Let’s take a step back from the minutiae of the daily grind, and a step above what’s trending. Here in a nutshell is where the world is today. Record low interest rates have led to a debt binge. Industrialized nations are eyeball deep in debt. Some of the borrowing was to claw out of the financial crisis of 2008, but there are other reasons too. One of the other major contributors to this wealthy-country debt load is the push, through subsidies and direct payments, to hasten the ascendancy of … [Read more...]
Terry Etam’s letter to Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton
Mr. Crompton, It was with extreme incredulity that I read a copy of the letter that you sent to Canadian Natural Resources. I am an energy writer seeking to find and promote balanced discussions with respect to energy issues. I just wanted to warn you against the downside of putting such bizarre accusations out into the public realm. There is a huge downside to your reputation as a thoughtful person and also to the whole debate about climate change. I won't waste much of your time, this … [Read more...]
Canada’s ultimate melting pot is boiling over – Alberta peers into the abyss of separation
When I was a kid growing up in another province, at a time before farmers became rich land barons, it was always easy to spot an oil patch worker coming back home from Alberta for a few days. Invariably they had a fancy new truck, and could be spotted at watering holes regaling old friends with tales of exciting jobs, big money, and a dynamic new life. While leaving home wasn’t always fun, it was a wonderful example of a path that was always open to Canadians living in economically challenged … [Read more...]
“Don’t hate us Bono, look what we did!’ Trudeau’s inner circle wants the UN’s respect far more than yours
Oh, Canada. A wildly blessed nation, with resources most countries can only dream about, and we have been thoroughly outwitted and outplayed by global economic forces and unelected rulers. How did we get here? How can our resources be landlocked when we have, by far, the most coastline of any nation? Regarding a lack of market access, the problem did develop a while ago, when historically anomalous commodity prices drove extremely rapid development. The price of oil shot up faster than anyone … [Read more...]
Seven Marcellus natural gas myths, or, you’re playing with fire, America
Sometimes a phenomenon comes along that captures the public’s attention in near totality, and we find ourselves losing our minds and joining the parade. The dot com boom was one example, a time when random new websites became worth billions despite the presence of any revenue. The US housing boom was another example. When people with no income, no jobs, and no assets suddenly started buying homes, a few fringe weirdos thought that that wasn’t right, but the mainstream line of thought was so … [Read more...]
Mr. Prime Minister, thanks for the visit, and hearing so well. Now it’s time to lead
Well, the bully’s back. Canada is getting its lunch money taken again, but this time it’s even worse. The bully shows up at our house on weekends too and takes $50 million per day, give or take $10 or $20 million. This is the same bully that told Canada it had a weak leader. There was a lot of indignation over that; Canadians aren’t all that keen on being seen as weak. On the other hand, Canadians now see themselves in a position where the problem can possibly be rectified. It was … [Read more...]
Why do we need proper energy advocacy? Because look at the damage when the Globe and Mail takes the wheel
No one out there needs reminding of how difficult it is to produce petroleum in Canada these days. The regulatory quagmire and relentless attacks from well-organized opponents are the most visible obstacles. Other impediments are equally frustrating, like, for example, the media’s refusal to comment on just how valuable natural gas is to BC at this very moment, and how oddly backwards it is for many to be condemning fossil fuels at the very moment they are in grave danger of not having … [Read more...]
Climate change dialogue has gone North Korean, which needs to stop, and even climate advocates are now agreeing
North Korea may seem a funny place to stop on the climate change road, but it’s not. The country is currently run by a vivacious chubby tyrant named Kim Jong-un, who succeeded his father, another tyrant named Kim Jong-il. Kim Jong-il was, according to official records, a remarkable man. His first round of golf was a dazzling 38 under par, including 11 holes in one, and immediately after that round he retired from golf forever. There’s more. His other talents make that look like amateur … [Read more...]
Canada’s woeful energy scene: with leadership like this, who needs enemies?
I was recently forwarded a link by a kind reader to a story about how “cleaning up Alberta’s oil patch could cost $260 billion.” Like many who do not have $260 billion, the article caught my eye. Trouble started almost immediately; the story was attributed to a Mike De Souza. This gentleman writes for a publication called the National Observer, and I will not post a link because it is the sort of site that advertises pure, unbiased information and provides anything but. Suffice it to say that … [Read more...]
Making Canada Great Again: Ignore smear campaigns, higher per capita emissions are the noble price we pay as the world’s natural resource pantry
Please send this message on to everyone in the world: Not one more word of apology. No more flustered grovelling because our per capita emissions are higher than average; they are that way for a reason. No more bowing to demands that Canada enforce outsized emissions cuts, when the reason for the emissions in the first place is that we hand other countries their building materials - we do the dirty work for them. As we wobble on our axis as an exporting nation, cross-threaded on everything … [Read more...]
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