this week…but you probably missed it
Peter Kent has already done something as Environment Minister that few others who have held the same position over the last 10 years have had the courage to do. He stood up, in front of a group of business leaders no less, and stated that Canada’s current greenhouse gas emissions policies would not be sufficient […]
The Tories bring their free market approach to climate policy
Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent announced today that the Federal Government will continue to pursue a sector-by-sector, regulatory approach to meeting it’s climate change goals. This is baffling. I thought that conservatives (and even Conservatives) were supposed to believe in smaller government and the power of the market to drive innovation. If the Liberals were […]
The Liberals’ Cap(at what?)-and-(allocate to whom? and)-trade program
This week, lost in the media circus caused by the resignation of Premier Stelmach and Finance Minister Morton, the announcement of the Alberta Government’s Oilsands Panel and the David Suzuki CBC documentary on the oilsands was a very important announcement in advance of the next Federal Election. The Liberal Party of Canada committed themselves to […]
Why Rescuing the Frog?
Hello all, First off, thank you for reading. I know there are many climate/energy/economy blogs out there so I am happy you have taken the time to visit mine. With this first post, let me tell you why I chose the title and what I hope this blog accomplishes.