In November, WWF-Canada hosted a cross-country tour featuring award-winning authors Andrew Nikiforuk (Tar Sands) and Ed Struzik (The Big Thaw). Join us TODAY for a live online discussion that tackles critical issues around the oil sands and Canada’s Arctic. 11 am PST, 12 pm CST, 2 pm EST, 3 pm AST
To send questions, simply post them in the comments below or via Twitter using the hashtag #oilandice. Need help getting started? Email Sara Falconer at sfalconer@wwfcanada.org
Please note that the chat will be text-based and will take place in the comments section below.
If you missed the Oil and Ice Tour, check out the videos below.
Tags: climate, Copenhagen, oil sands, Polar Bears
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Ed, Andrew, thanks again for helping further the debate. You’ve committed a huge amount of your time over the past few months to helping further the debate, with intelligence and humour. For that we all owe a debt of gratitude. Having attended a few of the Oil and Ice presentations in person, and virtually here today, I’m encouraged by the deep interest, concern and passion I’ve heard expressed from all participants for the future of our planet and our country. That gives me more than hope – it gives me certainty. When people lead, leaders follow.
Thanks to Andrew and Ed, and to all who joined the discussion.
Joshua Laughren
Director, Communications
WWF-Canada
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Tar sands and energy security
Tar sands production does not make me feel very secure as a oil consumer.
It’s 20 times more expensive than light oil.
It requires 12 barrels of water to produce one barrel of bitumen.
The project now consumes 20 per cent of the nation’s natural gas demand.
And it takes two tonnes of sand to make one barrel.
That sort of energy addiction, in the absence of 30 year energy plan, will diminish our security and our resilience. It will also bankrupt us.
Putting the Canadian economy into a tar sands Hummer also opens up the entire nation to extreme economic liabilities such as oil price volatility….
With half the country and much of the US Midwest now dependent on this appalling resource, we need a transition plan to radically diminish its importance within three decades.
Is it to secure to encourage the production of increasingly dirty and capital intensive hydrocarbons to keep the woefully inefficient combustion engine on the road?
The US military has come to the conclusion that the United States will remain neither secure nor great if it remains addicted to fossil fuels. Bloody or dirty. Period. (Check out Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security). I agree with that sober assessment.
Bitumen has the consistency of asphalt. Running an economy on bitumen is like ripping up the existing road system; melting it down and then upgrading the mess into oil. That’s not sustainable or smart in the long run.
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Ha, glad your family could join us Ed – another big inspiration to you, I’m sure.
Thanks to both you and Andrew for a thought-provoking discussion.
Our readers can visit http://panda.org to learn more about how to make a difference in achieving a fair, ambitious and legally binding climate treaty.
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I have a fan!
In the next room
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hi dad!
how are you?
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Lisa:
It makes me feel like I’m in engaged with the world. I get to meet people – scientists, Inuit hunters, First Nations leaders, politicians, thinkers, students – who I might not otherwise meet. I also get to go to some pretty remarkable places. I’m constantly reminded that both the Earth and the people who live on it, are resilient and that there is more good intentions than there are bad ones.
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On Copenhagen
The first lesson is that global institutions, such as the United Nations, can’t deal with a universal global problem. Maybe citizens must focus on carbon accountability within their cities and nations.
The second lesson is that we can now see that the world is clearly locked in to a fossil fuel addiction with very powerful petroleum dealers. Along with this addiction a number of technologies and institutions have co-evolved. They generally reinforce the addiction. Their lobbyists prevailed in Copenhagen.
Despair, a sin, only serves the status quo.
This excellent video (http://storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/) spells out clearly what ordinary people should be advocating for at a grassroots level.
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What inspires both of you in your work?
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Andrew, don’t we need the oil sands for energy security?
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I have never heard Stephen Harper say that he believes tat climate change is a serious problem. If he did, I suspect, he’d allow government scientists to talk about it. Most of them are muzzled. But he is a politician. If there are enough people out there demanding action, he will have to respond. Otherwise, he’s out of a job.
Ed Struzik
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On decision makers and climate change
Judging by the outcome in Copenhagen the atmosphere does not count much among decision makers.
Nor does science.
In fact developed countries such as Canada have embraced policies that discount Creation; rob from the future and make a mockery of science.
If we acted on the science the very worse that could happen would be an innovative and vibrant green economy that would no longer discount the importance of atmosphere.
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Gord:
I’m writing about this now. Consider this, the status of the polar bear in Canada has not changed since 1991 in spite of the rise in cannibalism, drownings, starations. The co-author of the recent report on the status of the polar bear thinks that controlling greenhouse gases is waste of capital. Not one of the ten species at risk in Nunavut have been listed by the government. Decision-makers in Europe and the United States are taking notice but here in Canada, we seem to be favouring the status quo or burying our heads in the ground
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Lisa mentioned Copenhagen – what’s your take on what happened and what still needs to happen?
