Brad Wall, speaking directly to oil and gas men, remarked that he thinks Ottawa needs a “champion” of non-renewable energy. There’s been more than enough support for that industry in the past decades.
This is a good sector, that oil and gas are not four letter words. That they create untold quality of life and wealth for all Canadians. Let’s make that case.
“At one point, a list of dozens of items made from derivatives of petrochemicals were highlighted on a projector screen[…]
“The smartphones they use perhaps to send you angry Tweets about your industry or send you texts,” he joked.
It’s unclear if clean water or clean air that made Wall’s speech possible had been consumed by the Premier, or if he’d denied himself these things his policies aim to end. Clearly he’d have difficulty making arguments against having these necessities, without clean air and water throughout his life.
The detractors seem to think it is impossible for Saskatchewan to go fossil fuel-free because it’s cold. Actually, Saskatchewan engineers long ago pioneered energy efficient buildings that require little to no fossil fuel heating. What’s “wacky” is that we don’t have building standards that would make conventional heating obsolete and deliver thousands in energy savings.
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Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff 
Brad Wall said, “Have you noticed that there is just not as many people calling for an end to fossil fuels in January?”
I hear it. January is when people complain most about fossil fuel heating costs because Passive House technology from #YQR is ignored in building codes.
It’s incorrect to say technology isn’t available. It was invented in SK forty years ago in #YQR: Homes without a furnace. It’s not “magical thinking” we can transition away from fossil fuels to #renewables, we just have to all get started, like elsewhere has.
“The fact is, with current technology, renewables can take us only so far right now.”
The amount of technology available isn’t sufficient, but we can mass produce what’s required within short years, and to a sufficient quality to not require furnaces in our homes in Saskatchewan. Current technology has advanced past that of 40 years ago which was already capable.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/saskatoon/story/1.3233075
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Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says his province needs an energy “champion” in the prime minister’s office.
Wall made his remarks during a speech at a conference of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, which was held in Regina Thursday.
Wall noted that oil is an important industry in Saskatchewan and Canada and said a project, known as the Energy East pipeline, needs support. Wall has long been in support of the project, which would use new and existing pipelines to move oil from western Canada to the east and abroad.
“[We need] more than tacit support for these things, this is such an important sector to all of Canada,” Wall said. “What we need in the prime minister’s office and in the cabinet is a champion for our energy resources. And that’s what I’m concerned about, whether we’ll have that champion.”
Wall also said that energy independence will not be possible for Canada without the Energy East pipeline project.
Combat critics with facts, Wall says
He also urged the oil and gas industry to do a better job selling itself or risk losing the battle for public opinion to celebrity critics who have unrealistic ideas on how to reduce carbon emissions.
Wall told conference attendees that there is a growing, vocal minority who want the industry shut down completely and they are influencing policy-makers.
“We’re at some disadvantage when it comes to this,” Wall said, with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. “The other side has great scientific minds speaking out for them, like Neil Young and Daryl Hannah.”
Young, a rock singer, actress Hannah have been outspoken in their opposition to the oilsands and pipelines.
“We don’t have a lot of glamour on our side … but here is something else we have: We have facts,” Wall said. “I humbly suggest to this group today that we urgently redouble our efforts to present the facts, to be disseminators of them, to be purveyors of the truth.”
Wall said resource proponents need to emphasize the steps Canada takes to protect the environment through advancements in technology such as carbon capture and storage. And the pipeline industry must also emphasize safety advantages to transporting oil by pipe rather than rail.
He said while getting the world off fossil fuels is a laudable goal, it’s “magical thinking” to believe that it can be done
quickly and painlessly.
“Have you noticed that there is just not as many people calling for an end to fossil fuels in January in Canada?,” he said. “I’ve certainly noticed that. The fact is, with current technology, renewables can take us only so far right now.”
With files from The Canadian Press “
Here’s the mentality standing in the way of a better environment for everyone:
She provides comfort to climate change deniers.
http://www.thestarphoenix. com/technology/letter+editor+carbon+capture+project+waste+money/11408133/story.html
“On Sept. 21 you published a guest editorial (Wall correct on fossil fuels) from the Leader-Post that praised the decision of the premier to invest nearly $1.5 billion in the carbon capture scheme at Boundary Dam.
Of this total, $550 million pays for the renewed power station at Boundary Dam while the remaining $917 million is the cost of the carbon capture unit. Those carbon capture operations will generate a 30-year operating loss of $125 million after consideration of revenue from sales of carbon dioxide and expenses associated with facility operations and maintenance. In other words, Boundary Dam will result in a loss to Saskatchewan electricity users of just over $1 billion during its 30-year operating life.
The editorial criticized wind power as not being “baseload.” So what? Iowa generates 54 per cent of its electricity using coal (versus 44 per cent in Saskatchewan) and 30 per cent from wind (versus 2.7 per cent in Saskatchewan).
Had wind energy been used in place of coal with carbon capture at Boundary Dam, then wind would be generating six per cent of Saskatchewan’s total electricity: This is less than what 17 American states already achieve today. Saskatchewan ratepayers would also have saved $1 billion. Far from being “correct,” Boundary Dam looks increasingly like a shocking waste of public funds.
James Glennie
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/computer-generated-video-shows-pollution-spread-across-the-prairies-1.3261783
www. leaderpost. com/business/energy-resources/popular+saskatchewan+premier+swoops+into+calgary/11973195/story.html
“Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall came to the heart of the oilpatch Wednesday to warn that the energy industry is under “existential threat” from environmental activists.
In a speech to the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada at the Petroleum Club, Wall slammed the idea of a national carbon tax and took aim at both the United States government for rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline and other Canadian provinces for throwing up obstacles to energy transportation projects.
Wall, whose Saskatchewan Party was recently re-elected for a third term, said the energy industry needs defenders against “an ever-growing matrix of activists,” citing proponents of the Leap Manifesto within the NDP and the divestment movement that calls for companies and public bodies to shed their energy holdings.
“Today, there continues an existential threat to this industry, this industry that is so important in my province,” he told an appreciative luncheon crowd.
“We’re in the middle of a battle and, frankly, we haven’t been winning too many battles. By we, I mean this sector and the resource importance of Western Canada.”
Wall said both the oilpatch and governments have to keep making the case about the economic importance of the energy industry in Canada and its commitment to operating in an environmentally sustainable manner.”