A lot of people understandably feel frustrated – but what steps can we take that will make a tangible difference?
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On Art
During the tour a number of people came forward with ideas for plays, musicals, novels and photo exhibits on the tar sands.
When great and aweful tales of bitumen development infuse our poetry, stories and musicals, maybe Canadians will finally wake up and recognize how this careless economic development has either changed or exaggerated our real national character.
More art; less oil.
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Sovereignty is important because it’s the best way of managing the future of the Arctic in the best interests of the country and the people who live in the North. But unless we have environmental and cultural security, sovereignty is meaningless.
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On Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper is the son of an Imperial Oil executive and very much a climate change skeptic. Most of his friends are climate change deniers. He has appointed two colleagues to scientific posts in the government; both are are climate change deniers or skeptics.
Canada is one of the few industrial nations in the worlds without a science advisor.
As a rogue carbon state headed by petroleum cheerleader Canada’s position on climate change won’t change until:
1.) Canadians overwhelming express their displeasure with this state of affairs
or
2.) Canadians demand fiscal accountability with oil wealth generated by the tar sands. Until that money is taken off the table and put in a sovereign fund, the government will represent the resource that brings in the cash. Take away the cash and the government will have to represent taxpayers. There is no representation without taxation.
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There have been some alarming new indicators of the effects of melting Arctic ice in the past month – including incidents of polar bear cannibalism. And based on the climate change demos in Copenhagen and around the world, people are more and more concerned about climate. Are decision-makers finally taking notice of these signs?
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I was at the Edmonton production of a Christmas Carol last night. At the end of this very fine play, the actor who played Scrooge stepped forward before the clapping stopped and reminded everyone that Food Bank contributions were down 70 per cent this year. He said that ll the actors would be in the hallway with baskets looking for donations. It took an extra half hour to get out of the building because so many people were lined up giving money.
Art can be a powerful force and a good reminder of who we are in the world
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We’re off to a great start. A question for Ed: Sovereignty. Is it important in the Canadian Arctic?
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I’m with Andrew on favouring a carbon tax. It’s a check on consumption, which is the heart of the problem. Revenue generated from a carbon tax could also be used to promote solar, wind and other new energy producing technologies. It might even be used to give energy efficient consumers a rebate.
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What Canadians Need to Know
Most Canadians don’t realize that Canada is now the number one supplier of oil to the United States.
The majority of this oil comes from the tar sands.
Bitumen is one of the world’s most energy, water, capital and carbon intensive fossil fuels in the world due to its poor quality.
Because of the money involved and the revenue generated for the federal government, both Alberta and Ottawa now represents the resource and rapid development of the tar sands.
This explains why our position on climate change in Copenhagen wasn’t much different than that of Saudi Arabia.
That oil exporter has obstructed negotiations for years.
Canada, now one of the world’s top ten emitters, ranks just above Saudi Arabia in terms of climate action.
We are no longer a moral nation but a petro state.
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Do you have any thoughts on how art can/should play a role in stopping the tar sands or fighting global warming or capturing what we have before it is gone?
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Is it possible to get Stephen Harper to change his opinions on climate change or do we have to vote for a new prime minister to get something done?
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On Cap and Trade
The people promoting cap and trade are really the same folks at Goldman Sachs and Enron that brought us derivative trading and other frauds in the financial markets.
The European experience, as documented by Herman Scheer and others, was not positive and did not reduce emissions.
For a good explanation of the follies of cap and trade check out this wonderful video: http://storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/
The best solution is a carbon tax. It’s transparent. It doesn’t enrich middle men. It reduces fossil fuel demand. It taxes bad behavior (excessive fossil fuel consumption as represented by carbon emissions). And it reminds all us that we are all part of the problem.
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Hi and welcome, Andrew and Ed! We’re so glad that you will be sharing some thoughts on oil sands and Canada’s Arctic today.
Jared and Lisa have already started us off with a couple of great questions, and I’ve got one of my own.
After touring across the country, what is your sense of how much Canadians know and understand about these issues? What would you like them to know?
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In light of what happened (or didn’t happen) in Copenhagen, how can people in the Arctic take a stand against climate change? Do you think their voice was heard at the conference?
Lisa Horvat
Online Manager
WWF-Canada
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I was at the last discussion at U of T and one of the speakers claimed that a carbon tax is needed. However, there is much debate among economists regarding what the best solution is in that regard. It has been shown that cap and trade system would be more efficient and hence have less of a negative impact on the Canadian economy. What is the most economical solution?
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Looking forward to an exciting chat with Andrew and Ed today! Hope lots of folks will join us – start sending your questions now.
Sara Falconer
Social Media Specialist
WWF-Canada
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